My roommate and I made a semi-spontaneous trip to Nor-Cal during our winter break. While half of our time in the beautiful coastal state was spent sight-seeing and doing tourist activities, I'd say the other half was dedicated to expanding our blissful bellies.
One of our unique experiences was our visit to the Googleplex in Mountain View by San Jose. My friend from Harvard had a friend who recently started working there andshe was nice enough to show us around the beautiful complex. Not only was the Googleplex in a jaw-dropping, scenic environment, the people and amenities that the company offered were unheard of.
I'd heard of companies like SAS who treat their employees like royalty, but I think Google puts all those other companies to shame. Aside from their reflection pool, free massages,
community bicycles for travel across campus, on-site garden (which employees are allowed to pick from and from which the Google chefs gather ingredients to prepare their "cafeteria" food), and freedom to bring your dog inside the office, the food is surprisingly abundant, fresh, free, and oh-so-delicious.
When you think cafeteria food, you probably think "What is this brown mush they scooped and dumped on my tray?" Not at Google. Google probably has the nicest cafeterias that I have seen in my life. They have variety and quality that any person could appreciate. From succulent shrimp in garlic butter sauce, banh mi sliders, roasted quail, and gourmet pecan pie ice cream, their cafeterias offer something for every taste. Even their drink selection is impeccable - blood orange juice, Naked juices, Rice Dream rice drink, and agave lemonade are just several of the options that their fountains & fridges offer.
Aside from the many cafeterias that cater to different needs and tastes, each floor has a "microfridge"
, which is basically an area stocked with foods to keep Googlers productive. Sure does beat the water cooler next to the printer and stale coffee that most other companies have. Microfridges had food ranging from fruit leather and gummy bears to organic vegetable or wasabi chips and every drink you could ever want to wet your tongue. Talk about exotic snacking. The person who showed us around the buildings told us that many Googlers gain weight upon starting. I could see why.
, which is basically an area stocked with foods to keep Googlers productive. Sure does beat the water cooler next to the printer and stale coffee that most other companies have. Microfridges had food ranging from fruit leather and gummy bears to organic vegetable or wasabi chips and every drink you could ever want to wet your tongue. Talk about exotic snacking. The person who showed us around the buildings told us that many Googlers gain weight upon starting. I could see why.But it wasn't the range of foods or the quality of the offerings that impressed me the most. Every one of the aforementioned items are free to all Googlers and visitors. In my short 1.5-2 hour stay at the complex, I probably downed $30 worth of food. Now multiply that by 1,000s of Googlers working in Mountain View who are snacking away on these tasty treats. I honestly don't know how the company is able to absorb a cost like this during an economic crisis, but I'm sure none of them are complaining. I certainly wouldn't be.
My brief visit to Google was extremely memorable and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to walk in the presence of such intelligent, light-hearted, and just plain fun individuals. Once a fan of just their search engine and applications, I have now fallen head over heels over everything this young company has blossomed into. For a foodie and semi-techie like me, I found my haven. I left Amphitheatre Parkway with more than just a blissful belly.
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