Showing posts with label bay area fine dining. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bay area fine dining. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 9, 2024

Bay Area Michelin Star Restaurants - 2024 Edition (Part 1)

It has been a long while since doing a post about Michelin recommended/starred restaurants--2019 in fact.

The Michelin guide is the most renowned rubric in the world for measuring culinary success. Unfortunately, we have some bad news this year. San Jose's first and only Michelin Star restaurant ever, Adega in Little Portugal, is now permanently closed. The silver lining is that it will be replaced with a second Petiscos restaurant. The original Petiscos is in Downtown San Jose's SoFA District and is not only featured in the guide but is one of San Jose's first two Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurants (a step below a Star and signifying a restaurant is of outstanding value for the quality).

Michelin has three different star categories:
  • One Star - A very good restaurant in its category with cuisine prepared to a consistently high standard. A good place to stop on your journey.
  • Two Stars - Excellent cuisine, skillfully and carefully crafted dishes of outstanding quality. Worth a detour.
  • Three Stars - Exceptional cuisine with distinctive dishes and superlative ingredients. Worth a special journey.
New last year were "Green Stars" for restaurants that are at the forefront of sustainable, environmental, and ethical standards.

There are also restaurants in the Michelin guide that do not get a star, but are considered "Michelin Recommended." This is already a significant honor that a very small percentage of restaurants achieve. This distinction has gotten more rare since the guide now covers all of California instead of just the Bay Area. San Jose has a total of 4 Michelin Recommended restaurants (one of which is now closed), which is down 4 restaurants from 2019. LeYou Ethiopian is the only newcomer.


San Jose Michelin Recommended Restaurants:
  • Downtown
    • Petiscos $$ (Bib Gourmand)
  • East San Jose
    • Adega $$$$ (Closed)
  • Midtown
    • Luna Mexican Kitchen $$ (Bib Gourmand)
  • North San Jose
    • LeYou $$

I also created a Google doc listing all of the star recipients for 2023, along with tabs for all previous years and some general statistics. 2020-2022 were crazy years and I still have to update data there. I also expect new stars and restaurants to be announced this summer. There is no longer a physical book for California, but Michelin will update their site after new stars are awarded.

Below is an image capture from the doc. This year there were a total of 45 Bay Area restaurants that were awarded Michelin stars, which is down 12 from before the pandemic in 2019. 60% of the restaurants are locating in SF, 18% in Silicon Valley (split evenly between the South Bay and the Peninsula), 18% in Wine Country, 2% in the East Bay, and 2% in Marin. There are 3 new restaurants on the list for 2023 and several that no longer made the cut or were closed down. There were no new Silicon Valley restaurants on the list from 2022, but Selby's and Sushi Shin were both added post-pandemic.


This post is entitled Part 1. As previously mentioned Michelin will announce updates to the guide for Bay Area restaurants this summer. It will be interesting if San Jose can get back in the guide with a starred restaurant. There are certainly several that deserve it. Some of my top picks for addition would be iChina, Le Papillion, and Rollati. We'll have to see if anyone will come along and fill Adega's shoes in Part 2 later this year.

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Santana Row Springs Forward with Party-Packed Events and Zesty Restaurant Openings

Santana Row has two brand new restaurants Zazil and Sauced BBQ & Spirits. Zazil is a re-imagining of Consuelo. They did an amazing job of blending indoor and outdoor areas and I really enjoyed the food and drinks there. Sauced is Santana Row's first real BBQ restaurant. You can learn about both restaurants and upcoming events below.


San Jose destination unveils brand-new eateries, community events for Spring

Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!” and that’s precisely what Santana Row is rolling out for visitors this season! A carpe diem approach to dining, playing and all the little moments in-between because life deserves to be celebrated.

Recent dining additions are offering a zesty range of flavors and palettes for foodies to experience on The Row. Sauced BBQ & Spirits kicked off the party recently with a mid-February opening, and its authentic, smoked meats and ‘southern charm’ style are already capturing hearts. Carnivorous guests can expect to come hungry, and leave happy after one of these meaty meals!

