Lifestyle

What It’s Like to Return to Your Favorite Hometown Restaurant

By Lily Dube at University of Michigan

You’ve been dreaming about this moment since the second you got on the plane to go back home after finishing your last final.

Like these New Yorkers, your favorite meal from your favorite restaurant is calling your name. It patiently awaits your presence.

The deep connection you share with this meal from years and years of happiness together can’t be matched by any food on your campus. The combination of great food and even better memories makes this place unbeatable. Here’s a quick breakdown of what you go through between visits to your happy place:

Heartbreak

The year starts off with the unlikely desire that your favorite restaurant could’ve come along with you to campus. Instead, you both go your separate ways.

Reality

As the semester gets underway, so do the sudden cravings here and there. You have a nostalgic urge for your legendary meal, but it’s not too overpowering… yet.

Agony

Finals approach, and with them comes the undying hunger and need for that special meal. You’re losing willpower and your taste buds are begging to be quenched with nothing but that plate your restaurant knows how to execute so flawlessly. In your time away, you’ve learned to appreciate the true greatness that is this hometown meal.

Suspense

You sit on the plane waiting for takeoff when you realize you’re close to cracking. You text your hometown group chat with the time to meet up at your beloved restaurant. The hour is approaching. You can almost taste it. Pun intended.

Hysterics

You’re off the plane and into the car with your mom, and all you can think about is the meal awaiting your arrival. Questions about your plans for the break are put on hold because the only thing receiving your attention is your appetite.

Impatience

You sit in the restaurant. You’ve ordered and you know it’s being prepared. Your stomach is screaming and your mouth is salivating at the thought of this moment becoming a reality.

The big moment

It’s here. You could cry you’re so happy at the sight of this meal. You’ve made the celebratory snap story and it’s go time. You take your first bite and it’s even better than you remembered.

You’re home.

Want more hometown related posts? Check these out: 

• 14 Food Reasons Why College Kids Love Being Home for the Summer
• Bring Home Cooked Meals Right to Your Dorm
• The Pros and Cons of Eating at Home This Summer