By: Alexander Phan
With graduation coming soon, many seniors will be leaving the comfort of the Bay Area and into the wild of college and a new city. While the places to explore will be plentiful, it will be hard to replace the food and restaurants in the Bay Area. This list isn’t exclusive to just seniors and can be used by anyone looking for a good bite nearby!
1. Q-Pot
Enjoy Korean Barbeque? Love hot pot? Have both for the price of one at Q Pot! With the only limit being the two hour restriction, Q Pot offers an all you can eat experience of all of the meats, vegetables, and seafood that your heart desires (or your stomach can take). If you’re a bigger fan of hot pot, Q Pot gives you a personal bowl filled with your choice of a broth. If you prefer cooking your meat over a grill, Q Pot has a wide selection of beef, chicken, pork, fish, and all sorts of miscellaneous foods for you to chow down on. Can’t decide which one to pay for? You get access to both services for little extra cost, so you don’t need to decide!
2. Pepper Lunch USA
If you haven’t had the chance to eat one of Pepper Lunch’s table top hot plates, then I suggest getting down there and chowing down on one of their dishes. With the one in Milpitas being one of the few locations in America, it’ll be hard to find it anywhere else. Cook your dish on the plate you eat on and start chowing down whenever you’re done. The lines get extremely long at most times, so be sure to arrive on time and with a hungry stomach. Even if freshly cooked meat is your thing, Pepper Lunch also offers a tasty Japanese curry over a fried tonkatsu steak, a staple in Japanese cuisine. All the food is savory, it’s relatively cheap, and the spot is worthy of your patronage before leaving the Bay Area.
3. Any Milk Tea Spot
It may seem overhyped, but there’s a good reason for the hype. Milk tea in America is at its very best within the Bay Area. Take a step out of the Bay Area and the quality of milk tea deteriorates drastically. If you somehow have not had milk tea, I highly recommend getting it at the hub of American milk tea. Looking for locations to get milk tea at? Some of the best spots include I-Tea, Gong Cha, Teavilla, ShareTea, Teaspoon, Tastea, and others in the Bay Area. If the shop’s name is a pun involving the word ‘tea,’ chances are you are in for a good treat.
4. Sendai Sushi
While it is on the expensive side of the price range, Sendai Sushi, near the Milpitas Library, offers a wonderful selection of Japanese food to enjoy. I can’t think of a better Japanese place located in such a convenient spot so close to home. The food is an absolute joy to eat. They offer such a wide selection of sushi with fresh ingredients from their sushi bar. Even if sushi is not your thing, Sendai offers a savory Japanese curry served with various meats and vegetables. The only issue doesn’t come with the food, but with the location itself. Since the restaurant is so small, wait times can often be incredibly long. If you don’t mind waiting, the food is well worth the wait and is definitely a great option if you’re looking for savory Japanese food.
