Take Da Cannoli ... An' Da Nuts

In Lower Manhattan, the Italian neighborhoods still have a lot of Italian food shops, despite the gentrification.

Today I was introduced to a couple of the local treats. You could tell the cannoli from Rocco's Pastry Shop were the real deal: the filling in the chocolate cannoli had the slightly tangy taste of mascarpone cheese.

The guy who shared them had a couple extra vanilla ones. I looked at them; he looked at me. But he didn't give me the "Godfather" line. All he said was, "Don't let 'em go to waste."

Meanwhile, some colleagues were noisily cracking away at pistachios.

"Buhzeeneenuts," they said.

Huh?

A woman pointed to a bag the shape of a slim pound of coffee. An Italian woman read the label: "Ah! Baht-TZEE-ni!"

"It's not close to here, but if you love nuts, you have to go. Buy them in bulk, but be prepared to spend a lot of money. They're worth it though."