When we flip through the tv schedule we always stop on the stations that mention Philadelphia or New Orleans. Mostly we see New Orleans, especially on the Food Network and the Travel Channel. Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations did an excellent episode there.

In the last few months I have been lucky enough to catch my hometown on various episodes of beloved television shows, such as: Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives, and COPS! The Dining Car, a Philadelphia diner institution, and my grandparents’ favorite after church breakfast place, was featured one evening – we were all very excited to see Northeast Philadelphia on the small screen.

But that was nothing compared to the other night when Oxford Circle, the neighborhood where Beth and I grew up, was on COPS! Woo-hoo! Two guys with mullets and tie-dye tank tops held up a pizza shop (Chevy’s Pizza – incredibly delicious Sicilian pie) and were going to hold up another pizza shop down the street. But this fabulous Northeast Philly girl called the cops and they were caught at the Sunoco station on the Boulevard next door to our old church where we went to CCD on Tuesday nights. I laughed till I cried and then called my Mom who laughed even harder. I love Philadelphia.