The fun continues with the recent debut of Zazil, a traditional Mexican dining concept curated by the respected Chef Yerika Muñoz Rodríguez. After earning an esteemed culinary background, Chef Yerika has gone back to her Mexico City-roots to bring this vibrant culinary expedition to life. The menu boasts traditional flavors and dishes from various culinary regions of Mexico!

Food isn’t the only reason to get your party poppers out, though - Santana Row’s calendar of events is jam-packed with Springtime celebrations! So, whether you’re looking for food or fun, Santana Row invites you to join the party.

Here are some of the action-packed events you can expect to enjoy in March-April:

Makers Market in The Park
Saturday, March 7 | 11:30 am - 5 pm | Santana Row Park
Saturday, April 4 | 11:30 am - 5 pm | Santana Row Park
Join us for a highly-curated marketplace of local makers and artisans! Enjoy live music as you shop for U.S. Handcrafted goods like jewelry, handbags, ceramics/glassware, soaps, succulents, candles & more! Stop into our Santana Row shop (adjacent to the market area) for libations and more locally-handcrafted goods.

Makers Market aims to bring you products that honor the ideals of American craftsmanship and are Modern + Heritage inspired. Join us in our mission of Rebuilding the Legacy of American Made, while supporting our local merchants and the community.

Spring Festival & Photos with the Easter Bunny
Saturday, March 28 | 10 am - 2 pm | Park Valencia
This EPIC Spring Festival will feature a mini petting zoo, live music, roaming entertainment, face painting, balloon twisting, arts & crafts, and a FREE digital photo with the hoppiest guy around: the Easter Bunny! *This event is rain or shine! In the event of rain, meet in the VIA directly behind Left Bank & Sino.*

Post your favorite Spring Festival memory on social media for a chance to win a special gift! Must include #SpringOnTheRow and tag @SantanaRow to enter.  All entries must be in by Sunday, March 29. A winner will be selected at random, and announced on Monday, March 30.

Spring Fling Wine Stroll benefitting the Junior League of San Jose
Wednesday, April 22 | 6 pm - 9 pm | Santana Row
Enjoy a night out at the Santana Row Spring Fling Wine Stroll! Relax and unwind with wine tastings from local growers, DIY flower crowns, light bites, live music, exclusive discounts from Santana Row shops, and more. Tickets are $40, and event proceeds will benefit Junior League of San Jose.


Voices for Autism Benefit Concert
Saturday, April 18 | 12 pm - 4 pm | Park Valencia
Join us for a day of fun, food, and music in Park Valencia! The Youth Leadership Committee is hosting the 5th Annual Voices for Autism Benefit Concert to increase autism awareness and raise money for the programs at Pacific Autism Center for Education (PACE). The concert will feature youth bands and other musical performances from students around the Bay Area!

This is a free event and perfect for families with children of any age. There will be live music, interactive autism awareness demonstrations, and select restaurants participating in fundraisers to raise money for PACE.
All proceeds from this event benefit Pacific Autism Center for Education. PACE provides high-quality behavioral therapy, education, and residential care for children and adults with autism.



Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Wednesday Wishlist: Michelin Star Restaurants (2018 Edition)

Welcome to the 9th annual Wednesday Wishlist post where the topic is getting restaurants in San Jose worthy of Michelin starts. The Michelin guide is the most renowned rubric in the world for measuring culinary success. San Jose's first and only Michelin Star restaurant, Adega in Little Portugal, retained the honor for a second year. I will also have some big news related to Adega later this year.

Michelin has three different star categories:
  • One Star - A very good restaurant in its category with cuisine prepared to a consistently high standard. A good place to stop on your journey.
  • Two Stars - Excellent cuisine, skillfully and carefully crafted dishes of outstanding quality. Worth a detour.
  • Three Stars - Exceptional cuisine with distinctive dishes and superlative ingredients. Worth a special journey.
There are also restaurants in the Michelin guide that do not get a star, but are considered "Michelin Recommended." This is already a significant honor that a very small percentage of restaurants achieve. Within this category San Jose scored a total of 6 restaurants, which is significantly down from last year but it seems like the guide has trimmed the number of recipients throughout the Bay (the book was trimmed by 70 pages this year).

