California Food Log
It’s finally time for my California Food Log! Last October I spent a few weeks in California with my parents. We had an incredible time exploring the beaches near Los Angeles, visiting Downtown San Diego, and driving through the Anza-Borrego desert. Food is always a vital part of my travel experience. In fact, I even made a list of foods I wanted to try. The list included things like corn dogs, Reese’s Pieces, In-n-out Burgers, Bubble Tea, and Taco Bell (you can really tell I’m super obsessed with healthy living). I failed to check everything off my list, but I still did a pretty good job.
Just a disclaimer: I did eat wholesome and home-cooked meals as well, but I mainly decided to take photos of fun snacks and ‘typically American’ food. This is a collection of photos I took over a period of three weeks.
Trying In-N-out Burgers
I had heard of In-n-out Burgers before when I was watching a few Californian vloggers on YouTube. I decided I had to try the place at least once. We were on the road in the Coachella Valley around lunchtime and decided to stop at the In-n-Out Burgers in Thousands Palms. It was crazy busy, but we didn’t have to wait very long for our order to arrive. The burgers tasted like the true epitome of a fast food hamburger gone right. What’s more, the fries actually tasted like they could have been made from real potatoes. 4 out of 5 stars!
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Sweet Asian Snacks
The fun thing about California is that you can also find lots of Asian supermarkets, Bubble Tea shops, and Daiso Japan stores around most areas. I had never tried strawberry flavoured Pocky before and they were pretty good, but the raspberry flavour I tried in Beijing was definitely better. Another thing I missed about not being in Beijing anymore was the Bubble Tea. I chose a really sweet honey-flavoured milk tea. One thing about Bubble Tea and those delicious tapioca balls (boba): it fills you up like crazy! My stomach was completely full for hours and hours.
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Cooling Down: Froyo and Jamba Juice
Luckily, fall season had already started in California and it wasn’t scorching hot. The weather in Palm Springs and the rest of the Coachella desert was still pretty warm, so I decided to try frozen yogurt (froyo) for the first time. Truthfully, I went a little crazy and added gummy bears, white chocolate sprinkles, and chocolate chip cookie chunks. I wasn’t used to paying according to the weight, so I put way too much in my cup. I also tried some iced Jamba Juice after my dad and I walked across the Escondido Pedestrian Bridge. The smoothies can get a bit pricey, but mine definitely tasted delicious.
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Thrifty Ice Cream in Santa Barbara
You may not know this about me, but I really like ice cream. The day before our flight back to the Netherlands we decided to visit Santa Barbara. We went to the beach and had a pleasant stroll along the sunny shopping streets. It was the perfect situation for ice cream. These photos make me really happy and nostalgic at the same time. They were the very last photos I took during our vacation in California. Both my mother and I were genuinely upset that we only found out about Thrifty Ice Cream at the end of our trip. The ice cream was super inexpensive and tasted gloriously delicious. I picked Choco Chip Cookie Dough and Strawberry Cheesecake!
That’s it for my California Food Log! Have you ever tried In-n-out Burgers, Pocky, or Bubble Tea?
Did you try some Mexican taco when you were in California?
Yes, but not enough!
Yummy! If you go back to the US & visit Seattle, do not miss Molly Moon’s ice cream (https://www.facebook.com/mollymoonicecream). We have had a fair amount of ice cream but Molly Moon’s is a cut above the rest. 🙂
I also regret visiting California multiple times but having never had an In-&-Out Burger
I’m sure you will get to eat one next time! 😉
Oh wow the colours! Those burgers look SO good.
http://www.lizzysprettythings.co.uk
Trying In-N-out Burgers looks so delicious. Do they offer overseas delivery? 🙂
Unfortunately, I doubt it! 😉
Colorful! ^^ I’d love to try the one with Haribo bears myself one day. It looks really cool!
It was yummy!
Oh, by the way: Have you taken “before” and “after” pictures of yourself??? 🙂
I did not gain weight, if that’s what you’re implying…These are photos of snacks, taken over a period of 3 weeks.
I know, I was just trying to adopt your own humorous style in writing about that food-experience. No criticism at all, I really liked your post! 🙂
Thank you! Sorry for misunderstanding 😉
Thank you… and sorry again!
No worries! 🙂
I wasn´t quite sure, if I could “Like” this one, but the pictures are really cool! The food, on the other hand, is… If one´s in the right mood, one could read your pictures as the story of a decent heart attack, the attempt to commit suicide or as advertising the chemical industry 😉
Thanks! I do say in my post that these are only the photos I took of the occasional snacks and ‘typical American food’ I encountered. By no means are these foods part of my regular diet. I appreciate your ‘winky face’ to imply lightheartedness, but if one’s in the right mood, your comment about my content being akin to ‘an attempt to commit suicide’ or ‘advertisement for the chemical industry’ can be taken as quite rude.
Then I´m really sorry, it waasn´t meant to be rude, just a fun way to articulate my hopelessness when it comes to American food. I´ve experienced all the same stuff just twenty years ago, and I´m astonished that there are so many people there feeding on that… …food. Not the sensation of trying it once, but the day by day consumption.
It’s OK. I definitely understand where you are coming from. An everyday diet that would generally consist of the foods I posted would be hopelessly worrisome!