Little Italy celebrates America's independence by combining the neighborhood's reputation for pasta with the country's reputation for gluttonous appetite. Picture it: the hot sun beating down on brave young waiters from 10 local restaurants, gathered in earnest for the 4th Annual Tuttorosso Pasta Eating Contest. Each one hopes to perform an act so incredible it will strike fear into your heart and have you reaching for the parmesan. The new title-holder must eat 3.5 pounds of pasta in eight minutes! To understand the skill and beauty a triumph like this entails, witness it in person, inhale the delicious scent of tomato and garlic and hear the magnificent slurping of spaghetti. The only thing you need to enjoy the festivities in Little Italy is a napkin. 

July 1. Sal Anthony's SPQR Restaurant, 133 Mulberry St. (betw. Hester & Grand Sts.), 212-925-3120; 2, Free.