Wednesday, August 16, 2023
Famous Korean BBQ spot Baekjeong opens first Northern California location in San Jose
Friday, July 21, 2023
San Jose restaurants featured on TV
Wednesday, July 19, 2023
ADEGA, first and only Michelin Star restaurant in San Jose is shutting down 😢
Sunday, July 16, 2023
Petiscos in San Jose gets a rare Michelin Guide distinction
Thursday, July 13, 2023
30+ awesome brunch places to try in San Jose 🍳🥩
Sunday, July 9, 2023
Hobee's beer garden coming to Downtown San Jose
Friday, March 5, 2021
We're back in the Red Tier, indoor dining is back!
This week we officially went from a Covid tier status of purple to red, which means indoor dining is open for business again! Hopefully restaurants will never close like this again (everyone please get your vaccine as soon as you can). As a reminder the scale goes from purple, to red, to orange, and finally to yellow which has the fewest restrictions.
Restaurants will be able to open their indoor dining rooms again effective immediately. However, they will be limited to 25% of their maximum capacity or 100 guests, whichever number is lower.
What else can we look forward to in the red tier? Movie theaters can reopen at 25% as can museums, zoos, and aquariums. Stores can now operate at 50% capacity. Even indoor gyms can finally reopen, albeit at a meager 10% capacity.
California is also planning to ease the requirements to get into less restrictive tiers when we hit two different milestone. The first is when we distribute 2 million vaccines in the most disadvantaged zip codes, and then when we hit 4 million vaccines in those same areas.
The stats have been looking very promising in the Bay Area--let's hope this nightmare ends soon and the post-covid era will be another Roarin' 20s.
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Outdoor Dining in San Jose is back!
After a two month hiatus, outdoor dining has returned! If you have a favorite restaurant that you would like to keep in business, now is probably a good time to support them. The restaurant industry has not fared as well as the tech industry throughout the pandemic.
Almost all of the Santana Row restaurants appear to be open again. You can click here for the full list. I had a chance to try King's Fish House in the Valley Fair expansion over the weekend--one of the rare new restaurants to open during COVID. It's the only one in Silicon Valley and was pretty spectacular for a chain restaurant.
Petiscos by ADEGA in Downtown San Jose is an amazing option if you want to try out something new and unique. I don't believe there is another Portuguese tapas restaurant like in anywhere in the Bay Area.
With the vaccine rolling out and infection rates slowly dropping, hopefully we'll get a bit of normalcy back by Spring 2021!
Wednesday, October 14, 2020
Breaking News: indoor dining resumes today at San Jose restaurants!
Yesterday we officially went from a Covid tier status of red to orange, which means indoor dining is coming back! The scale goes from purple, to red, to orange, and finally to yellow which has the fewest restrictions. Technically we could have resumed indoor dining in red status but Santa Clara County has chosen to enforce stricter rules than what California mandates.
Restaurants will be able to open their indoor dining rooms again effective immediately. However, they will be limited to 25% of their maximum capacity or 100 guests, whichever number is lower. A few other restrictions may be lifted as well on religious gatherings and movie theaters.
Slowly we're headed back toward some level of normalcy.
Source: SVBJ
Monday, June 22, 2020
Mezcal makes the best out of a difficult situation
The restaurant is now open for outdoor dining and features an assortment of Oaxacan mole sauces and many new items like grilled octopus, a black mole tamale, a ribeye, and a salmon burger. If you're feeling adventurous you can even try grasshoppers (which are surprisingly delicious by the way).
Mezcal is open from noon to 8pm, Tuesday through Sunday, at 25 W San Fernando St.
Source: SVBJ
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
Scott's Seafood reopens in the middle of the COVID crisis
On May 21st, they opened for takeout at 200 S. 1st which is at the intersection of Paseo de San Antonio. This is a famous spot that has housed Casa Castillo, Asqew Grill, Zing, Ruffled Feathers Eatery, The Blackbird Tavern, and Social Policy. This corner has had so much turnover, that some believe it to be cursed. If there is one restaurant that can break the curse of Case Castillo, I think it's Scott's Seafood. They have a loyal fan base and will offer a more impressive menu and cocktail selection than any of their predecessors.
