Love At First Bite

It was the summer of ‘91. The Soviet Union was on the verge of collapse, Terminator 2 was taking the box office by storm, and little six-year old me was about to fall in love for the first time…in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

I know, “what the hell is a six-year old doing in Atlantic City, much less falling in love there?!?”, but it’s not as strange as it sounds. Trust me!

My father was heavily involved with the Italian American War Veterans (ITAM), a national organization of Italian American veterans. Every year they’d hold a convention and they’d often double as an excuse for a family vacation. I got to see Washington D.C. this way and also got to go to Florida multiple times! And then there was the “World’s Most Famous Playground”, Atlantic City. I don’t know if 1991 was my first visit, but it’s the first I can remember.

Back then, it was kind of, sort of family friendly. There were arcades on the boardwalk, midway games and rides, and the Tropworld Casino had something called Tivoli Pier, which boasted a relative plethora of rides and fun activities for the entire family! There was a roller coaster that took you up into the ceiling and around a mock skyline of Atlantic City before plunging you back down to reality. There was a lot to it, So here’s an advertisement poster that will do a better job explaining it than I ever could:

There was also a Burger King on the boardwalk and I’ll tell you now that this is the part of the story where I fall in love. This is that moment in time that got me to where I am today.

You see, they were in the midst of one of their “International Chicken Sandwich” promotions. They had three different offerings: American, which featured…American Cheese, French, which had ham and Swiss, and the Italian. It was a chicken parm sandwich that didn’t quite seem to know it! The sauce was the perfect combination of salty and sweet, and while the “mozzarella” lacked the ability to melt in any kind of meaningful way, it still worked with the rest of the sandwich, a crisp and moist pre-formed chicken patty and a long sesame seed bun. From a technical standpoint the sandwich doesn’t seem very special but by god there was just something about it. This would be my lunch for the duration of our stay in Atlantic City. Life was now everything that happened before I had this sandwich and everything that happened after.

It was love at first bite.

I still love it too, even if I can’t remember the last time I had. I don’t think Burger King has done them in a few years though it’s possible that I might not have noticed. This sandwich was the beginning of a lifelong obsession with ordering chicken parm sandwiches from the kinds of places one would not necessarily think should even have them on the menu. I go to a diner and it has a chicken parm sandwich, that’s it, I’m fucking eating it and no one can judge me for it. Well, I suppose they can…I just don’t care if they do.

This has been but one of many stories I wish to share about my “semi-parmed life”. This was my formative experience and the reason why I write for you today. I’m an Italian kid from Jersey who doesn’t quite fit all the stereotypes and, well, I think there’s a lot to explore there.

I may not remember the last time I ate this thing, but I remember the first time. You never forget your first time.