I created a Google doc listing all of the star recipients for 2018, along with tabs for all previous years and some general statistics. Below is an image capture from the doc. This year there were a total of 55 restaurants that were awarded Michelin stars, which is up 1 from last year and an all-time high for the Bay Area. 60% of the restaurants are locating in SF, 20% in Wine Country, 18% in Silicon Valley (split evenly between the South Bay and the Peninsula), and 2% in the East Bay. Silicon Valley is nearly tied with Wine Country when it comes to number of restaurants with stars. There are 5 new restaurants on the list for 2017 and 4 from last year that did not make the cut or were closed down: Aziza, Mosu, Nico, and Solbar.


San Jose Michelin Starred Restaurants:
  • East San Jose
    • Adega (* 1 STAR *)

San Jose Michelin Recommended Restaurants:
  • Downtown
    • Back A Yard
  • Midtown
    • Walia
    • Din Tai Fung
  • South San Jose
    • Thien Long
    • Lau Hai San
  • Camden
    • Zeni

The Michelin Recommended restaurants that we lost over the past year were Vung Tau, Swaad, Zona Rosa, Smoking Pig BBQ, Bun Bo Hue An Nam, and the Table. I'm a bit surprised about some of those but hopefully they will be back next year. I'm also optimistic that Adega will inspire other San Jose restaurants to go after stars!

Source: Michelin Guide






Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Wednesday Wishlist: Michelin Star Restaurants (2017 Edition)

Welcome to the 8th annual Wednesday Wishlist post where the topic is getting restaurants in San Jose worthy of Michelin starts. The Michelin guide is the most renowned rubric in the world for measuring culinary success. This is where I typically say something like: "I'm optimistic it will only be a matter of time until our food scene gets the recognition it deserves." Well guess what--not this year! San Jose finally has a restaurant with a Michelin Star, and the honor goes to Adega in Little Portugal. I could not think of a more worthy restaurant to be San Jose's first recipient of a star.

Michelin has three different star categories:
  • One Star - A very good restaurant in its category with cuisine prepared to a consistently high standard. A good place to stop on your journey.
  • Two Stars - Excellent cuisine, skillfully and carefully crafted dishes of outstanding quality. Worth a detour.
  • Three Stars - Exceptional cuisine with distinctive dishes and superlative ingredients. Worth a special journey.
There are also restaurants in the Michelin guide that do not get a star, but are considered "Michelin Recommended." This is already a significant honor that a very small percentage of restaurants achieve. Within this category San Jose scored a total of 12 restaurants.

I created a Google doc listing all of the star recipients for 2017, along with tabs for all previous years and some general statistics. Below is an image capture from the doc. This year there were a total of 54 restaurants that were awarded Michelin stars, which is up 4 from last year and an all-time high for the Bay Area. 61% of the restaurants are locating in SF, 19% in Wine Country, 19% in Silicon Valley (split evenly between the South Bay and the Peninsula), and 2% in the East Bay. This is the first year in which Silicon Valley tied with Wine Country when it comes to star distribution--thanks to Adega in San Jose and Madera in Menlo Park (which was added back this year). There are 7 new restaurants on the list for 2017 and only three from 2016 did not make the cut: All Spice, Ame, and Kusakabe (all located in SF).


San Jose Michelin Starred Restaurants:
  • East San Jose
    • Adega (* 1 STAR *)

San Jose Michelin Recommended Restaurants:
  • Downtown
    • Vung Tau
    • Back A Yard
    • Swaad
  • The Alameda
    • Zona Rosa
  • Midtown
    • Walia
    • Din Tai Fung (New)
  • North San Jose
    • Smoking Pig BBQ
  • South San Jose
    • Bun Bo Hue An Nam
    • Thien Long
    • Lau Hai San
  • Willow Glen
    • The Table
  • Camden
    • Zeni

In addition to Adega, Din Thai Fung (Chinese) is the latest newcomer to San Jose's "Michelin Recommended" list for San Jose. We did lose two that were recommended last year, Fratello and Rangoli. Overall, this is far and away San Jose's strongest showing in the Michelin guide to date. I'm hoping the trend continues and Adega inspires other San Jose restaurants to shoot for the moon! 

Source: Michelin Guide




Tuesday, October 25, 2016

BREAKING NEWS: Adega became the first restaurant ever in San Jose to get a Michelin Star!!!

