South Bay Dining

[tirgoddess]

I have recently had the opportunity to explore various food message boards and sites. I love to dine out, but have cut back as of late due to the economy. Having searched the "California" site, I noticed that there isn't much South Bay input. Are there any folks here who would like to provide input on their South Bay dining experiences here? Old standbys, new openings, great cheap eats, great fine dining? I understand that there is another site that does this sort of thing, but it is difficult to navigate and the SF Bay Area category seems to be North Bay centric. Any thoughts on this?

[Chris Cognac]

I have recently had the opportunity to explore various food message boards and sites.  I love to dine out, but have cut back as of late due to the economy.  Having searched the "California" site, I noticed that there isn't much South Bay input.  Are there any folks here who would like to provide input on their South Bay dining experiences here?  Old standbys, new openings, great cheap eats, great fine dining?  I understand that there is another site that does this sort of thing, but it is difficult to navigate and the SF Bay Area category seems to be North Bay centric.  Any thoughts on this?

I assume you mean "San Francisco, South Bay".....as opposed to the "Real South Bay" here in Los Angeles County.....

There are alot of great posters here in e gullet and I am sure you will be able to find out pretty much anything you need.

[Schneier]

The South Bay can be difficult; there's a lot of drek to wade through. But there are some gems.

Last year I wrote a restaurant guide for a science fiction convention in San Jose. I think you'll find it a good place to start for suggestions.

Otherwise, if you have any specific questions I'd be happy to offer an opinion.

Bruce

[Carolyn Tillie]

I have recently had the opportunity to explore various food message boards and sites.  I love to dine out, but have cut back as of late due to the economy.  Having searched the "California" site, I noticed that there isn't much South Bay input.  Are there any folks here who would like to provide input on their South Bay dining experiences here?  Old standbys, new openings, great cheap eats, great fine dining?  I understand that there is another site that does this sort of thing, but it is difficult to navigate and the SF Bay Area category seems to be North Bay centric.  Any thoughts on this?

I assume you mean "San Francisco, South Bay".....as opposed to the "Real South Bay" here in Los Angeles County.....

There are alot of great posters here in e gullet and I am sure you will be able to find out pretty much anything you need.

My thoughts exactly -- having lived the past 30-some-odd years in SoCal, the only South Bay I knew of was Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Long Beach.

Now there is whole new South Bay I have to become acquainted with!

[melkor]

I have recently had the opportunity to explore various food message boards and sites.  I love to dine out, but have cut back as of late due to the economy.  Having searched the "California" site, I noticed that there isn't much South Bay input.  Are there any folks here who would like to provide input on their South Bay dining experiences here?  Old standbys, new openings, great cheap eats, great fine dining?  I understand that there is another site that does this sort of thing, but it is difficult to navigate and the SF Bay Area category seems to be North Bay centric.  Any thoughts on this?

The bulk of the SF bay area stuff at the moment is in wine country, just because that's where a few of us live, and that's where an awful lot of tourists end up. I'm down in the south bay from time to time and I've got no idea where to eat. Where do you recommend down that way?

[nanuq]

Hope this is far enough south for you . Cafe Torre in Cupertino is a winner. In the same area, the Brittania Arms has good pot pies. I only know the Cupertino one, there are a couple of other ones further south.

[IrishCream]

The bulk of the SF bay area stuff at the moment is in wine country, just because that's where a few of us live

I've never noticed an over abundance of wine country posts compared to SF ones. I find that observation rather odd. Though we certainly have a lack of South and East Bay posts.

We need to make a concerted effort to encourage all our members to post about their local restauants, good and bad.

[marie-louise]

I live in Oakland, so I'm not familiar with the food in the South Bay. I understand there are a number of first-rate Indian restaurants, as well as a great Afghan restaurant in Fremont. A Berkeley favorite of mine, Udapi Palace, has two South Bay locations. You can eat there for under $10.

You'll need to be our scout and fill in a gap in our California board. Tell me where to go-I'll drive for food.

[melkor]

The bulk of the SF bay area stuff at the moment is in wine country, just because that's where a few of us live

I've never noticed an over abundance of wine country posts compared to SF ones. I find that observation rather odd. Though we certainly have a lack of South and East Bay posts.

We need to make a concerted effort to encourage all our members to post about their local restauants, good and bad.

