I Miss...

Food. For one thing, as great as the caf at Biola is, you can still tire of the same meals. (There was one week I ate pizza about six times.) There's plenty of great food out here in La Mirada... but most of it is hard to experience without a car.

Thank God for a Chickfila. I get a sweet tea fix there and it's like a taste of home. Also, I've been recently introduced to In-N-Out, which I feel is essentially the mascot restaurant for SoCal. It is pretty tasty, I'll admit.

Yet after living in the same small town for 18 years, I had gotten set in my routine of the same food. I liked my routine. So yes, I miss restaurants from Blacksburg (not to mention my mom's cooking.) A few of my favorites are the following:

• Elderberry's Smoothies & Wraps: Oh my goodness, the best chicken caesar wrap a girl could ask for. Each wrap and smoothie is full of flavor. Not to mention the atmosphere of their shops is absolutely wonderful. Because it's locally owned and operated, everything feels homey at Elderberry's.
  
• Souvlaki: The caf serves gyros, but no one can serve up a gyro like good old Souv's. No more than a tiny hole in the wall, it's the place to go in Blacksburg for some amazing Greek food. Suggestion: when eating with more than three people, you may want to venture out onto Henderson Lawn to partake of your meal.
  
• Bojangles': I know this is a chain. Yet it's also only in the east. (Oh, and Honduras.) Looking at the map was rather depressing, really. We got a Bojangles' in Blacksburg about 2 weeks before I left. Their spicy chicken and biscuits are delicious, especially with a sweet tea. I've asked friends, "So... do y'all have a Bojangles'?" You can tell the answer is no since they look at me like I've just uttered a completely foreign word.
  
• Jimmy John's: Yes, it's another chain. Yet I fully expected to see this one out here. Everyone who's had Jimmy John's knows that it tops any other chain sub shop. After all, they are "freaky fast." Plus, their subs are simply delightful. I firmly believe that eight inches is the perfect sub length.
  

There you have it. My top four missed eateries from the East Coast. You can bet I'll be eating plenty of each of them during my six weeks of Christmas break. In fact, between my favorite restaurants and my mom's cooking, I may just gain the full freshman 15 over break!