The winning recipe that has led Di Palo to reach the 100-year milestone lies in the family. Each member has contributed for five generations to carry on and expand the tradition of the food market in the heart of Little Italy. The latest product is the C. Di Palo wine bar at 151 Mott Street, where Accademia Italiana della Cucina of New York has decided to organize an “apericena,” a moment of conviviality that has recently become popular in the United States as well.

“The concept of apericena was inspired by the aperitivo,” Roberta Marini de Plano, Delegate of the Accademia Italiana della Cucina of New York. “It comes from the Latin aperire which means to open the appetite. People started to have aperitivo after the invention of Vermouth in Turin in the 1700s: they needed some snacks with their drinks to tide them over till dinner time without starving.