San Jose Christmas Parade Photos

Thanks for the photos Tom!

Merry Christmas San Jose!

Christmas Lights in San Jose

If you want to know which homes in San Jose have the best Christmas decorations, look no further than Lights of the Valley! In addition to descriptions and photos, they even tell you if there are synchronized light shows, FM broadcasts, or websites dedicated to the decorations (some people went all out). You can even select a group of homes to visit and the website will provide driving directions between each location. Click here to see the full list of ultra-merrily decorated homes in San Jose!

Downtown Parking Map

Since a lot of people are coming downtown for holiday events such as Christmas in the Park, I thought this parking map might be handy. My favorite parking spot is the Central Garage below The 88 and The Market by Safeway. I have never seen it completely full and it is very easy to validate the parking just by buying a soda or snack in The Market, or going to just about any restaurant Downtown. The location is also right in central downtown, making everything a quick walk away (this is the reason why The 88 has a perfect walkscore of 100).

Downtown San Jose Restaurant Spreadsheet - Quick Update

I finally got all of the easily accessible data into the restaurant spreadsheet. All restaurant website links should be in there along with restaurant hours (if available on yelp or the restaurant website). Even I was shocked to see the some of the findings after finishing the spreadsheet. I have always complained about how many downtown restaurants close on Sundays--which is a great day to eat Downtown thanks to free and easy to find parking. If you look at the "Open Sunday" column, there is an awful lot of green, meaning there are TONS of restaurant open. In fact, at least 100 downtown restaurants are open on Sunday.

Second major revelation... there are an insane number of restaurants open late. Almost 40 of them are open until midnight or later. 18 restaurants are open until 2am or later on weekends! 5 are open until 3am!! Again, this list would have really came in handy in college. If you haven't bookmarked it by now, here's the link to the spreadsheet.

Wednesday Wishlist: More San Jose Museums!

We have some great museums in San Jose, but I think it's time to bring something new into the mix. Museums aren't just a source of education, they're magnets for tourism--especially if you have a large concentration of them close by. Even in today's economy, if we can bring something new, interesting, and cost effective to the table it should have every chance at success. Here are some ideas I've been tossing around in my head for fun: 

• Video Game Museum - Chronicling the past 40 years of video game history: consoles, mobile devices, arcades, and computer games. The best part about a museum like this would be interactivity. You could sit down and play games from each era. I'm sure something like this would be a hit in San Jose.
• Virtual Reality Fine Art Museum - Imagine a museum that could change every day, or perhaps even every hour. With high definition monitors and projectors, it would not be very difficult to digitally recreate parts of any museum in the world. Imagine walking into a wing of the Louvre one day and the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art the next.
• Entrepreneurship Museum - There are so many interesting Silicon Valley entrepreneurship stories worth documenting in a museum: Steve Jobs (Apple), Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Google), Will Hewlett and Dave Packard (HP), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Meg Whitman (eBay), and many, many more. 
• Vietnamese History Museum - There are over 100,000 people of Vietnamese ethnicity in San Jose, there's no better place for it in the US.

What type of new museums would you like to have in San Jose?

Silicon Valley Maps

For the past 22 years, the history of Silicon Valley has been chronicled by a small map company simply called Silicon Valley Maps. Each year a new map is published highlighting the key players in the largest and most innovative technology center in the world. Looking through each one in sequence paints an interesting picture on which companies managed to survive over time and which weren't so lucky. However, as an added bonus for me, Downtown San Jose's prominence in Silicon Valley has also been chronicled in these maps. Look for the red squares below... do you notice the trend in how Downtown is conveyed over time?

To see all of the maps, click here!

Baseball San Jose Interview with Sam Licccardo

Downtown San Jose Restaurant Spreadsheet Updates

A few notes on changes and improvements that are coming to the Downtown San Jose Restaurant list:

• Created a column for restaurants that are open on Sundays (green means they are)
• Added late night formatting for restaurants open late in the Hours column. I'm surprised at how many Downtown restaurants are open until midnight or later. I wish I had this list back in college =)
• Pink - open until midnight or later
• Light Purple - open until 1am or later
• Dark Purple - open until 2am or later
• Added a count of restaurants in the Downtown core, which excludes the San Jose Market Center, and will exclude the restaurants between 5th St. and 11th St. that I will be adding in 2011.
• Added instructions up at the top on how to sort and filter (you need to go to View >> List View).

