Northern California is full of amazing eats and places to discover. I moved away from home eight years ago and it was such a different place back then; I hear a lot has changed. Including some of my favorite places I frequent that have closed down. I’m a little too scared to actually see if this is true. I loved driving all over The Bay and honestly up and down Northern Cali to find my next favorite meal. My ex husband was such a good sport and just dealt with my crazy plans to sit in traffic for 2 hours just for some amazing pasta. But living in Cali, traffic is just part of life and doesn’t bother you too much after awhile lol.

It was a bit hard to narrow it down to just 3 places but honestly, I either couldn’t remember the name of other places or I didn’t have pictures! Weird.

On to the eats;

Pasta Pomodoro

Any time someone suggested we hang out or go get lunch/dinner I ALWAYS suggested Pasta Pomo. A lighter version of Olive Garden that had the most amazing Spinach Salad and Pink Lemonade! There are so many reasons I loved this place. The prices. The atmosphere. The menu. It was such a cozy place to get dinner, I loved how this place looked at night. And even when I needed time alone or wanted to go somewhere for comfort, I’d often stop by here for lunch by myself. I just really loved this place!

In case you didn’t notice in the photo above; this little guy was staring at me. Yes that’s a Grasshopper. One of the times I find something interesting from taking photos of my food lol. I went to tell the server and she kept saying sorry then showed the chefs who also kept saying sorry and I just laughed and said it was fine. It happens. Didn’t stop me from eating the new plate they made me and didn’t stop me for coming back to order it again. It was after all my go to order + Lemonade.

Me: Something is… staring at me
Ex: Are you sure? It might just be nothing
Me: Nah bruh, it’s definitely got eyes
Ex: Lemme see… oh shit it does have eyes wtf

Straits

I was IN LOVE with this place! My friend Sammie took me here for Lychee Martini’s. She swore I’d love them. They definitely got me tipsy and I remember thinking I wanted to come back and eat here. So I did, several times. And I swear I took pics every single time but I can’t seem to find them anymore. I remember taking my sister here for dinner and I got the Lobster Fried Rice and they actually put the Lobster shell pieces on it. It was such a cool presentation. Sucks she wasn’t old enough to drink at the time!

Thinking about it makes me realize how many years have passed and how long it’s been since I’ve been home… or back to San Francisco. This place had some super yummy fancy dishes and I’m so sad to hear it’s closed down! The hunt for another Asian Fusion place is on.

Coconut Grove

Yet another place Sammie swore I should try. This one was located at The Great Mall in Milpitas, CA. Again, the ambience here was amazing, especially at night. And this is where I fell in love with Pineapple Fried Rice and Roti with Peanut Sauce. Sadly this place closed down long before I even moved out of Cali but it was a San Jose dinner tradition for me and my ex husband whenever we’d head in that direction! But he’d tell you the real dinner was at Q-Cup. Yeah ok, whatever lol. Well MY dinner was at Coconut Grove. There seriously wasn’t a dish I had tried here that I didn’t like!

I’ve even tried to replica that Pineapple Fried Rice. I’ve tried some from other Thai places but none compare to this one! The fact it was served in an actual Pineapple was freakin cool but as hard as I’d try to scoop out more Pineapple I couldn’t lol.

I have been back to The Bay Area since 2013, I’ve heard A LOT has changed since then. I’m a little scared to see what else has closed down in the time I’ve been gone.

What’s a place you loved where you’re from that closed down?