Monday, February 8, 2010

Goin' Back To Cali...

So I dont know if I've put it out there but I grew up in Northern CA. I say grew up because I was born in upstate New York and lived there until I was 5 then my dad got a big IBM promotion and we moved to silicone valley. Needless to say I absolutely hated living there, Im not a cali girl whatsoever and to make it worse I went to public school, which first of all the education sucks, the kids are terrifying and they are not on the track to get kids to go to anything more than community college.
I remember coming home from my first day of kindergarten and telling my mom "These kids dont even know where New York is..." So that is why I hightailed it to the east coast the moment I graduated from high school and have remained there every since. My parents dragged me home kicking and screaming every christmas break and by the end of the 6 weeks I felt like I was going to die. However, my little bro (lucky enough to have an amazing private school education... he's a genius so the public school could not handle him) is graduating from college on weds. He told me he will never speak to me again if I do not attend. So for the first time in 5 yrs I am making the trek back. Its a short 3 day trip but will include lots of travel between San Fran and Los Gatos and some other godforsaken town I have never heard of. The one thing I am excited about is going to the fast food places that we dont have on the atlantic seaboard. First stop...
Jamba Juice, while a healthier choice then the others, this place has the most AMAZING smoothies! I used to live on these in high school and I have been dying for one lately. (Ohh P.S. when I googled jamba juice it came up that there is one on comm ave in Boston. I'll still be going to the one in Lost Gatos but now I know I can get them right here at home) 



Now this is sure to derail any hopes of avoiding weight gain while on this trip but I have not been to a jack in the box in a hella (cali slang word, only used by the nor cal bros) long time so I am excited to get one (hopefully only one) of their awesome (grease laden) tacos and some of the best curly fries I have ever encountered. My friends and I used to spend every fri night hanging out outside of the JITB so its a sentimental stop too. 



Then for some of the most awesome pizza ever Pizza My Heart is a must stop. 
Baby bro also works there so got show them a little support. 



Then the be all end all has to be in-n-out burger. This place is heaven on earth. I would never touch another fast food burger other then these little masterpieces. They have a HUGE following so much so that it is to be expected to wait up to an hour or more to get your order since this place is always jam packed and time of day. I cannot wait! 
I am glad to report that chipotle has finally made its way (most conveniently 5 mins from my house) to the east coast so I no longer have to make sure that it is waiting for me at home when I arrive from the airport in cali. 

7 comments:

  1. Your feelings regarding California are sort of how my mother feels. She was born in Texas but her family moved to San Francisco and as my parents say that is where they did their courting.
    My brothers and sisters and I love California.
    I lived for about a year in the LA area and still have great friends there. I just grew up in a large family in the MId-West and went to school in the South Bend and then married a guy from a burb just over two from my home town so I am in the Mid-West and I am happy about it.
    Perhaps my feelings regarding the state might be different if I grew up there instead of visited family and freinds for holidays and summer.

    I do hope that you have a lovely time to California though.

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  2. Good piece. As a California refugee(SoCal), few things are as rewarding making dedicated stops at In-N-Out and Jamba Juice each time I return. A Double-double, order of fries, and a coke is the end all be all. Jack in the Box used to have these awesome "Sourdough Jack burgers" back in the day, but there was a Jack in the Box presense in Nashville, so I never missed them too much.

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  3. I head to Jamba at least once a week, my favorite! And we just got an In-n-Out ehre, although the line is areound the block and i have no desire to wait for it, so maybe in a few months we will hit it up, I have been, just not to the ones near us. You are going to have some good eats if nothing else!

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  4. Be sure to stop by Santana Row which is right across the street from Valley Fair mall. Great restaurants and a nice mix of high-end boutiques (Gucci, Ferragamo, Burberry, etc).

    I think you will love the Polo store at the Stanford Mall. They have a Polo Home store at the same location which is to die for.

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  5. Mmmm I absolutely LOVED Jack in the Box when I visited and I also got obsessed with Del Taco...I could seriously eat it every single day!

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  6. We go to Jamba Juice all the time (BabyGirl loves it) and have been to In & Out Burger several times when in Califorrnia. Never heard of the Pizza place and I live near a Jack In The Box but never go (you're making me want to!)...and one place we don't have here is El Pollo Loco and I'm DYING for one. Rotisserie chicken soft tacos. YUMMMMM

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  7. Suburban Prep- Yeah its a nice place to visit, I just dont want to live there!

    Wolfinexile- In-N-Out burger is a divine gift. Those burgers just do not compare, and the sauce they put on it. Ahh I am so sad we never got the chance to go during my trip. I did make it to jamba juice though which was probably a healthier choice and it was super delicious.

    Headbands & Handbags- You lucky duck you have two of my favs right in your backyard!

    Anon- We used to go to Santana Row all the time, it opened right when I was in high school. The restaurants are AMAZING!

    KAC- Hi! Yes Jack tacos are so amazing, so not good for you though so I skipped them. I have actually never been to Del Taco we didnt have very many around us, I'll have to try it someday

    TPG- Jamba Juice needs to up their franchises cause that stuff is awesome! They used to have these pizza bread things that I LOVED!
    Pizza my heart is only in Nor Cal and my bro works there so we had an awesome dinner there our first night of the trip. Jack in the box is a good alternative to Mcky D's and their curly fries are amazing. I have never been to El Pollo Loco, but sounds like I should be!

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