Going to school in a southern state is great; the warm weather almost all year long and being far from home (your parents) is another key reason why people decide to go to school in the South if they grew up in a northern state. What most people don’t realize is that there are different restaurants and types of restaurants. Below is a list I compiled of restaurants or types of restaurants that I miss from living in New Jersey.
Diners
Open early and close late. Breakfast or lunch food at any time of day. You want a cheeseburger and fries at 9am, you seek out your local diner. Pancakes at midnight you seek out the local diner. I know that this might seem like a Waffle House but I can assure you that it’s not. Your local diner is filled with wait-staff that has been serving you and your family since you were knee-high to a grasshopper. Diners are the soul of the community.
Wawa
Basically a Subway inside of a gas station that has virtually whatever you want. You order at a kiosk and are able to build your meal from the base that they give you. Everyone knows that before and after a sports game you always hit up your local Wawa for a snack and every road trip, vacation, or beach trip would not be complete without a trip to Wawa for snacks and a sub sandwich. It’s just what you have to do. Essentially Wawa is the blood of every neighborhood.
Italian Restaurants
There are a few Italian restaurants in South Carolina but not all of them know what you are talking about when you are ordering chicken francese or cavatelli and broccoli. When you are in a northern state where there is an abundance of Italians both of these dishes are a staple for every Italian restaurant.
Every neighborhood also has ‘their’’ pizza parlor where they order from. To the point where when you are going to your friend’s house a few blocks away, you are going to have a different pizza than you would at your house. Italian Restaurants are the heart of every neighborhood.
Quick Chek
So you either are a Wawa stan or a Quick Chek stan, you can’t be both. It’s like the Taylor ham vs. pork roll debate. Both Quick Chek and Wawa have the same items with minor tweaks, like the fact that Quick Chek doesn’t have sweet cream cheese pretzels, but both convenience stores have gas stations and the kiosk to order food.
Bagel Shops
There are a few bagel shops in my old town that were busy every morning regardless of the time or day of the week. The special thing about bagel shops beside the texture of the bagels is the fact that they have pork roll, egg, and cheese sandwiches. Apparently, this is only in New Jersey but it doesn’t stop me from craving it after having this delectable breakfast sandwich on my latest trip to Jersey.