Permanent Food Tour
“Dungeness,” he said. “Hands down, the best. I tried the crab in Maryland but I’m here to tell you, Washington crab kills it. Dungeness all the way.” His two friends, sitting next to him on the subway bench across from me, nodded in agreement.
I sat there for a moment, unsure if I should say anything, but they seemed inviting, so I interjected, “I’m glad to hear you say that! I just had an argument with someone yesterday about which state has better crab, and being from Washington, I’m glad to hear you confirm our state is better.”
“Really!” he said. “That’s funny. Well, I agree. Washington. Dungeness all the way.”
“Where in Washington are you from?” his friend asked.
“A small farm town on the east side,” I replied.
“What’s it called?” he pressed, “I’m from Washington too.”
We played the where-you’re-from-who-you-know game for a moment, struggling to hear each other over the rumble of the train. “So,” I said, eyeing their backpacks, are you guys visiting from out of town? On some kind of national food tour?”
“Nah,” the first speaker said. “We live here. But I’m on a permanent food tour. It just changes locations depending on where I am.”
I laughed. The third friend added, “We’re going to LIC tonight, to get what is supposed to be the best burgers in the city.”
“Oh really?” I replied. “Where’s that?”
The girl gave me the name of the place, which I’d never heard of. We talked burgers and NYC’s best of until we reached Times Square, where they would transfer to the 7. “Bye guys,” I said. “Enjoy the burgers!”
They thanked me, wished me well, and with the kind of glee you usually only see in tourists, continued on their permanent food tour.
