Food Is Funny

What is it about vittles that brings out the, er, ham in grownups, toddlers and pets?

Food photographers get paid serious dough to make meals look extra scrumptious so you’ll shell out at a grocery store or restaurant. But there’s another tribe of camera bugs among us who focus on edibles, and Instagram and other social media sites are their scrapbooks. They know there’s something hilarious in the universal human and animal penchant for eating—or hoping to eat—and the situations it can create. The nine smile-worthy photos here were taken and posted to social media by Bergen County residents.

SURF AND TURF—Photo by @dan201lan in Dumont Two-year-old Donovan has a seriously advanced palate for a toddler. To celebrate his first day of school at a local day care, dad Danny Leoncini made a celebratory family dinner of surf and turf—lobster legs and a good ol’ steak with a side of lemon butter. Donovan is ready to dig in!

THE PUUURRRFECT

SHOT—Photo by

@mama.cap in Allendale

It’s the tongue for us! Keri Capicchioni recently moved back to her hometown of Allendale from Florida to help take care of her elderly parents. And both she and her 10-year-old cat, Moo, were thrilled to be enjoying New Jersey bagels again. “Moo loves the veggie cream cheese in my Goldberg’s bagel,” Capicchioni tells BERGEN. “There’s no good bagels in Florida, so we’re happy to be back in New Jersey!”

BUDDY MEETS

BURGER—Photo by

@buddy_the_g0lden_ retriever in Elmwood Park

Recognize Buddy Chrisomalis? He’s the official mascot and a member of the extended family of Steve’s Burgers in Garfield, owned by Steve Chrisomalis. Steve says this golden retriever loves the Steve’s Burger and fries, a classic item on their menu, and he’ll be coming around more and more at the restaurant to interact with customers. “The staff loves him and he loves people,” Steve says.

Photo by @paige.merz in Rutherford

Even college athletes need to let loose and have a little fun. Case in point: Paige Merz and her pal, Gabby Sammarco, both play lacrosse at Felician University. They needed to get a calculator from Staples for a class, and stopped by at the farmers’ market next door, where they purchased this watermelon. Of course, a photo op ensued. “My friend Kayla Fox took this photo of us because we looked funny eating it,” she says. We’d have to agree.

PIZZA PARTY—Photo

by @mattyrock2k in Ramsey

Matty Rock makes his own food rules. Because who says you can’t have pizza on Taco Tuesday? The foodie influencer from Glen Rock enjoyed a pie (on a Tuesday) at Kinchley’s in Ramsey, one of Bergen’s best pizza joints, and of course had to share it with his 13K Instagram followers. “Their homemade meatball pizza is one of the best I’ve had,” he says. PIG—Photo by

@ouichef_ed in Teaneck

Does this pic remind you of a scene in Hamlet starring Laurence Olivier? It’s one of Ed Adlawan’s favorite films. So, when the line chef was tasked with butchering the roasted pig at his sister’s engagement party in Teaneck, he had a little too much fun. “I was keen to reenact the scene where he had the skull in his hand,” says Adlawan. “Granted, I wasn’t saying the lines because I don’t remember them other than the famous ‘To be, or not to be, that is the question.’ But I asked my partner Heather Cunningham to take the picture, and the rest is history.” In the Instagram caption, he gave his first time butchering a pig a C- rating. Looks pretty good to us, though!

SPAGHETTI

SLURPERS—Photo by

@bomrenata in Closter

Spaghetti Friday has become a new tradition for the Bernardes family of Cresskill. Every Friday, Renata has a blowout appointment at Laveli Salon in Closter. After she gets her hair done, she and her 3-year-old son, Benjamin, go next door to Rudy’s Pizza and order a bowl of spaghetti with one meatball. “There’s a picture on the wall in the restaurant of Italian ladies eating pasta, and Benjamin always makes sure we sit there by the picture,” she says. “I guess that’s what inspired us to take this silly pasta picture!”

PLAYING CATCH—

Photo by @sir_watson_of_ longfellow in Hillsdale

Open wide! Watson, a golden and Labrador retriever mix, took a game of catch to the next level when he caught this watermelon in his mouth. His owner, Christina LloydWilliams, says this picture was taken during the summer at a neighbor’s pool party, where Watson got to enjoy two of his favorite things: swimming and watermelon. “Get in ma belly,” Lloyd-Williams captioned the photo. “Watson loves swimming, but he hates baths and the rain,” she says.

EMBRACE THE

MESS—Photo by

@abhiraami_tharun in Mahwah

Any parent who’s introduced solid foods to a baby knows it gets real messy real fast. But Abhiraami Tharun embraces the mess. In fact, she started an Instagram page to document her son’s journey with baby-led weaning, a method of introducing cut-up, soft “adult food” to babies rather than purées, that’s all about getting dirty. This photo was taken at the baby’s grandparents’ home in Mahwah, where the then 8-month-old was eating Greek yogurt with blueberries and strawberries. “I let him explore the food and that helps him bond with food,” says his mama. “This helps him develop as an independent eater and not as a picky eater.”