Nationwide, the South has a reputation for hospitality…and if you grow up in the South, you’re raised under the notion that Yankees are generally the opposite. Movies and television shows often depict Southerners as sweet little ladies (with accents that sound like the turnip truck crashed in front of the Wal-Mart) sippin’ their ice tea on the front porch just waitin’ for that nasty Sherman to come storming through again. Northerners get the imagery of being rude, brisk and the type of people that keep car horn replacement shops in business.
I cannot express how incorrect these stereotypes could possibly be. First of all…I was born, raised and have spent my entire life in the South and you could not hold me at gunpoint to drink tea. I don’t do sweet, unsweet, sun or even high tea. It’s all just dirty water to me. Second: some of the nicest people I have met have been in the North. Those Yankees have happily held the door for me, let me merge into traffic, struck up conversation or just gone out of their way to be nice.
Case in point: two of my greatest friends in the world recently traveled 1,000+ miles from Arkansas to visit for the holidays. Neither had been to New York and I was really interested what their perspective would be of the people we encountered. I think they got to see the real deal.
With my husband Brett off at work, I loaded up Andy & Brandi (no, they’re not a couple-but wouldn’t that be cute names on a wedding announcement??) and decided to show them downtown Albany. After all, how can a giant concrete egg not be entertaining? We took tons of pictures and had a chance to drive by the capital building. Most capital buildings I’ve seen before have the whole stately government dome/statue thing going on…leave it to New York to have an over-the-top mansion styled estate to be running the joint from.
We parked and wandered into a pizzeria place advertising two slices and a drink for only $5.54. Little did we know what kind of impression we would walk away with.
At Pizzeria 54 we met Mr. Albany Mr. Ahmad Teimoori and his incredibly accommodating staff! They went above and beyond to make an impression and our visit amazing.
Our friend Brandi alleges to be lactose intolerant (I try to secretly feed her cheese any time I can, just to see if she’s faking it) and will still be picking off the cheese on the pizza while the rest of us are working on dessert. When she tried to order salad, Mr. Teimoori insisted on creating a cheese-less pizza just for her.
In fact the conversation went like this:
Teimoori: “I make you pizza.”
Brandi: “Oh, that’s ok. You don’t have to do that. I’ll just order salad.”
Teimoori: “I MAKE YOU PIZZA!”
Needless to say, Brandi was floored! I don’t think, ever in her whole life, had the option of cheese-less pizza ever been presented to her.
Mr. Teimoori was the sweetest, funniest, nicest man who was more than entertaining…in the South, we’d say “that man was just a peach!” He cracked us up, fed us well and served us a round on the house. And invited us to come back anytime. How could we not adore him?? Plus, Brandi’s cheese-less pizza was excellent!
I’m not sure if Brandi went back to Arkansas more impressed with not having to mutilate her pizza or with her first dose of Northern hospitality. Either way, I think she wins.
If you’re in downtown Albany, stop by Pizzeria 54. It’s at 48 North Pearl Street or you can ring them at (518) 432-5454. You’ll find excellent food, a fun environment and a delightful owner just tickled pink to meet you…at least we did!
I met this man and within 15 minutes we were like long lost buddies!