Pizza and Bagels...That's what New Jersey does!

We had a guy in London this week from our DC office. He was supposed to evaluate the state of our IT stuff, and give his opinion on how to make it better. Mostly what we want is solid connection from the Internet (since we are an Internet company), and someone who can help us if our email goes down, even if that happens at 9 am. Right now, we have to wait until the people in DC wake up to to have someone reset the email server. ANYWAY, he was asking me if I ever get homesick. I thought about it and said, not really. There are certain things I miss, and people I miss, but mostly now I've figured out how to keep in touch with people so that's not a problem. What I really miss, I said, is certain food. He said, like what? I said oh you know, Chipotle, pizza, bagels, etc.

Now, when I say this to anyone who is not from New Jersey or New York, I get one of two responses. Either, "What? there is great pizza/bagels/subs here!" or "Oh my god you have GOT to try this place, its amazing!"

When I said oh you know, Chipotle, pizza, bagels, etc. The brits replied with "What? there is great pizza/bagels/subs here!" and the IT guy replied with "Oh my god you have GOT to try this place, its amazing!"

When people say this to me, I don't believe them. I will never believe you. I don't care if you fly Mario and Luigi into Washington, DC, the pizza will not taste like what I want it to taste like. I don't care if there is a store that is known for its New York style bagels in Bethesda, MD, they won't taste like what I want it to taste like.

So IT guy goes on about how fabulous this pizza place in Dulles, VA is (red flag number one...its in Dulles? Not exactly the cultural capital of the area). He tells me how the owner is a real Italian guy who was a barber for his whole life and then decided he wanted to open up a restaurant (red flag 2...good Italian eateries are run by guys who have been punching dough since they were 5). Mr. Italian dude has been approached a bunch of times to franchise throughout DC but he always refuses (seriously is this a selling point? have you ever eaten pizza in dc? The competition isn't exactly overwhelming). So IT guy pulls up the website for this AMAZING pizza place, and starts reading about all the amazing toppings on "The Sicilian Hit" or "The Lucky Luciano". Now do I even need to tell you this is a bit ridiculous? A topping does not a good pizza make.

So I smiled and said oh yeah I'll definitely give it a try next time I'm in Dulles, VA. He then tried to tell me about a bagel place. I couldn't sit through this again.

"Look, IT guy, I know you think that the place that you know will be amazing to me, but I can guarantee you it will not be. Unless they ship their water in from New York, I will eat the bagel, smile politely, say I love it, and then vow in my head to never go back there."
IT Guy: "The water? Seriously? That's stupid."
Me: "Yes the water. Its a fact. Its science. Science is real. You can't argue with it."
IT Guy: "Riiight."

I could have kept going, but its pointless to argue with poorly informed (and clearly poorly formed tastebuds).

So yes...I get homesick for certain things. I get homesick for Chipotle after a big night, but I have found other burrito places. I miss my family and friends, but I have ways to keep in contact with them. I get homesick for pizza and bagels. There is not cure for this one...but its a battle I've been fighting since I was 18. Sadly I'm used it.