Just as exciting as this opening is Scott's plan to expand their brand and build a second restaurant in Downtown San Jose. They are looking to open a takeout soup and salad eatery called Scott's Chowder House which will feature their excellent seafood chowders. We don't have a great casual bread-bowl place in Downtown San Jose, so I can't wait! Meanwhile, please patronize Scott's and your over faves so we can keep as many of our restaurants as possible this year.
Source: SVBJ
Monday, May 18, 2020
The San Pedro Square Market Re-Opens Today!
Participating eateries include:
- Anchors
- Bread Brothers
- Gameday
- JORA Ceviche Bar
- Pizza Bocca Lupo
- Pasta Fresca
- Phonomenal
- Taco Bar
- Urban Momo
- Voyager Craft Coffee
Initially these will be open only for pickup and delivery. Given the abundance of outdoor seating at the San Pedro Square Market, I think this will be one of the first places in San Jose where you will be able to have a somewhat "normal" dining experience in the coming months since they will be able to easily conform to California guidelines.
It might be a good idea to shut down all of San Pedro Street between Santa Clara and St. John and use this area for socially distanced outdoor dining for all the San Pedro Street restaurants. It is not unprecedented as we did something similar during Super Bowl 50.
I will definitely be visiting sometime this week!
Monday, May 11, 2020
San Jose wants to allow more business outdoors
Currently, over 46,000 restaurant workers have lost their jobs in Silicon Valley. The industry has been devastated and many restaurants will be closing their doors for good. It's expected that restaurants will reopen with no more than 25-50% of their previous interior capacity, so any change we can make to cushion further blows to the industry I'm sure will be greatly appreciated.
City officials are also trying to offset application costs and provide quick-build infrastructure. These include barriers and potted plants.
Hopefully some of the changes will become permanent so that we can have more al fresco dining and retail in the community when all of this is over.
Source: SVBJ, San Jose Inside
Monday, March 16, 2020
Valley Fair's $1.1B expansion is now partially open
Parking is now a lot easier with a new six-story garage right off of Steven's Creek that goes underneath the expansion and has direct connections to the new Bloomingdales. Speaking of which, it's a true flagship department store with San Jose branding everywhere. Unfortunately I couldn't afford most of the cool things in there, it's more expensive than Nordstrom yet not quite as insane as Neiman Marcus. I did find my favorite clothing store near one of the two entrances of the expansion--Untuckit. This is the first one in San Jose. The expansion also includes Forward (premium doctor's office), Orangetheory Fitness, Bulgari, Cole Haan Grandshop, and a few ex-Santana Row brands such as Anthropologie, Pinkberry, and Urban Outfitters.
The new Santana Row-style outdoor concourse will feature a bunch of high-end restaurants including Maestro's. I have a feeling that they will get another Michelin-recommended restaurant or two this year. Din Thai Fung already has that rating. Salt & Straw is the only place open so far, but the ice cream was exceptional (Bone Marrow and Smoked Cherries... wow). I loved the interactive art on the walls near the entrances too.
They have five new stores focused on retail concepts. One had a bunch of cool Kickstarter projects in it and is similar to B8ta at Santana Row. Definitely worth checking out.
While not part of the expansion, I also finally got to try Ramen Nagi. Even with the Coronavirus, it still took an hour and 15min in line. Totally worth it, it was some of the best ramen I have ever had. It goes by faster than you think since you customize your food while waiting in the line and the food comes quickly once you get inside.
Once the virus boils over, this is hopefully going to drive a lot of extra tax revenue to San Jose. It's hands down the nicest mall in the Bay Area and they are making an effort to be more Santana Rowish with the outdoor space. I truly hate going to traditional malls, but this experience was way better than what I expected. I'll definitely be back to check out the new restaurants as they open.
Source: SVBJ
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Eataly coming to San Jose
The market clocks in at an impressive 51,000 SQFT. Eataly is large enough to house multiple restaurants, cafes, food stalls, bars, and take-out counters. If you're a foodie that likes Italian food, this may be your new favorite location in the mall. It will also be the only Eataly location in Northern California.
Eataly San Jose will open sometime in 2021.
