Santa Clara/San Jose dinner options?

Work is sending me to Santa Clara, CA for 4 days in mid april and I'm looking for good dinner options in the area. I'll be cabbing it whereever I go, so the closer the better.

I'm not sure yet what my budget is, but I'm willing to make up the difference if there's somewhere truly stellar that might be out of my expense range, so pretend price doesn't matter.

I'm obviously always looking for things that I can't get in Chicago, or at least things that aren't as good here.

Thanks in advance.

Gleam, if you have the time, you must rent a car, get out of dumpy old San Jose, and drive over the mountains to the pristine coastline at Pescadero and eat at the one-time stagecoach tavern Duarte's.

I guarantee you that Chicago does not have a cowboy meets surfer Portuguese roadhouse such as Duarte's. Get the crab cioppino and any of the local fish.

This is one cool place. It's worth the drive just for the scenery along the way and at the coast, and the restaurant happens to be fantastic. I believe Duarte's has gotten the same sort of Beard lifetime acheivement award given to institutions such as Langer's, Luger's and Lexington #1.

Do it.

http://www.duartestavern.com/history.htm

When I visit Santa Clara we stay in San Jose. I can't imagine being happy in that area without having a car at your disposal if you want to move around at all. Are you staying in Santa Clara proper or San Jose or . . . ? I'm usually at the San Jose Fairmont. There's not a lot of tremendously original or unique restaurants close-by but there's a Britannia Arms within easy walking distance - they are a small Cali chain of pretty good Brit-pubs where the soccer faithful hang out for their TV fix. The beer and the bangers are pretty good and the atmosphere is comfy.

Kman wrote:When I visit Santa Clara we stay in San Jose. I can't imagine being happy in that area without having a car at your disposal if you want to move around at all. Are you staying in Santa Clara proper or San Jose or . . . ?

I'm at the Santa Clara Westin, where the conference is being held. I might be able to bum a ride off someone else at the conf. if I can convince them it's a place worth going.

-ed

The Mayflower in Milpitas (15 minutes from the Westin Santa Clara) makes good Chinese food. Burke's is a steak and seafood place tucked behind Great America off 101 that's serviceable, but not outstanding (mainly it's convenient).

JeffB wrote:Gleam, if you have the time, you must rent a car, get out of dumpy old San Jose, and drive over the mountains to the pristine coastline at Pescadero and eat at the one-time stagecoach tavern Duarte's.

Duarte's is indeed legendary, but it's the pies that make it worth the drive. I used to live just over the mountains from Pescadero. We'd usually eat on the Peninsula, and then drive over the hill for dessert at Duarte's. Fun place!

Bill/SFNM

I have family that lives in Los Gatos and San Jose. Manresa is a must from everything I've seen and heard (assuming you like haute dining).

But again, you'll want a car.

Lots of ethnic choices in San Jose, of course -- mostly Asian and Hispanic. That's the approach I usually take.

The Mercury's dining pages are decent with a good search feature and star ratings. Make sure you choose South Bay if you want to limit it to that.

gleam wrote:

Kman wrote:When I visit Santa Clara we stay in San Jose. I can't imagine being happy in that area without having a car at your disposal if you want to move around at all. Are you staying in Santa Clara proper or San Jose or . . . ?

I'm at the Santa Clara Westin, where the conference is being held. I might be able to bum a ride off someone else at the conf. if I can convince them it's a place worth going.

-ed

OK, then I don't have much to offer. All my walking distance stuff is based in San Jose and everthing else was car-based out to places like Gilroy or Los Gatos, etc. or further north into S.F.

There is a (very) upscale outdoor shopping area called Santana Row that has several decent options (don't let the presence of Maggiano's turn you off). I like Left Bank for bistro fare, and have heard positive things on Consuelo Mexican Bistro on another board. Santana Row is right across from Valley Fair, the area's major shopping mall. I wonder if your hotel might provide a shuttle service. Here is their site:

www.santanarow.com

I went to college at Santa Clara. There is one and only one place I miss anywhere in the valley (note I'm NOT talking about anyplace west of Skyline Drive! most esp. Princeton...) and that's Henry's High Life:

http://www.henryshilife.com/

See also:

http://www.lvlife.com/2002/10/editorsnote.html

and:

http://www.grownmencry.com/slice/02/slice26.html

Although I've lived lots and lots of great chow places in the years since--including 30 yrs in Kansas City--Henry's is the joint I miss most. BTW, when someone in CA says "bbq" they mean "flame-grilled", and that's what Henry's steaks are. It's a simply wonderful place. I'm not going to say anything more about it bcz I'm starting to get all bleary-eyed.

