By Chris Gomez | Little Italy News

Grab your passport — but skip the flight — and get down to Little Italy for the foodie event of the summer!

It will feel like you’ve been transported to Italy as you stroll the streets of the beautiful waterfront neighborhood, listening to live music on street corners and enjoying tastings from dozens of restaurants in the area, at the annual Taste of Little Italy, presented by U.S. Bank, on Wednesday, June 14 from 5–9 p.m.

With nearly 40 Little Italy restaurants participating in this year’s Taste of Little Italy, you can look forward to bites varying from appetizers and entrees to desserts and beverages.

The Little Italy neighborhood is known for some of the best restaurants in San Diego and they will be opening their doors for attendees to enjoy a taste of one of their many popular dishes.

Attendees can expect classic Italian food like specialty pastas, homemade meatballs, raviolis, pizza and rich cappuccinos — but that’s not all.

Non-Italian restaurants will also be serving dishes like oysters, shrimp, desserts, ramen and more.

Taste of Little Italy allows participants to check off some of the neighborhoods most-loved restaurants from your foodie bucket list, all in one night!

Attendees can choose from either a North Route or South Route — each mapping out nearly 20 restaurants. On the North Route, guests can expect to get tastes from Ballast Point, Burger Lounge, iDessert, Ironside, Juniper and Ivy, Little Italy Loading Dock, The Crack Shack and more.

The South Route includes eateries like Barbusa, Café Gratitude, Civico 1845, Isola Pizza Bar, Queenstown, Bar Bodega and more.

Participants will receive the coinciding “Taste Passport” for their chosen route, which lists all participating restaurants and what they are offering and guides foodies down the routes and invites them into the different restaurants to receive a taste in exchange for a stamp on their passport.

For more information on this year’s event, please visit tasteoflittleitalysd.com. Tickets are sold online, and are priced at $40 per route prior to the event with a limited number at the door for $45.

To stay connected with the neighborhood during community events, check out what’s going on in our neighborhood by following us on Instagram and Twitter @LittleItalySD and Facebook/San Diego Little Italy.

—Christopher Gomez has been Little Italy’s district manager since 2000. Reach him at [email protected].