For me, one of the worst parts about returning to Georgetown after spring break is the lack of good Italian food. I probably don’t even have one one-hundredth of a percent of Italian blood in me, but I really appreciate a good calzone. In response to my cravings for a pocket of hot dough filled with soft, slightly sweet ricotta cheese melted together with gooey mozzarella and deliciously fresh vegetables, you may suggest that I go to Tuscany’s. That recommendation may not quite fall under the category of offensive, but it is certainly preposterous. First of all, the restaurant is officially called Tuscany Cafe. Does that sound like an authentic Italian joint to you? I would rather go three months without eating any Italian cuisine than settle for a mediocre slice at a college eatery that also happens to sell gyros andspanakopita. So while everyone else continues to order from Domino’s, I will be busy rationing my mom’s homemade eggplant parmesan and my dad’s gourmet macaroni and cheese, which I was fortunate enough to receive upon their last visit.

To be fair, though, unless you come from New Jersey, New York or Italy, you probably have no idea what you’re missing. I’m fully aware that a massive portion of the Georgetown student population comes from those first two places, but I still have friends who had no idea that the New York metropolitan area is home to some of the best lasagna and cannoli in the country.

Then there are people who, despite being fully aware of Manhattan’s Little Italy, are surprised that New Jersey benefits from good Italian cooking as well. Do they think that there are a slew of talented Italian chefs within the five boroughs and that anyone else with similar merits just disappears once you drive through the Lincoln Tunnel? First-rate, well-priced pizza establishments do more than just occasionally sprinkle New Jersey with deliciousness — they monopolize it.

By now, New Jerseyans are used to the universal perception that New York has everything and that New Jersey is simply a trail of industrial factories and highways leading to Times Square. While this assumption is inaccurate, New York does tend to buy its way into garnering attractive qualities. Case in point: On several occasions, the Empire State has robbed the Garden State of the glory of having its own sports teams.

In fact, until just last year, the Brooklyn Nets were a New Jersey team. As one of the original members of the American Basketball Association (ABA), the team was known as the New Jersey Americans and calls Teaneck, N.J., its home. New Yorkers hated the fact that New Jersey might possess anything to rival its athletic domination, so it attempted to steal the Nets for the first time in 1968. The theft lasted a decade, during which the team adopted the title of the New York Nets, until the players just couldn’t resist the appeal of New Jersey. For a while, the team enjoyed going back to its roots. It took the omnipotence of Jay-Z to finalize the move to Brooklyn 35 years later. Not to mention, the Giants and the Jets play their home games and practice in New Jersey, and most of their players live in New Jersey.

So, New Yorkers, you can take the Nets, and you can pretend to be an accurate representation of the Giants and the Jets, but you will never take our Devils — mostly because the mascot just wouldn’t make sense, but more on that next time.

Allie Doughty is a senior in the College. ROOTS FROM THE GARDEN appears every other Friday in the guide.