Quirky little state that it is, Rhode Island celebrates St. Joseph’s Day on March 19 with more zeal than St. Patrick’s Day two days earlier, because people of Italian decent outnumber those of Irish decent here. The celebration of the husband of the Virgin Mary is marked by one dominant activity: lining up for, buying and eating zeppole.

Zeppole are cream-filled pastries. I have had a few since I moved here 17 years ago, and I was underwhelmed by the sweetness of the filling and the often soggy pastry. This time, after reading that the BEST ZEPPOLE IN THE WORLD were made at a bakery very near where I work, I decided to buy a couple. These were certainly superior to any I had eaten before. The pastry was crispy and the filling seemed to consist primarily of riccota so it was not overly sweet. And if you look at the cherry in the above photo, you will notice that it is not one of those vile candied things.

Please contact me if your state or country celebrates this occasion, and if so, if you also eat zeppole. I doubt I’ll hear a peep from anyone.