Throughout my time at Pomona College thus far, I’ve been fortunate to have many friends from home pay me a visit. Claremont is only about a 35-minute drive from where I grew up in Orange County and so, over the years, I’ve had a handful of friends meet me on my college stomping grounds for a quick campus tour and a meal in the Claremont Village.
I’ve spent some time reflecting on these sweet visits with the people I love and I’ve realized that almost always, I take them to Dr. Grubbs.
I don’t exactly remember when I tried Dr. Grubbs for the first time — it may have been during the summer after my first year when, after a long day of tour-guiding in the relentless Claremont heat (I worked for Pomona’s admissions office that summer), I needed a hearty meal. It could have also been when I was strolling through the Village before the start of sophomore fall, or perhaps when my father helped me move in one semester — my memory of the exact date and time is fuzzy.
However, what I do remember about my first Dr. Grubbs experience is that I left absolutely enamored by their chicken and pasta.
I was utterly delighted at the sight of a hearty piece of chicken sitting atop a generous pile of golden penne with a small container of a vivid reddish-orange tomato pesto on the side. I remember taking the time to carefully place some noodles and chicken on my fork and dip them into the pesto (without dropping either piece) before plopping it into my mouth. It was the perfect cheesy, nutty, tomato-y bite and the chicken tasted remarkably fresh, too.
“I’ve spent some time reflecting on these sweet visits with the people I love and I’ve realized that almost always, I take them to Dr. Grubbs.”
Before I knew it, I had wiped my plate clean.
I realize that it is because of this exquisite flavor experience that I always bring my Claremont visitors to Dr. Grubbs. We sit across large plates of pesto penne and chicken and sometimes veggies and potatoes (as a creature of habit, I almost always get the pasta as the side, but the steamed broccoli crowns and herb-roasted potatoes are delicious, too) and catch up on all the mundane and exciting happenings in our lives.
Sure enough, when my friend Amy visited me the other day, we came to Dr. Grubbs for lunch. As we were eating (as in, stuffing forkfuls of pasta in my mouth), we spoke about something deeper and more meaningful than the conversation matter at your average friend-meal.
Amy had just graduated from college in the fall and so, here we were talking about the frightening unknown of post-grad life, the frustrating but well-meaning career inquiries we get from the adults around us and our desire to get all of our friends together sometime soon to see what everyone has been up to.
Amy and I have been friends since elementary school — we experienced everything together from silly school plays to college applications, to even rooming together in Korea for three months (and getting cookies in the rain) — and now we were sitting at this little restaurant in my little college town, reminiscing on the moments that have marked our friendship and looking forward to our twenties and beyond.
I’m grateful for Dr. Grubbs — and especially for its tomato pesto penne topped with chicken — for holding space for sweet conversations with friends from old.
As a current third-year, I still have another full year left at Pomona. But that just means that I’ll have more opportunities to welcome visitors, take them to this restaurant, share how much I’ve grown since coming to college and celebrate their milestones, too.
After all, nothing quite accompanies cheesy reflections on growing up and growing old than some cheesy pasta.
Emily Kim PO ’25 is from Irvine, California. Her flex dollars are slowly dwindling because she is tempted to get a lavender latte every time she enters the library.