This is epic news for San Jose foodies! My favorite San Jose restaurant just got the international recognition it deserves. Adega in Little Portugal has become the first and only restaurant in San Jose to win a Michelin Star!

The Michelin guide represents the highest level of recognition restaurants can achieve. Each year, I highlight the lack of Michelin restaurants in San Jose with an annual post analyzing the guide and listing all Bay Area winners. I am completely thrilled that on my 8th annual post we will finally have a restaurant representing San Jose and it could not be a more appropriate one at that.

For my full review on Adega and its stunning interpretation of authentic Portuguese cuisine, head over here.

Better yet, head to the Adega website to make a reservation before the word gets out and it gets booked out for months.

Well done Adega, well done.









Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Wednesday Wishlist: Michelin Star Restaurants (2016 Edition)

Welcome to the 7th annual Wednesday Wishlist post where the topic is getting restaurants in San Jose worthy of Michelin starts. The Michelin guide is the most renowned rubric in the world for measuring culinary success. I think the foodie culture is continuing to build momentum in San Jose, especially Downtown. I'm optimistic it will only be a matter of time until we have some unique restaurants with national recognition.

Michelin has three different star categories:
  • One Star - A very good restaurant in its category with cuisine prepared to a consistently high standard. A good place to stop on your journey.
  • Two Stars - Excellent cuisine, skillfully and carefully crafted dishes of outstanding quality. Worth a detour.
  • Three Stars - Exceptional cuisine with distinctive dishes and superlative ingredients. Worth a special journey.

I created a Google doc listing all of the star recipients for 2016, along with tabs for all previous years and some general statistics. Below is an image capture from the doc. This year there were a total of 50 restaurants that were awarded Michelin stars, which is up 10 from last year and an all-time high for the Bay Area. 62% of the restaurants are locating in SF, 20% in Wine Country, 16% in Silicon Valley (split evenly between the South Bay and the Peninsula), and 2% in the East Bay. There are 14 new restaurants on the list this year (see image below), as well as one significant upgrade. Manresa (Los Gatos) achieved the elusive three star rating. Manresa is not only the first restaurant in the South Bay to ever get this rating, but it is only the fifth restaurant ever to get a three star rating anywhere in the Bay Area. Several restaurants from 2015 did not make the cut, including Madera, Maruya, La Folie, Boulevard, and the All Spice in San Mateo.

There are also restaurants in the Michelin guide that do not get a star, but are considered "Michelin Recommended." This is already a significant honor. Within this category San Jose scored a total of 13 restaurants, an all-time high for our city. Here are the lucky restaurants:

  • Downtown
    • Vung Tau
    • Back A Yard
    • Swaad (NEW)
  • The Alameda
    • Zona Rosa
  • Midtown
    • Walia (NEW)
  • North San Jose
    • Smoking Pig BBQ
  • South San Jose
    • Bun Bo Hue An Nam
    • Thien Long
    • Lau Hai San (NEW)
  • Willow Glen
    • The Table
    • Fratello
  • Camden
    • Rangoli
    • Zeni

Swaad (Indian), Walia (Ethiopian), and Lau Mai San (Vietnamese) are all welcome additions and represent how amazing our ethnic cuisines are. All 10 San Jose restaurants that were Michelin recommended in the 2015 guide held on to that status in 2016. If you haven't been to the restaurants above, I can vouch that all of them are well worth visiting. 

Source: Michelin Guide


Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Wednesday Wishlist: Michelin Star Restaurants (2015 Edition)

Just in time for Thanksgiving, I'm going my 6th annual rant on needing to get some internationally recognized Michelin-starred restaurants in San Jose! The Michelin guide is the most renowned rubric for measuring culinary greatness, and for the most part San Jose restaurants have been excluded from its pages. However, I think the foodie culture is continuing to build momentum in San Jose, especially Downtown. I'm continuing to be optimistic for the future!

