As a fat kid, I have a certain spidy-sense about delicious food, particularly when several streets are blocked off in the celebration of it. You don't get much more delicious than Italian cuisine, and when I heard about the Ybor City Festa Italiana, I knew I had a carbohy-date with destiny.

We arrived around noon and the streets were packed. I actually made a very wise move in parking 8 blocks away from the nearest gate, both to save on parking (only $4!) and because the walk both there and back was necessary. If I hadn't walked, I would have carbed myself right into a food coma before making it home.

When you walk in the main gate, you have the option to buy tickets in packs of 25 or 55. I opted for the 55 tickets for $25, as I knew from the smell in the air that I would kick myself if I didn't indulge in every possible fat-kid fantasy here. The crowd was an insurmountable force at times, often forming little channels of traffic between people standing around eating and talking.

This article appears in Mar 25-31, 2009.