Spring Break Activity Guide Part II
The Starving Student
Jay Donde, Julia Eckhardt and Tom Guffey
Issue date: 3/17/08 Section: Features
Burgers/American: That's right, American food still matters. Now, I could list off some cheap restaurants you can go to, but I want to give you real value here. McDonald's is cheap, but about a half hour after devouring some of those burgers cooked under a heat-lamp, you'll feel like curling up into a ball and dying. But there still are good (and cheap) burgers to be found if you look.
In-N-Out Burger is still the one to beat. Even vegetarians like this place (they tell me the grilled cheese sandwich is pretty good). You can get great burgers and fries here for a minimum cost, not to mention the secret menu. Order a "4 by 4", four burger patties and four slices of cheese between two buns, (you can also order a 5 by 5, 6 by 6, etc.) Or try getting that burger "animal style", which is a burger slather with special sauce and grilled onions, or "animal style fries", which is fries covered in cheese, special sauce and grilled onions. Here's a list of In-N-Out restaurants in the area.
East San Jose: 2950 Capitol Expwy. (near Eastridge Mall)
Santa Clara: 3001 Mission College Blvd. (next to AMC Mercado)
Sunnyvale: 604 E. El Camino Real
Mountain View: 53 W. El Camino Real
Coffee: Listen, coffee is coffee. Don't spend $5 for some coffee milkshake that doesn't even get you refills. Go to a diner, or other restaurant that sells coffee and gives you free refills. My favorite is Panera Bread Company. They give you a real mug and as many refills as you want. If I've got to get some serious research done and need coffee to do it, I don't bother with Starbucks or even a local coffee shop, I go to where I can get refilled.
Dumpster diving: Hey, don't knock it till you've tried it. There are plenty of stores that send perfectly good food to go rot in a landfill. This is at the end of my food list because it's something that needs to done carefully. Obviously, you don't want to eat rotten or unclean food, but plenty of the food that gets thrown away each day is clean and fresh (well, not that fresh). One of my favorite dumpsters is Krispy Kreme - they throw out day-out donuts fully packaged and sealed, so they're clean to eat.
In-N-Out Burger is still the one to beat. Even vegetarians like this place (they tell me the grilled cheese sandwich is pretty good). You can get great burgers and fries here for a minimum cost, not to mention the secret menu. Order a "4 by 4", four burger patties and four slices of cheese between two buns, (you can also order a 5 by 5, 6 by 6, etc.) Or try getting that burger "animal style", which is a burger slather with special sauce and grilled onions, or "animal style fries", which is fries covered in cheese, special sauce and grilled onions. Here's a list of In-N-Out restaurants in the area.
East San Jose: 2950 Capitol Expwy. (near Eastridge Mall)
Santa Clara: 3001 Mission College Blvd. (next to AMC Mercado)
Sunnyvale: 604 E. El Camino Real
Mountain View: 53 W. El Camino Real
Coffee: Listen, coffee is coffee. Don't spend $5 for some coffee milkshake that doesn't even get you refills. Go to a diner, or other restaurant that sells coffee and gives you free refills. My favorite is Panera Bread Company. They give you a real mug and as many refills as you want. If I've got to get some serious research done and need coffee to do it, I don't bother with Starbucks or even a local coffee shop, I go to where I can get refilled.
Dumpster diving: Hey, don't knock it till you've tried it. There are plenty of stores that send perfectly good food to go rot in a landfill. This is at the end of my food list because it's something that needs to done carefully. Obviously, you don't want to eat rotten or unclean food, but plenty of the food that gets thrown away each day is clean and fresh (well, not that fresh). One of my favorite dumpsters is Krispy Kreme - they throw out day-out donuts fully packaged and sealed, so they're clean to eat.
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