Michelin has three different star categories:
  • One Star - A very good restaurant in its category with cuisine prepared to a consistently high standard. A good place to stop on your journey.
  • Two Stars - Excellent cuisine, skillfully and carefully crafted dishes of outstanding quality. Worth a detour.
  • Three Stars - Exceptional cuisine with distinctive dishes and superlative ingredients. Worth a special journey.
I created a Google doc listing all of the star recipients for 2015, along with tabs for all previous years and some general statistics. Below is an image capture from the doc. This year there were a total of 40 restaurants on the list, which is up 2 from last year and down from the peak of 47 in 2012. 53% of the restaurants are locating in SF, 25% in Wine Country, 20% in Silicon Valley (split evenly between the South Bay and the Peninsula), and 3% in the East Bay. There are two new restaurant on the list this year, Kusakabe and Maruya (both Japanese) as well as three upgrades: Saison and Benu now have the elusive 3-star rating and Acquerello was upgraded to 2 stars. No restaurants from 2014 were dropped.

I will also mention that there are some restaurants in the Michelin guide that do not get a star, but are considered "Michelin Recommended." Within this category San Jose scored a total of 10 restaurants:
  • Downtown
    • Vung Tau
    • Back A Yard
  • The Alameda
    • Zona Rosa (NEW)
  • North San Jose
    • Smoking Pig BBQ
  • South San Jose
    • Bun Bo Hue An Nam
    • Thien Long
  • Willow Glen
    • The Table (NEW)
    • Fratello
  • Camden
    • Rangoli
    • Zeni
Zona Rosa and The Table are two well-deserved additions. Unfortunately, there were some restaurants from 2014 that did not make the cut this year: SJ Omogari in Japantown, La Costa in East San Jose, LB Steak in Santana Row, and Pizza Antica which is also in Santana Row. If we don't get some stars, at the very least we'll hopefully get more Michelin Recommended or Bib Gourmand restaurant ratings in 2016. If you haven't been to the restaurants above, I can vouch that all 9 are well worth checking out.

Source: Michelin Guide


Monday, November 3, 2014

Michael Mina's Bourbon Steak Review

Several weeks ago I had the chance to tour and dine at Bourbon Steak & Pub at the new Levi's Stadium, which is actually three completely different experiences. You have a high-end restaurant, a more casual Pub, and the Tailgate which is used for private parties and special events such as away game buffets. All of it is run by Michael Mina along with executive chef John Cahill (formerly at Cafe des Amis). This project is so important to Michael Mina (long-time 49ers fan) that he is planning to make this restaurant his home-base for at least the next year. If you dine at Bourbon Steak, I would say there is a good chance he will have a hand in preparing some of your food and might even come out and say hello and pose for a few photos with diners. For a celebrity chef with two-dozen restaurants, he is surprisingly friendly and approachable.


There are two different hostess desks for the restaurants. One for Tailgate and another that is shared between Bourbon Steak and Bourbon Pub. That was one of my few gripes as I really think the Steakhouse deserved it's own desk.

Walking around Bourbon Steak and Tailgate, there were lobster pots that could hold 200 lobsters each on game day, a wood burning grill, 49ers Cheerleaders, a DJ that spins every day (Clee, who also is the official DJ during 49ers games), and the most impressive thing of all... an epic two-story wood-fire rotisserie! At 13 feet tall, it is the largest indoor rotisserie in the world. It is so large that it can cook a whole Waygu cow and is used to roast whole hogs for Happy Hour.





I happened to be there during a 49ers away game and had a chance to watch them prep for the fanciest game-day buffet I have seen over at the Tailgate area. Imagine Skylander Ranch 100% Waygu beef short loin, fresh crab, and a premium taco bar. You can get beers and signature cocktails by the cooler and there are plenty of games like bocce ball, ping pong, etc. to entertain you during commercials. The cost for the buffet is $35 for a single pass or $60 for all-you-can-eat. Completely worth it based on the quality of the food if you ask me. Tailgate has a second floor for private dining which is where the 49ers come to party after games (there is a door that leads directly there from the locker room).







The bars in Bourbon Pub and Tailgate have a huge assortment of 30-40 craft beers in addition to popular favorites. Of course, there are also American Bourbons from small batch barrels that help give this place its name.


A couple more unique things and I'll move on to the food. This is the only Bourbon steak that has a merchandise booth and the only one with an element of gamification. There is a custom "Fantasy Flip" interactive app that is somewhat similar to Fantasy Football. You get game points to redeem for prizes that go all the way up to having a dinner out on the Levi's Stadium field.


