Pearl Tea and Coffee

506 Showers Drive

Mountain View, CA 94040

(650) 917-8988

Route: Take Arastradero to El Camino and make a right. Turn left on Showers Drive and make a left into San Antonio Shopping Center. It is at the corner of California Street and Showers Drive.

Ordered:

Jasmine Milk Tea ($2.75)

Black Milk Tea ($2.75)

Steamed BBQ pork buns ($1.50 each)

This little-known café is speedy, affordable and offers quality food. The café was relatively full, but there was no line. All the food and drinks arrived promptly, though be careful: “ice” drinks take longer to prepare, so only order one if you have plenty of time to spare. The pork buns are fairly large and extremely filling and the pearl to tea ratio in the drinks is just right.

Chipotle

2400 Charleston Rd

Mountain View, CA 94043

(650) 969-6528

Route: Go down Arastradero and straight across El Camino and the train tracks as it turns into Charleston. Turn left on to Independence Avenue into the Charleston center. Chipotle is the first restaurant on your right as you turn in.

Ordered:

Steak burrito ($6.10)

Chicken burrito ($5.85)

With so many businesses in the Charleston area, many people eat at Chipotle, so prepare for long lines. Luckily, the workers are extremely efficient and friendly. If you like to play it safe, order on the phone and then you can go straight to the front of the line. Everything at Chipotle is made in front of your eyes. The burritos are big though, so if you don’t have a large appetite, split one with a friend.

Peet’s Coffee and Tea

4598 El Camino Real

Los Altos, CA 94022

(650) 469-0035

Route: Take Arastradero to El Camino and turn right. Peet’s is located on the right on the corner of El Camino and San Antonio.

Ordered:

Small Pumpkin Spice latte ($3.70)

Small Caramel latte ($3.20)

Need some coffee to keep you up through those end of the day classes? Look no further than Peet’s. They have a variety of coffees, teas and pastries. It was a breezy drive over, but parking was a challenge. There was a long line for ordering, but we didn’t have to wait long before our drinks arrived. The drinks smelled as good as they tasted. The Pumpkin Spice latte is unique to the season so look out for these specialty drinks.

Jack in the Box

200 El Camino Real

Mountain View, CA 94040

(650) 964-4266

Route: Take Arastradero to El Camino. Turn left on El Camino and you find Jack in the Box located on your right just past Ventura Avenue.

Ordered:

Taco Nachos ($2)

Grilled Chicken Pita snack ($2)

A lot of students tend to go down El Camino for lunch, so the drive was relatively slow. We did a drive-through which was a lot faster than if we had gone inside to order.

Many of the items are extremely unhealthy, but the Grilled Chicken Pita we ordered was both filling and relatively nutritious.