Can you imagine always eating the same type of cuisine? Gone would be the discussions about whether you’re in the mood for sushi or seafood or pizza. The choice would automatically be sushi. Every night.

Recently, a date told me that his family meets at his parents home for dinner every Sunday, and his mom only cooks Italian food. This struck me as extremely odd, so naturally I assumed that he was either an oddball or a liar — or both.

Let’s break this down:

Going to mom’s EVERY Sunday? That seems excessive to me, but several friends quickly defended him by saying that close-knit Italian families often do that. My only remaining question then is how do they enjoy the bottomless cocktail brunches on Sundays if they’re high tailing it out to Long Island to hang with grandma every week?

Point number 2: ONLY making Italian food? Never roast chicken or meat loaf or pork chops, a steak or something? I found it unbelievable that a person only cook one type of cuisine.

I mentioned my disbelief to my Dominican friend who confirmed that her mom ONLY cooks Dominican food. What’s more, if she happens to cook some other type of food, it still tastes Dominican because she uses the same spices!

My friend from Trinidad concurred, confirming that when someone comes to her home, she only cooks Trinidadian food — and that it’s expected. A Jamaican friend made it a trifecta. I don’t know if my Mexican or Japanese (or others) have the same experience, but I suspect probably so.

So I’m totally off on this one! I can’t imagine eating the same type of food day after day (perhaps that’s just another sign of my ADD). I appreciate that it’s a sign of a rock solid cultural and ethnic tie. And that solidarity makes it kind of cool, trek to Long Island or not.