Over at Bourbon Steak the first thing I noticed when walking in were the assortment of TVs everywhere, pretty uncommon for a high-end restaurant. They were slightly dimmed and there was no audio and are only on when there is a special game going on. When they are turned off, they turn into mirrors--so freakin cool!



Food

Instead of bread for the table, Bourbon Steak serves three different kinds of fries with a variety of exotic flavorings and sauces. There were ancho chili fries with pickled ketchup, shallot fries with honey mustard, and herbed fries with truffle aioli (my favorite).


Just because bread isn't served by default, doesn't mean it doesn't exist in the restaurant. On the contrary, YOU MUST ASK FOR THE BREAD. Think of it as a secret item, like asking for animal style fries at In & Out. The awesome Bourbon Streak bread is made in house each day with black truffle butter.


The first course I had was a Michael Mina signature dish: tuna tar-tar mixed with quail egg, pine nuts, spices, and toast. You get to see each individual component of the dish and then it is mixed for you table-side. If you are okay with raw fish, this item is a must.


Second was beet & goat cheese salad, perhaps the best I've had anywhere. Other people that I have recommended this dish to have said the same thing. Not only was it delicious, but it was very artfully put together.


Next was a play on a Bay Area classic, Dungeness crab chioppino. I think this was my least favorite, not because anything was wrong with it but because everything else was so exceptional.


The first main course was swordfish + white beans and artichoke hearts. The fish was cooked perfectly and paired brilliantly with the white beans and sauces.


Finally, we get to the highlight of the night. An American Waygu Ribcap with creamed corn & broccoli. This was easily on my top 3 list for the best steaks I have ever had. The meat practically melted in your mouth. Despite being gluttonously full from all the other courses, I couldn't spare even a bite of the marbled steak. At $80+, this cut doesn't come cheap but is well worth it for a special occasion.




Drinks

You can't go to a place called Bourbon Steak and not get some Bourbon-based drinks! If you can handle a stiff drink, I would highly recommend their Bourbon tasting. This is quite a unique drinking experience that features three different Bourbons. To enhance their flavors, each comes paired with items like citrus, cinnamon, or vanilla--which is then smoked and used to coat each glass before the Bourbon is poured. They also serve this at Bourbon Pub and is worth a trip to get this alone. Everything is done table-side and it was one of the highlights of the night for me.



My wife doesn't like strong drinks so she ordered a Bramble, which she loved. She's very tough to please when it comes to alcohol, so the bartenders nailed this one. I also ordered my favorite cocktail, an Old Fashioned. It was surprisingly smooth and just had the right amount of sweetness. The quality of the cocktails was right up there with mixology-type bars.


While we did not order wine with our food, they had an encyclopedia of vintages to choose from. Prices for a bottle start around $50 and go all the way up to the cost of a midsize sedan. No seriously, there is a wine on the list called Domaine de la Romanee - Corti that will run you $19,000. I'm guessing its being saved for the 49ers after a Superbowl win.

Dessert

We shared two different desserts before having to be rolled to our car. The first was an exceptional cheese course. I didn't write down the names of the cheeses but they all met my wife's approval, including a blue cheese which she typically does not like. There was a delicious croissant toast to accompany the cheeses.


The second was a Devil's food cake with malted vanilla ice cream. If you see this on the menu when you go, I would highly recommend it.


Service

I really have to thank the restaurant for the outstanding service we received. Each course was well-timed and everyone that we spoke too was friendly and patient with my barrage of questions. I would say this was on par with the Michelin Star restaurants I have been to in the Bay Area. Our waitress even ran out to the street when she noticed that I forgot my notebook on the table. This will be my new go-to restaurant for special events like Anniversaries!


Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Wednesday Wishlist: Michelin Star Restaurants (2012 Edition)

It's time for my annual rant on San Jose not having any Michelin star restaurants. The Michelin Guide is likely the most prestigious handbook for top restaurants in the world. In the US, they only publish the guide for 3 regions: New York, The Bay Area, and Chicago. The good news is that for 2012 we now have 47 restaurants in the Bay Area with at least one Michelin star. The bad news is none of them are in San Jose (even Oakland has one).