Enjoy!

Geo

Well, I've been here since Sunday, and I'm here until Thursday afternoon.

One great thing I realized yesterday is that the santa clara westin is steps away (across the street) from a light rail station or two. $1.75 gets me anywhere on the network, which extends to san jose, mountain view, etc.

Sunday: in-hotel dinner. Uh, mediocre. The bread on the table was surprisingly good, though.

Monday: Maru Ichi, Mountain View

Homemade japanese noodles in a very no-frills place. It could have been much better, but it wasn't too bad. $10 for a big bowl of ramen and a side of negitoro is a good deal, and way too much food. Cash only.

Tuesday: Yakko Sushi, Mountain View.

I sat at the bar and did my best to let the chef decide for me. It started out well -- fresh salmon, o-toro, albacore, and yellowfin nigiri. Perhaps the selections should have been saved for later in the meal, but I don't think he realized how long (2 hours) I would sit there. After that came a spider roll (well executed, but cmon, it's a spider roll), and I decided to start sending signals.

A request for "katsuo, bonito" seemed to make them realize I wasn't a newbie. The bonito was very briefly seared and topped with very nice real wasabi and tobikko. Truly great bonito, with a good texture contrast and great heat from the real, fresh wasabi root. I let them know I appreciated the real wasabi.

Next came my request of amaebi, with the deep-fried head. Nice, crispy head. Larger than many, with a good sour-rich-sweet-crunchy flavor. The shrimp was shrimp. I tend to order amaebi just for the head... mmm.

After that, they seemed to take an interest in giving me good stuff to try. Three of my last four dishes were given to me free:

First of the four (which came after I'd ordered the amaebi but before it was served): Kind of like a tempura snapper. Very nice, fresh snapper fried in a thin batter (no panko). Quite pleasant.

Second (their recommendation, added to my bill): Hirame (fluke). After picking it, they debated it a little because of all the richer fishes I'd had before. I got it anyway, and it was very, very good. Some ponzu on the top was perfect.

Third: Similar to #1, but with shiso and uni instead of snapper. Absolutely great. The uni was nutty and rich and sweet and the shiso and batter made a much nicer delivery device (to me) than nori and rice.

Fourth: Kind of an atkins maki: squid wrapped around tobikko. Just two small pieces. Simple and light, although raw squid is not the easiest thing to chew and swallow

All of the nigiri sushi was two pieces (so 2 each of the toro, salmon, etc, two shrimp, two bonito, two fluke). After tax, before tip, the whole meal was $52. Well worth it, to me (it was a ton of really great food), and I'd gladly return. The o-toro was the most expensive thing, at $13 for two pieces. It was quite good, though.

Perhaps it would be wise, though, to make sure the chef is aware ahead of time that you want him to pull no punches. I saw a lot of california rolls being made, so I'm sure they often assume the worst of a new customer.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do for dinner tomorrow night. Anyone have suggestions for other places in downtown mountain view, or anywhere else the VTA (http://www.vta.org/) runs?

gleam wrote:I'm not sure what I'm going to do for dinner tomorrow night. Anyone have suggestions for other places in downtown mountain view, or anywhere else the VTA (http://www.vta.org/) runs?

Ed,

Not familiar with the area, but, as Bill/SFNM has said "I'll probably hit my favorite dim sum spot, SamKee, in Sunnyvale/Cupertino.", SamKee, along with Yakko Sushi, would be high on my list.

I checked the VTA map, it appears Sunnyvale/Cupertino is geographically close to Santa Clara, and on the VTA line.

Sounds like you're having good luck, restaurant wise, for a work related trip.

Love the new .sig line.

Enjoy,
Gary

Ed, if I found myself in Santa Clara for several days I'd try to get over some evening to San Jose where there is a large Vietnamese community. The intersection of Tully and King seems to be a good starting point to aim for; here's a website listing some shops and restaurants in San Jose and elsewhere: http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/shopdin ... urants.htm

(As you'll see, some of that site's listings are in southern California but a lot of them are in the South Bay.)

