When the hunger pangs strike and you feel like having something delicious, would you be willing to pause your growling tummy long enough to drive down to the other end of town so that you could gorge on your favorite hamburger? If you nodded your head to that, you're without a doubt a huge foodie! But are you as obsessed as some of these people?
Micheile Henderson/Unsplash | These New Jersey foodies would drive for miles and wait at drive-thrus for hours for their favorite food
North Jersey is home to some of the most devoted food fans who will do just about anything for a mouth-watering meal or even a snack. These residents are more than willing to spend a good chunk of their money on food, and are ever ready to take long drives and wait in drive-thru's to have a taste of the most delectable palates the city has to offer. Burgers to burritos, they know where to find the stuff, and they’re ready to try absolutely anything!
So, would you like to be friends with these food fanatics who live to eat, travel to eat, and even think and dream about food?
Justin Elmini, Pompton Plains
Elmini's food obsession started when he was still in middle school. While his peers found comfort with friends or family, Justin’s equation with food was quite interesting. He recalls realizing quite late in life that there’s more to it than pot roast!
Mentioning that his parents were decent cooks, he says their family mostly ate basic American food typical of the early '80s that included roast beef, roasted chicken, and pot roast, of course. He would often eat at his friend's place and initially be quite hesitant when it came to trying new dishes. Eventually, curiosity got the better of him, and once he did dig into new flavors, there was no going back.
Mitsu Yasukawa/Northjersey.com | Justin Elmini dines out multiple times a week and has several favorite spots in and outside the city
Justin loves restaurants and dines out multiple times every week. One of his favorite memories of a restaurant meal is from the time when he and his wife celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary. It was at Michelin-star seafood restaurant, Le Bernardin in Manhattan. He has a whole list of go-to places for dining out within the city, but he’d also like to grub down in different parts of the world and try different foods that he’s never tried before. Now that’s what we call a true foodie!
Greg and Kaitlin Dalakin, Boonton
The Dalakins, who are music teachers, are insanely in love with home-cooked food. It’s no wonder they have a gigantic dining room at their house, which BTW has walls covered with framed menus from all the awesome restaurants they’ve been to (cool or what!). The couple got into cooking soon after they met in 2011, and since then, they’ve enjoyed cooking and eating together. And as if this wasn’t enough, one look at their food-centric Instagram account, @excessiveeaters, will leave no questions about their food obsession. They say they came up with this name after returning from a trip to California, which they consider a trip of culinary awakening.
Anne-Marie Caruso/Northjersey.com - USA Today Network | The Dalakins, who identify themselves as “the excessive eaters” on social media
As they say, if you're not obsessed with something, you never loved it that much. The passion these people share for food speaks volumes about how much they enjoy tickling their taste buds. And now that you know their stories, tell us again, would you be able to let your stomach grumble until you find that perfect meal?
