October through December is my favorite time of year. I’m that person who decorates for fall in August and drinks pumpkin spice lattes when it’s still 90 degrees. Out of that whole glorious season, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Last year, I spent Thanksgiving in Treviso, Italy. I hadn’t planned on still being there that late in the season, but I can hardly complain. With 2020 being, well, 2020, it was a miracle I was in Italy at all.

Since Thanksgiving is a uniquely American observance, it had me reminiscing about a magical celebration back home almost 20 years before. That’s when I was able to enjoy Thanksgiving Italian style. To this day, I remember the incredible warmth and generosity of Chicago’s Taylor Street neighborhood, where I lived and worked at the time.