Sounds like you've done well in Mountain View, though! (Any chance of skipping out on a conference session to get away from the suburban sprawl of the South Bay and into the hills? )

Of course, if you're going to go down there, you could also hit the Mexican areas, such as the corner of King & Story. See my report here:

http://www.extramsg.com/modules.php?nam ... sid=8#mxsj

Though if you south the other way, you could do Manresa....

Yesterday, I lunched at a little Mexican joint in Mountain View called Las Muchachas along with some chilango foodie friends from Mexico City. All agreed the tacos were perfect. The "tacos de cabeza" on little handmade corn tortillas were the best. I think I had about 10! I don't think the gabachos have discovered this place.

Las Muchachas
2484 Old Middlefield Way
Mountain View, CA
650-968-3003

Bill/SFNM

I'm attending a conference in downtown San Jose (at the Conference Center) next week and am looking for dining recommendations. I'm staying at a hotel very near the airport. I won't have a car but will take the VTA. I'm not sure how much time I'll get to wander San Jose, but other worthy destinations anyone might suggest would also be welcome. TIA.

An absolute San Jose-Santa Clara classic is Henry's High Life. The food is good enough, but you go there because of the bar and the atmosphere. I've been going, off-'n-on, for fifty years. Still a fun place.

Geo

San Jose's advantages, compared to my so-far brief experiences of the Midwest, are probably Ethiopian, Vietnamese, and ramen.

The canonical Ethiopian place is Zeni (1320 Saratoga Ave). Might have the best veggie combo in the Bay Area, though some of the places in Oakland get close.

For Vietnamese it depends on what you like. If you're craving a certain dish you can probably find a place that specialises in it. If you don't have a particular favourite, you could go to the Grand Century Mall (1111 Story Road) and pick out whatever takes your fancy at the food court there, and maybe do some tasting at the jerky store.

Santouka at the Mitsuwa is the ranking place for classical ramen, but I think they have a branch in Chicago now. Ramen Halu down the road (375 Saratoga Ave) often has more creative seasonal ramen variations available.

Back from San Jose and am not surprised I received so few responses to my inquiry above. My only recommendation is for Roy’s Station Coffee & Teas in SJ’s Japantown. It’s a friendly and competent coffee house in a former gas station. Good coffee, nice pastries, and free wi-fi in a fun and comfortable space about 4 blocks from the Japantown VTA light rail stop. The bowl of ramen I had later in Japantown was pretty mediocre, as were the other meals I had. Maybe I just wasn’t able to get to the good places.

Roy’s Station Coffee & Teas
197 Jackson Street
San Jose, CA 95112
408-286-2236
http://www.roys-station.com/

Any recent experiences in San Jose? Will be staying there a week for work. Budget flexible, but prefer gnr types. I already have quite a few targets in SF, even tho traffic at meal times will be horrendous.

If it's not too late, Walia for Ethiopian at Bascom and San Carlos. It's in a funky strip mall, but don't be put off. Best Ethiopian food I've ever eaten in any US city. It's owned by a great family that's conscientious about quality of ingredients and cooking. It's easily my favorite restaurant of any sort in San Jose.

Otherwise, San Jose and silicon valley, in general, are not foodie heaven. Your plans to go to SF are good ones.

There's some good Indian and Korean food. There are lots of Vietnamese places in East San Jose. But none that I've been to are that noteworthy. Which isn't to say that there aren't any. There probably are.

I thought I'd posted about it before but Tomi Sushi in Moorpark (about 15 minutes from downtown) is one of my favorite sushi spots in the U.S. I used to travel to SJ for business about a week a month for several years and this was always one of my mainstays. It's in a very small strip mall behind Mitsuwa. Selection is super fresh, lots of interesting fish that I've never seen anywhere else, expertly prepared and priced very reasonably. They have a related restaurant in the same strip mall, called Hana, which, somewhat inexplicably, serves Chinese food (and a good looking menu, though I've never tried it) and another Tomi in Mountain View.

Tomi Sushi Restaurant
4336 Moorpark Ave, San Jose, CA 95129
(408) 257-4722
Hours: 11:30 am – 2:00 pm, 5:30 – 9:30 pm
Tomi Sushi