I do think it's only a matter of time before we get a Michel-rated restaurant. In fact, I'm really surprised Le Papillon and La Foret did not make the cut yet. I've been to a quarter of Michelin restaurants in the bay, and both of these are better than many of them. Heck, I'll even call out one restaurant--Village Pub--for really not deserving to be on the list below at all.

As for the South Bay as a whole, we have the same 6 restaurants as last year (highlighted below). Thankfully we didn't lose any, and Baume in Palo Alto was upgraded from a single star to a coveted two star designation. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that next year we'll at minimum increase the South Bay's representation in the guide with a few more restaurants, and hopefully one of those will be in San Jose. I'll also add that it would be pretty slick to see a Mexican, Vietnamese, or Indian restaurant achieve this status in the South Bay. This would really stand out as something unique not only in the Bay Area, but also internationally (very few non-French ethnic restaurants get stars, Dio Deka is our South Bay exception).




Three Stars
Restaurant at Meadowood, St. Helena
French Laundry, Yountville

Two Stars
Baume, South Bay*
Benu, San Francisco
Coi, San Francisco
Cyrus, Healdsburg
Manresa, South Bay*
Saison, San Francisco*

One Star
Acquerello, San Francisco
Alexander’s Steakhouse, South Bay*
Ame, San Francisco*
Applewood, Guerneville
Atelier Crenn, San Francisco
Auberge du Soleil, St. Helena
Aziza, San Francisco
Bouchon, Yountville
Boulevard, San Francisco
Campton Place, San Francisco
Chez TJ, South Bay*
Commis, East Bay
Dio Deka, South Bay*
Etoile, Yountville*
Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant, Forestville
Fleur de Lys, San Francisco
Frances, San Francisco
Gary Danko, San Francisco*
La Costanera, Peninsula
La Folie, San Francisco
La Toque, Napa
Luce, San Francisco*
Madera, Peninsula*
Madrona Manor, Healdsburg
Masa’s, San Francisco
Michael Mina, San Francisco
One Market, San Francisco
Plumed Horse, South Bay*
Quince, San Francisco
Redd, Yountville
Sante, Sonoma
Solbar, Calistoga
Sons & Daughters, San Francisco
Spruce, San Francisco
Terra, St. Helena
Terrapin Creek, Bodega Bay
Ubuntu, Napa
Village Pub, Peninsula*
Wakuriya, Peninsula

* Restaurants Josh has been to

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Dishcrawlin' The Fairmont San Jose

First off, I have to say hello to the readers of The San Jose Blog! My name is Jennifer and I’m a blogger/photographer/San Jose resident. I’ll be blogging about random events, shindigs, places to be.. who knows -- but here I am! Hello to all!

SO....

Last Tuesday, I attended my third Dishcrawl, this time in downtown at the Fairmont San Jose. If you don’t know what Dishcrawl is then you are missing out. During a Dishcrawl, you get a chance to sample 4-5 different dishes of food; tasting food you may have never had before -- or perhaps going to venues you only thought you’d check out someday. Oh and a fun kicker - you won’t know what you get to try until a few days before the event. Mystery meals are fun!

Around 7pm I showed up at The Fairmont and the only area I was familiar with was the lobby. I looked around and saw a lot of hungry people, most with beverages from the lobby lounge in their hand.

I see buttons! Green, blue and red buttons. Everyone is ready to crawl, ready to EAT. I’m Team Green. Team Blue was the most rambunctious. Those crazies.

It’s time to start the eating. Green Team gets to eat Sushi from the Lobby first.

Now in no way am I a proper food critic - I just know when something tastes good to me or not so much. So these are my very-uneducated opinions in food cuisine.

My first dish: Fresh Tuna and Salmon Nigiri Sushi, Spider and Unagi-Hamachi Roll. The tuna and salmon literally melted in my mouth. I’ve had sushi that is a little chewy - THIS WAS NOT. I am not a big raw fish-sushi eater. However, I LOVED this sushi.

Sushi Time!


After some delightful conversation, our group moved on to Pagoda for some Wok Fried Mango and Mint Chicken and Dungeness Crag Egg Drop Soup, Honey Walnut Prawns (NOM!), and Steamed Jasmine Rice. My fiance and I have been to Pagoda before and have had the Honey Walnut Prawns but not the other stuff. Oh so delicious!

