I spent most of July in California as my oldest grandson was getting married. I wanted to spend as much time as possible with all 4 of my California grand children since seeing them is not as easy as it used to be. I used to be a 5 hour drive away but now I am a 5 day drive away. I’m here for 28 days….so what can we do??
It all started by the decision to go out to eat with other relatives that were from out of town. Of course lately when i go out to eat, it’s always go eat at a place we don’t have in Canada…a place that I miss and can’t wait to eat there again, and Mexican whenever possible.. So as we were sitting around the table thinking of where to go for dinner, it was “where do you want to go?” Then that person would say, ” I don’t care, where do you want to go?” So me not being shy one bit, I said AppleBees, one of my favorite steak houses. There were no objections, and off we went. As we were waiting to order, I thought, OK here I am. I’m eating at my favorite “A” restaurant. That’s when I got the idea. I’ll be in California for 28 days. I have 28 days to eat at 26 different restaurants…1 for each letter of the alphabet, AND I can share this with all the grand kids.
When we got home the kids got on their phones and started finding all the restaurants with the letters of the alphabet. Of course then we had to google them to see if that restaurant was also in Canada. If it was,,…off the list and onto a new search. This actually took several hours. Once the list was made, they all shared it to each others phones and then they started picking which restaurants they wanted to go to with Grandma..it was quite the day. Of course we were not going to eat in alphabetical order, it was going to be by grand-kid and what day they had off of work. I would get a text in the morning that would say, Grandma I’m lunch today, or Grandma get up early we’re going to breakfast. As this was happening, I said I can do this, and when I’m all done, I’m going to make a Shutterfly Book of “California Eateries from A to Z. I’m going to place the photos in alphabetical order, but this is not the order in which we ate. If there is a story to share, i will, if not it’s going to just be photos. Hope you enjoy this challenge as much as I did.
Farmer Boys in California is a hamburger place, that serves juicy burgers and greasy fries. So you might be able to understand my shock when my neighbor in Limoges asked me to go to Farmer Boys and they sold VEGETABLES!!! the one thing I rarely EVER eat. Thanks for the invite Jenna, one of my favorites.
Now this next restaurant is of course my #1, my most favorite, hamburger place of all times, They started in California and was the place we went to after football games in high school. There was no inside dining at that point just a small drive thru and a picnic table outside. In-N-Out serve 3 items only hamburgers, cheeseburgers and a double double. That’s it. They serve them with french fries that you watch them cut right in front of you…they are NEVER frozen. It is a family business. When one opens, one of the kids, grand kids or some relative, has to move to that location to oversee the operation. When they finally came to Arizona, not once but twice I stood in line for hours to be the first one thru the door. In Kingman, I stood in line overnight only to be the 9th customer on opening day. I know, I’m a bit extreme. However, as I’m writing this it’s 2023 and I hear they are opening one in Franklin Tennessee in 2026. That is only 3 years from now and only 895 miles away. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Now I have a reason for a weekend getaway.
Now as i am eating lunch with Jeffrey and Julissa, Jeffrey points out that at EVERY In-N-Out, the palm trees form an X to show that X marks the spot. I never knew this, but now whenever I go to an In-N-Out I look for the X, and so far there is always one somewhere on the property. Just a bit of trivia, In-N-Out got it’s name because they are ALWAYS at a freeway exit. The idea of the no dining, was that you could get off the freeway and be in and out in a matter of minutes and get right back on the freeway. An interesting concept but it works.
Now this is when it got tough. Finding a restaurant with Q, X and Z. So we had to be creative, We allowed Bar B QUE to count as the restaurant of choice for Q. We were trying to find Quizinos, but they all closed. So this had to do.
AHHH Ruby’s On The Pier.…I never go to California without a trip here at Newport Beach. The restaurant is at the very end of the pier. A 50’s style diner with the best food around….and yes it is worth the wait, because guaranteed there will be a wait, especially if you want to eat on the roof. And of course a trip to Ruby’s is not complete unless you get ice cream on your way out.
Again we had to get creative. If BBQ counted for Q, then TeXas Roadhouse had to count for X.
And finally the letter Z. Now because of my connection with ASU i had refused to eat at a Zendejas, (the owner went to UofA). However, we could not find another Z restaurant and this one is just down the street, so i gave in. OMG…I fell in love. Best Mexican Food EVER….in fact i ate here 3 times during my 28 day stay.
So there you have it, 26 restaurants in 28 days. I ate with all the grand kids and their significant others, my daughter and son in law and some very special friends. In total I ate with Julissa 10 times, Jeffrey and Jenna 7 times, and Justin only 3 times, but then he’s married and has a life. I did manage to eat with my daughter 10 times for some quality mother daughter time.
Now I have to think of something else creative for my next trip to California.
Wild Woman Wandering 