I'm making the trek up this weekend to the Bay Area to visit a bunch of my dorm buddies from college. I've been up to Northern California many times since a graduated from Cal in 2000 (I can't believe it's been NINE years!). But this will be the first road trip I'm taking specifically to catch up with my good friends.

I found college to be an instrumental part of my life. It's the first time where I had an extended amount of time away from family. For better or for worst, decisions change drastically when you begin to think primarily for yourself.

The cherished moments are countless, but one thing everyone can agree upon is what I call 'College Comfort Food'. During those late night cravings amidst studying for Finals or when you just can't handle another helping of USDA Grade 'D' beef hamburgers at the Dining Commons, you can always rely on those handful of eateries to fill the void in your belly. Restaurants of this sort must fill 2 of 3 needs: 1. Cheap 2. Open Late 3. Filling. Chances are your college has AT LEAST 1 pizza place, 1 mexican place, and 1 hot dog place that fits into 2 (if not all 3) of these qualities.

At Berkeley, the hot dog place of choice was TOP DOG. Now Top Dog was a bit of an enigma because it wasn't cheap (around $4-5 per sausage) nor was it really filling... but because it was the place that was opened the latest in all of Berkeley and had a prime location that was super close to a handful of bars and (more importantly) Fraternity Houses, it became a haven for Berkeley-types looking for some yummy comfort. The sausage/dogs are suprisingly sophisticated for a late night food option. It's a helluva late night/drunk/hangover food but it'll set you back quite a bit of money, particularly if your on a student budget and have a major case of the munchies.

More Pizza is probably consumed at College campuses than anywhere in the world. That's probably because it's one of those foods that consistently fulfills all three categories. It also happens to add a super special bonus option to the list: DELIVERY! But if you are a true pizza-snob, you walk to your pizza place of choice since eating it in-store is ALWAYS better than what they pass for pizza through delivery. The battle of Pizza comfort foods at Cal (at least during my years as a student) was consistently between FAT SLICE and BLONDIE'S. For some reason, students originally from the Bay Area and older classmen were into the delicate balance of zesty sauce, hot melted cheese, and cracker-dry bread crust of Blondie's. Young kids (particularly from LA) loved the greasy gooey cheese fest that was Fat Slice. I was a diehard Fat Slice dude my first 2 years in school. Then something clicked during my Junior year and I became super loyal to Blondie's.

Before the days of Chipotle (or even Baja Fresh for that matter), Berkeley had LA BURRITA. For me it was ONLY about the Carne Asada burrito. Super basic: beans, cheese, sour cream, and meat. But what really made this burrito sing was the jalapeno salsa. You'd grab one of those dinky plastic salsa cups (or ask for an 8 ounce plastic water cup), fill it up with super picante jalapeno salsa and drown every bite of burrito in that stuff. I swear that salsa did wonders to my digestive tract (no need for herbal colon cleanses when you can get ahold of this stuff!). My buddy Wallace would sweat like he was in a sauna every time he ate it (beads of sweat on his nose, sweat POURING from his brow and sideburns). But despite the pain of eating something so spicy, we'd be back at least once a week for some demented taste bud punishment.

I plan to make a visit to Berkeley on Sunday primarily to revisit these comfort foods. I have no clue how I'll hold up, but it's sure to be a fond nostalgic trip for my aging tastebuds (and a horrifying one for my stomach)!