Source: SVBJ
Monday, January 6, 2020
Santana Row future plans
Some of the current retail spaces will be converted for other uses. For example, the two-story Urban Outfitters will be broken up into smaller spaces for new retail and restaurants.
Federal Realty also plans to break ground on a five-story building this year with 258 residential units at 358 Hatton Street. Across the street, they are gearing up for Two Santana West, an office building with 375,000 SQFT of office space.
It sounds like Federal Realty still has their foot on the gas even though the original development plan has been completed. The area is going to look quite different with these changes and the Valley Fair Expansion having their grand opening this year.
Source: SVBJ
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Orchestria Palm Court
Click here to read the post.
Monday, October 1, 2018
Scott's Seafood launches a hip new lunch menu
John Huân Vũ, Andrew Rivlin, Noe Sacoco, and I were invited to try the new lunch menu at Scott's Seafood. Collectively, we were blown away. I have been to Scott's many times, and this was by far my best experience.
Before we got into lunch, we were lucky to sample two items from the catering menu. An ahi poke in a soy sauce infused waffle cone and bruschetta in a basil infused waffle. Both were delicious with outstanding presentation. These are several of the many options available for private events.
The first lunch dishes we sampled were three salads: the seared scallop salad with organic mix greens, rainbow quinoa salad, and red & golden beets salad with grilled peaches. Each of us had a favorite. I have always loved the way Scott's Seafood does scallops, so that one was my personal fave. The pomegranate molasses vinaigrette on the red & golden beets salad impressed everyone at the table.
We also tried a tuna poke with seaweed, cucumber, and wontons that was a more elaborate version of tuna cone we had earlier. However, the real star of this round was the squid ink croquette with calamari. The squid ink added a complex and briny flavor that went flawlessly with the croquette and added a dramatic color to the dish. It sounds a bit exotic but this is an appetizer that is likely to please anyone who likes calamari or crunchy fried foods (nearly everyone). The croquette was one of the more creative plates and was John's favorite dish.
The lobster rigatoni was a combination of fresh rigatoni pasta, cherry tomatoes, Gruyere cheese, tarragon, bisque sauce and generous pieces of lobster. The halibut bouillabaisse lemon risotto was a more modern take on a Scott's classic with beautiful presentation.
Finally, our favorite was the lobster roll. It's pretty hard to find a great lobster roll in San Jose, this is it. The crispy and buttery bread with well-seasoned chunks of lobster smothered in shellfish bisque sauce--flawless. Beats Sam's Chowder House any day of the week.
Big thanks to John Huân Vũ for taking all of the photos.
Scott's Seafood
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Dunkin' Donuts comes to San Jose
This is the first of several new locations. Next up will be a second San Jose shop on Winchester Boulevard towards the end of the year or early 2019. Franchise owners are also scouting Milpitas, Sunnyvale, and other Silicon Valley cities for further expansion.
The San Jose Dunkin' Donuts is now open everyday from 5am to 10pm.
Source: SVBJ
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Spencer's Steak & Chops
Butternut squash soup with a roasted marshmallow, topped with chives. This one blew my mind. On the official menu the soup comes with creme fraiche instead of the marshmallow, which is too bad since this variant seems far more tasty and creative.
Braised bacon with local figs (middle part), and caramelized organic honey (top). I love bacon as well as combining savory and sweet flavors. The blend of the extremely thick cut bacon with the sweetness of the figs and honey made this my favorite dish. If you try this (and you should), slice from the very top to the bottom to make sure you get all three flavors in every bite.
Ahi poke. Sushi grade ahi, avocado, sesame, nori, and wonton. Here the secret is slightly burning the nori, which gives it a different flavor. This was very tasty and something I definitely was not expecting at a place known for their steaks.
Pan-seared Hokkaido sea scallops, filberts (no need to google that, they are hazelnuts), on top of orzo. The scallop was perfectly cooked and this would be a perfect light dinner for a pescatarian.
Kobe Ribeye, Spencer cut, and Tomahawk cut with potatoes and mushrooms. This was the most insane meat plate I have ever had. There was also a side of Ostrich steak (tastes like red meat but is very low in calories/fat). Even I couldn't finish the plate, but it made for a very luxurious lunch the next day.