We have a lot of SF posts, we have a lot of Napa/Sonoma posts and we have very little else. My point was not that there is no SF content, but that the east/south bay is sorely lacking. So, IC where is there good eats near where you live?

[tanabutler]

No list of fine dining in the South Bay should exclude Manresa, in Los Gatos, where chef David Kinch (formerly of Sent Sovi) presides.

From the SF Chronicle: Dream cuisine at Manresa : "Food lovers will find much to celebrate at David Kinch's Los Gatos restaurant" Michael Bauer calls it "French Laundry South."

When I was in NYC earlier this month, I dined at the fabulous Amma, where I met chef Hemant Mathur. He told me that he had lived for a year in this area, where he opened Turmerik in Sunnyvale. I cannot wait to eat there. The wine list is extensive, and I see they carry my new favorite, a Gruner Veltliner.

(I live in Santa Cruz, and there is only one Indian restaurant, and I will likely not return there again. Very average at best, and dark and morose inside.)

On my return flight to San Jose, I sat next to an Indian man who was visiting his family in Atlanta. They own an Indian restaurant there, so I trusted him to know good Indian food. He recommended Amber India for a good dinner, as well as Passage to India, which he said has a $12 buffet. Both are in Mountain View.

Amber India website. I see in the reviews section that they are one of Michael Bauer's Top 100 restaurants.

Passsage to India website (Unfortunately their site design needs some help. The black background and small font are difficult to read.)

Here is a link I found to Indian restaurants in California: GourmetIndia.US.

There are also the new restaurants in Santana Row. I haven't eaten there yet, but a foodie friend said the Mexican place there, Cazuelas, is wonderful. Cazuelas listing at Santana Row website: "Cazuelas Mexican Bistro is a full service restaurant that serves authentic Mexican food in a small plate/family style format. In addition to the food, Cazuelas also features a full Latino drink bar to complement the exquisite flavors of the food. The environment takes you back to the early 1900s when French influence was combined with Mexican architecture." There are a great many more details on the page, including the menu. I am eager to try it.

I had a fine lunch at Habana Cuba in San Jose. The pork platter is about $9 and is fall-apart tender and perfectly spiced. It comes with black beans (a little on the soupy side), rice and fried plantains. All flavorful and, let me tell you, ample. This pork is the best of its kind I've ever had, and so plentiful that I had to bring home half to my husband. He was happy about that.

A warning about Habana Cuba: do NOT, under any circumstances that do not include a knife at your throat, order a cocktail. Most especially do not order a Mojito. They don't have their liquor license, and they substitute some weird-ass Japanese spirit called "Soju," which the PDF of their menu describes as "Asian liquor similar to premium vodka. Originally a distilled form of sake, soju is today a unique breed of alcohol made from rice, barley and other grain." I assumed "soju" was Japanese for "bile."

It was the worst drink I've ever had. It tasted like fermented Sprite. Sour, nasty, and revolting. And a ridiculously high $6.

They have a good wine list, so I'd order wine next time.

[Han]

There is a huge concentration of Asian cuisine usually in large malls. It would be a total miss to ignore Vietnamese, Dim Sums and authentic chinese restaurants found all over the Southbay.

ABC dimsum in Milpitas (Barber Ln) is HK style and excellent.

Also Joyluck in Cupertino is nice

Also check Grand Century Mall in San Jose- Pho Thanh Long for their grilled (cha-cha) fish that is outstanding. The foodcourt is ok and has large selections of various things.

Another place is Tully Rd in San Jose - foodcourt there is bewildering and quite delicious.

For authentic Szechuan, try House of Yu Rong. This is not your plain vanilla americanized version. When they say spicy, it will make you sweat and your tongue seared to numbness. But they are delicious in its own right. For example, the boiled beef dish (sounds bad but it's tender beef in an oily spicy concoction).

Or try SHANGHAI in Milpitas LION plaza (Dion Landing) that has a large steamtables filled with dishes not coommonly found elsewhere. Do not try to find sweet sour pork here. Things like lap chong (steamed chinese sausage), fried halibut, shrimps cooked in its shell but fried slightly different from the usual prep, radish with chili - all cooked in their unique way. The dish is there plain to see and cost like $5 for 3 items with steam rice (you must request it instead of porridge). Just outstanding taste and value. It is not gourmet but very hometyle.

The list goes on and on.