Pagoda Goods


After Pagoda, it is time to hit up The Fountain. I honestly had no idea The Fountain was there. I only knew of Pagoda.

At the Fountain we were served House Hickory Smoked Salmon Blinis with Caviar and Creme fraiche, Heirloom Tomato Shooter, and Dungeness Crake Cake with Basil Aioli. I’m not a big fan of tomato soups or bloody marys, but with a quick taste of the shooter I noted it was pretty flavorful and had that zest kick to it. My favorite was the smoked salmon blinis with caviar and creme fraiche.

Goodies from The Fountain


Tracy Lee, the creator of Dishcrawl sat down with us and chatted a bit. Did you know that there is essentially a Dishcrawl happening somewhere (within the 23 cities listed on the website) everyday? They’re becoming more and more popular too - I hear Portland sold out of their tickets for their first event in two days flat.

After some discussion about downtown San Jose and all the wonderful little spots to try out, someone with Tracy’s team came up to her and announced that IT WAS TIME.

Time for what?

The grand finale! On to the SWEETS!

Sea of sweets


The Fairmont opened three of its suites - The Presidential, The Fairmont, and The International and put out a spread of sweets: chocolate fountain with assorted fruits and nibbles, truffles, macaroons, mango-fennel panna cotta, assorted french pastries, and assorted fruit sorbet with super cute little cones. While there was no way I could try them all, I grabbed a plate of mixed goodies and sat down to nosh away.

I simply cannot pick a favorite as everything I tried was delicious, The Fairmont San Jose’s award-winning Pastry Chef Fernando Arreola is amazing.

Next upcoming San Jose Dishcrawl is “Taste San Jose’s Night Air” on Tuesday, September 20th at 7pm for $26. As of writing this blog post there were only 5 tickets left. Get yours before they run out!


Tuesday, October 20, 2009

2010 Michelin Restaurant Ratings

The latest Michelin ratings for Bay Area have just been released and 39 restaurants have been recognized in our neighborhood. Receiving a Michelin star is one of, if not the highest honor a fine dining restaurant can receive. There are 3 different categories:

One Star - A very good restaurant in its category
Two Stars - Excellent cuisine, worth a detour
Three Stars - Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey

The same rubric is used all around the world, so a Two Star restaurant in the Bay Area would be the equivalent to a Two Star restaurant in France, London, or New York. As you glance through the full list of restaurants below, you may notice that NONE of them are in San Jose. So my question to you is, how the heck does a city of one million people not have a single Michelin rated restaurant? I know it's not because we don't love food. Did the Michelin committee just ignore San Jose entirely, or do we truly not have a single restaurant that deserves a star? If the latter is the case, I'm pretty sure I can think of a restaurant or two that deserves to be on the list below...

Three stars

The French Laundry, Yountville

Two stars

Coi, San Francisco
Cyrus, Healdsburg
Manresa, Los Gatos*
The Restaurant at Meadowood, St. Helena

One star

Acquerello, San Francisco
Ame, San Francisco*
Auberge du Soleil, Rutherford
Aziza, San Francisco (new)
Bouchon, Yountville
Boulevard, San Francisco
Chez Panisse, Berkeley
Chez TJ, Mountain View
Commis, Oakland (new)
The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco*
El Paseo, Mill Valley (new; now closed)
Etoile, Yountville (new)
Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant, Forestville
Fifth Floor, San Francisco
Fleur de Lys, San Francisco
Gary Danko, San Francisco*
La Folie, San Francisco
La Toque, Napa (new)
Luce, San Francisco (new)*
Madrona Manor, Healdsburg
Masa's, San Francisco
Michael Mina, San Francisco (two stars last year)
Murray Circle, Sausalito
One Market, San Francisco
Plumed Horse, Saratoga*
Quince, San Francisco (new)
Range, San Francisco
Redd, Yountville
Sante, Sonoma (new)
Solbar, Calistoga (new)
Terra, St. Helena
Trevese, Los Gatos (now closed)
Ubuntu, Napa (new)
The Village Pub, Woodside*

* Restaurants I've been to