San Jose eats

[Andrea Nguyen]

For Chinese Islamic, head to Fatima on De Anza; get the scallion bread or any of the knife cut noodles. The lamb isn't bad either. I've heard great stuff about their smoked duck. At Loon Wah down the block on De Anza, the northern style (Beijing) fare is great.

My favorite pho joint is Pho Bang near the Lion Center near Tully off the 101 freeway.

For Korean food, go to El Camino Real off the Lawrence Expressway. Palace Buffet offers all you can eat barbecue. The tofu place nearby is supposedly really good. There are Indian grocers on that street too.

On Wolfe Road right off the 280 (heading toward SF, turn right when you exit), there's a shopping center that's loaded with Taiwanese joints. It's one of the many high-end spots for Chinese Americans in San Jose. A spiffy Ranch 99 market is in the same shopping center.

Have fun!

Andrea

[Nathan P.]

Han- Anything else to recomend at Grand Century Mall? I've browsed the food court here but it was after lunch and I just could not find any additional room for a second meal. I have been eating at a little rice plate/bun place called Com Tam Thanh that is in a smaller mall at the corner of Story and McGaughlin. Just had dinner there the other day- rice plate with bean curd skin wrap w/ shrimp, a slice of pork cake and a bbq pork chop. I head over to Lion market a bit from Santa Cruz to shop for Asian ingredients and have enjoyed soup at the center stall in the Lion foodcourt and also like a place called Chao Nguyen that is across the street.

ExtraMSG- I visited the Tropicana market based on your write-up and enjoyed it. I skipped the frozen pig heads they had on special but took some decent carnitas, good tortillas from the in-house tortilla factory, great chips, cascabel chiles and some pretty decent frozen pupusas. Also enjoyed the agua frescas at los jarritos. I keep meaning to get down to Watsonville to try El Alteno since it has gotten a few more positive write-ups since yours.

Nathan

[ExtraMSG]

Glad you liked that area, Nathan. That corner is one of the better areas of Mexican food I've seen in this country. It's just so impressive to have so much concentration of quality Mexican food. I needed a big group with me when I went so I could have tried more stuff.

Also glad to hear El Alteno is getting more positive recs. It was really my favorite of the places I went in Watsonville. The menu at Tepa was very cool, and I'd buy one from anyone who can get one for me, but the execution was spotty. The tortillas were fantastic, however. Everything was consistently decent to good at El Alteno.

[Han]

Nathan,

I also remembered having decent ice drinks with various choices of jellies and other yummy ingredients. Other things like the pho and rice plates are pretty similar to other Vietnamese places.

-Han

[tanabutler]

We had some time to kill before my friends caught their 7:00 flight out of SJC, and I took them to Santana Row. First stop, "The Mothership" (Crate and Barrel), where I bought a beautiful apple-green, square glass platter and a fine mesh skimmer (it looks like a ladle with a sieve on it).

Then we strolled down to Consuelo, about which I'd heard good things about from foodie friends.

Its cuisine is Mexican, specifically influenced by the owners' upbringing in Cuernavaca (south of Mexico City). Dishes are served tapas style, and sharing is encouraged.

We chose the guacamole ($7), which they make to your specifications at your table; it comes with freshly made white corn tortillas, served piping hot and wrapped in a napkin. I know, "When in Rome," but I didn't feel like having a margarita. It wasn't hot enough, though it was perfect to sit outside on the patio. Our server, a beautiful and zaftig Latina woman, praised the mojitos, and she was right. My friends had never had a proper one (they'd been using some abominable recipe from Sunset with--gads!--mint syrup!), and they were in heaven.

I ordered "pescado del dia," which was halibut with green beans and chorizo in a spicy, creamy, kick-ass sauce ($14). Along with a beautiful jicama salad ($8), Reesa ordered the chile relleno ($9?). The jicama came out stacked like Lincoln Logs: drizzled in a medium-spicy red sauce, they concealed a bed of pineapple and grapefruit as their base. Lovely execution and zinging with flavor. I will order it next time I'm there. The chile relleno was as fine a plateful of flavor any of us had ever had. (Jeff didn't order anything, claiming not to be hungry, but as he tasted everything, he said, "The more I eat, the hungrier I'm getting." That inverted compliment meant that the flavors and aromas were kindling his appetite.)

I will be returning to Consuelo. Everything was very fresh and flavorful, and well-priced.

[Painting]

check out Habana Cuba Restaurant off of Steven's Creek & Race in SJ. Great food, just skip the drinks...

Edited August 21, 2004 by Painting (log)

[tanabutler]

check out Habana Cuba Restaurant off of Steven's Creek & Race in SJ. Great food, just skip the drinks...

Isaac is correct: SKIP THE DRINKS. Have wine!! They don't have a liquor license, so substitute this truly ghastly sour fermented rice crap that made a cocktail that tasted like vomit.

No kidding.

But they've got a good wine list. And the food is very very good, most especially Lechon a la Cubana (roasted pork). Dear God, if you love pork, that's the dish for you. It was swooningly succulent.

[Painting]

No wonder the three (yes three) drinks tasted like shit. I kept re-ordering hoping something would be decent enough to drink.

I agree, the Lechon there is out of this world.