[tirgoddess]

This is the sort of dialogue I was looking for, thanks!

My husband and I have some stand bys that I can share here.

Taqueria Adelita, on Curtner Avenue at Leigh, in San Jose has excellent, authentic Mexican food. The service and family friendly atmosphere is welcoming. We love the super tacos. I usually order the carne asada and my husband gets the carnitas. We usually spend about $19 for five tacos and soda. They are closed on Sundays.

Chez Sovan I on Bascom Ave. in Campbell gets rave reviews every year. The cusine is authentic Cambodian and it is excellent. We love the shish kabobs, the Tom Yam Hot & Sour Soup (especially if I have a cold), and the Samlaw Curry Moin (chicken). This usually costs us about $30. They are closed on Sunday as well.

For high end sushi, Komatsu in Campbell is excellent. Though the sushi bar is small, it is the best seat in the house. Harry, the owner/chef, mans the sushi bar and he is a riot. By him a beer and let him go to town for you. The fish is super fresh and exqusite. We usually spend about $80 including sake.

An inexpensive alternative to Komatsu is the quirky Sushi Expo on Camden Avenue at Hillsdale, in San Jose. This place is a formula compromise, but good. Kevin is the owner/chef. He plays Country Music Television non stop on his plasma screen. The sushi plates travel on a mote. They will do specials for you, but you really gotta speak up. We get out of there spending about $30.

When we want to treat our friends, we take them to Viaggio Restaurante on Big Basin Way in Saratoga. Chef/owner A J and his wife, who is a server, go out of their way to make you feel welcome. The cusine is Mediterranean and it is excellent. My husband's favorite is the paella. They have great wine tasting events on Thursdays, where a local vintner is featured and appetizers are prepared a la minute for $25 per person. We have also had a couple large dinner parties there in one of the two banquet rooms which resemble a formal dining room and a cozy library. viaggiorestaurant.com

One place I would like to try next is Resturant O, in Campbell. It was formally called Buca. Buca was wonderful. The dining room is intimate and Tuscan themed. Since the name change (lawsuit v. Bucca di Beppo), the menu has changed as well. Perez is the same chef. Has anyone been there?

I would like to try Manresa, in Saratoga as well. Especially since it has been compared to French Laundry. A woman in my supper club ate there recently and was delighted.

I recently ate at Yankee Pier in Santana Row (Bradley Ogden formula). Though they were offering wines by the bottle at half price (which was great!), I was disappointed with the mediocre fish and chips.

I also ate at Casula's (sp?) in Santana Row and thought the food was pricy and just okay. The tables are too small for all the little plates, and they are placed very close together. This was inconvenient and uncomfortable. I think they try to turn the tables to fast so the service seems forced. The marguritas were excellent though.

Sorry for any mispellings, I tried to check it, but kept loosing my post.

[kjente2]

its east bay, but very good.

http://www.cafeesin.com/id15.htm]Cafe Esin

[bong]

Some of my favorites in San Francisco South bay:

* Turmerik, in Sunnyvale

Upscale Indian food, not your standard usual SF Bay area Indian restaurant fare.

* Dishdash, right next door

Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food.

* I second the recommendation for Chez Sovan in Campbell, although in my most recent visit there a couple of months there, I was not impressed. I hope that was a temporary fluke and the restaurant has not gone downhill in general.

* Several small Vietnamese ultra cheap Banh Mi places in strip malls. One of my favorites is Lee's Sandwiches -- they have branches at several places in San Jose.

* Pasta? in Mountain View and Palo Alto

Decent italian food.

* The 99 Ranch complex (Barber Lane) in Milpitas has several good Chinese restaurants -- Mayflower, ABC Seafood.

* There is a new Indo-pak cheap restaurant in Milpitas, called Shahnawaz -- I liked their Biryanis. Try the goat meat biryani if they have it available.

* I have heard good things about Manresa (upscale Spanish inspired) in Los Gatos, but don't yet have first hand experience.

Hope this helps.

[bong]

* I have heard good things about Manresa (upscale Spanish inspired) in Los Gatos, but don't yet have first hand experience.

Finally, we just ate at Manresa last night, We had the chef's tasting menu (many, many courses) and it was FABULOUS!

Detailed report will be coming, soon.

[tanabutler]

Any mention of Manresa or David Kinch makes me green with envy. Nevertheless I look forward to your post.