My knee is FREAKIN' killing me. Thank goodness I have an appointment with the orthopedist tomorrow morning. I iced it all afternoon and evening, and I'll be reverting back to my "wear the Cryo Cuff overnight and swap out the warmed water for ice water any time I wake up" technique that I used when I first had the surgery.

We had a nice time at the St. Nick's Italian Festival. Mark and I met up with Joe M. and John R. there. While we were there, we also encountered other friends, including FD and her husband -- she looked good, though it's clear that she's lost a lot of weight after the health ordeals she's been through. Also, we sat with Bob F. and Jim M., whom I hadn't seen in eons.

All in all, it was a nice evening. Oh, and by the way, it's not a contradiction of terms for me to have written "best Italian food" for both the St. Nick's festival tonight *and* for the festival two weeks ago at Annunciation.

The two churches in question are about four or five blocks away from one another, and nearly all of the vendors that took part in tonight's festival also participated in the St. Pio festival two weeks ago. So the same people making that "Best Food" for Annunciation were out there tonight making food for St. Nick's. :)

Let's just put it this way: if you really like Italian food, you need to make a pilgrimage to the ZIP codes of 19148 and 19145. You just do. There are all kinds of little Mom-and-Pop Italian restaurants around here that serve food that's out of this freakin' world. Some of those places provided the food at the festivals I attended, as well as the one at Epiphany (the next parish south of St. Nick's) last week which I was unable to attend.

So there you have it, foodies -- mark your calendar for our festivals in South Philly next October, or else track down the various vendors at their regular restaurant sites and sample their wares there. Either way, if you're a fan of Italian food, you'll be glad you did.

Great, now I'm hungry. I wonder why? ;)