January 29, 2012

Greg's Top Ten Favorite Places He Wishes Still Existed:

1. Bullwinkle's Pizza: Seriously, who didn't love going here for birthdays? It was like the upscale Chuck E. Cheese with a kick-ass video arcade, a water show, a bar for the adults to drink beer at...did I mention the kick-ass video arcade? I must have spent about $500 in quarters playing Spy Hunter, Marble Madness, Rampage and a ton of other favorites. When I returned from UC Riverside in 1997 to see it turned into a nightclub I nearly wept. Damn you, Avalon Nightclub!!!!

2. Old Mill Shopping Center: Don't ask me why I loved this mall so much as a kid. It wasn't the "cool" mall when I grew up. That would be Vallco, which is now a ghost town. Old Mill had a certain aura to it that was unique. How many malls do you know have a working mill and a river running through the center of it? The movie theater hold a dear place in my heart, too. Saw "The Muppet Movie" there with my mom. Doesn't get much better than that!

3. Primo's Pizza: This place used to exist in the Village Green Shopping Center on Calabazas and Cabrillo in Santa Clara. Best pizza ever!!! However, the pizza was just the beginning. Those that know me well might know of my affinity for playing Galaga. This pizza parlor is where the obsession began.

4. Pioneer Chicken: I still have no idea what they put in the batter. Perhaps it was crack or methamphetamine. When I was a kid, my mother used to take me there all the time. Corner of Lawrence and Homestead. Doesn't exist anymore and hasn't for quite some time but the batter was incredible. I'll take an order of batter with a side of chicken please!

5. Aladdin's Castle: Those who visited the old Sunnyvale Mall know this place well. When you went to the food court in the middle of the mall, the red brick exterior of the arcade was just a step away. My mother forbade me to step foot in there, but I might have escaped to it when parents of friends took me to the Sunnyvale Mall as a kid.

6. St. James Infirmary: My cousin Jason took me there for lunch when I was 19 and they had over 100 beers on tap. Some of you might remember this place as the bar on Moffett Blvd. with the giant Wonder Woman in the center of it. By the time I was 21 and old enough to legally drink the place had burned down to the ground. Talk about the ultimate tease. I guess I'll have to settle for the Yardhouse. =(

7. Cafe Quinn: My first service job was at Cafe Quinn in the Oak's Plaza in Cupertino. It's now a dance studio but at the time it existed it was the place my friends and I hung out after St. Francis football games every Friday.

8. 94th Aero Squadron: This restaurant bar and grill used to exist right by the old San Jose International Airport before it got the facelift. It had a great view of the runways and had a real triplane parked in front of it. As a kid, I though it was the coolest place with all the war memorabilia inside of it.

9. Late For the Train Restaurant: The best omelets ever! It used to exist right by the train station in Menlo Park across from Cafe Boronne's and Kepler's bookstore. I'm not sure when it ceased to exist, but it was an incredible breakfast place and the staff were incredibly friendly whenever I went. It's a shame more mom and pop places like that don't last long.

10. This is where you get to write in your own votes! What places to do you miss that used to exist in the SF Bay Area?