To see the spreadsheet, just click here!

49ers Stadium Comparison

I have some interesting statistics between Candlestick Park and the New 49ers Stadium proposed for Santa Clara. I rarely post about things outside of San Jose, but in this case we would be one of the main benefactors of the new stadium (increased hotel utilization, light rail usage, and simply having another pro sports team a few miles away). They have already had their practice facility in the South Bay for a long time and most of the players physically live in the South Bay, so far all intents and purposes they'll be our team if the stadium gets built.

Pho 69 - Best Pho in San Jose!

Downtown San Jose is really on a roll with restaurant openings lately. Since I was raised in San Jose, I'm intimately familiar with Pho (Over 100,000 people of Vietnamese descent live in San Jose... Pho is everywhere). Back in college, I had Pho for lunch almost every single day. Of the 50+ Pho restaurants I've been to over the years, Pho 69 is hands down the best one in every criteria I can think of!

Let's start with the food. Today I had the spring rolls, crispy rolls, a Pho 69 special, and my wife had Chicken Pho. Everything was amazing, but the house special Pho 69 really rocked my world. The 3 main proteins in their signature bowl are brisket, meatball, and thinly sliced fillet mignon. You read that correctly, fillet Mignon in Pho! My wife's Pho Ga also featured a rare Pho ingredient, free range chicken. The broth was rich and complex. Usually I douse hot sauce and plum sauce in my soup, but that was really unnecessary in this case. Perhaps the $20,000 vat that they use to steam cook the broth over a 24 hour period has something to do with the quality here.

Next, the ambiance. Easily the nicest Pho restaurant I have ever been to (I've had Pho at Parcel 104 before, but that doesn't really count). The dining area is spacious, lofty, and well appointed. There's a second floor for additional seating and private parties that overlooks the entire restaurant, and it's equipped for Karaoke. The kitchen is pretty open and is visible from the dining area. There's even a skylight, another feature I've never seen in a Pho restaurant.

Lastly, let's talk about character. Pho 69 is located in the artsy SoFA district downtown. I've been keeping my fingers crossed for weeks that the restaurant would have a program for artists, and it looks like it paid off. The walls are fully prepped to support rotating art and the 20+ foot ceiling provides ample space for even over-sized works. And yes, Pho 69 is planning to participate in South First Friday and already have relationships with Anno Domini and MACLA!

Personally, I couldn't have asked for anything more for a new SoFA restaurant. It's been a good year for Downtown San Jose!

Downtown Districts in 30 Seconds

Baseball San Jose: Episode 2

Wii Party Tour Coming to Santana Row

SAN JOSE CONSUMERS TO PARTY HEARTY

AT EXCLUSIVE Wii PARTY TOUR STOP

Interactive Wii Party Airstream West Coast Tour

Rolls Into San Jose on Dec. 17

WHAT:           It’s not often that holiday shoppers can gather together for a free, hands-on look at one of the season’s most remarkable games. Families and friends in the San Jose area will be on their feet and having a blast when Nintendo of America’s extraordinary Wii Party Airstream West Coast Tour makes a stop at Santana Row on Dec. 17 – one of only five scheduled stops in the region. Consumers of all ages and backgrounds are invited to experience the one-of-a-kind social fun of the new Wii Party video game aboard a special Nintendo-themed Airstream trailer. In addition to providing a fun-filled break for holiday shoppers, theWii Party Airstream West Coast Tour will offer area residents a chance to win their own Wii console and a copy of Wii Party.

Created exclusively for the popular Wii system, Wii Party is designed to get families and friends on their feet and having fun together. The game features 13 party game modes and more than 80 entertaining minigames, some of which take the action from the TV screen into the living room. For example, “Animal Tracker” challenges players to pick up the Wii Remote making a particular animal sound, while “Hide ‘n’ Hunt” asks players to locate a controller that’s been cleverly hidden by another player. Whether they’re playing cooperatively or competitively, Wii Partygives every player a turn in the spotlight by putting their customized Mii characters at the center of the action. More information about Wii Partyis available at http://wiiparty.nintendo.com.

WHO:            Kids, adults, teens, parents, game enthusiasts and holiday consumers of all kinds

                     WHEN:          Friday, Dec. 17, 2010

                                          11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

                     WHERE:        Santana Row – Park Valencia

                                          3055 Olin Avenue

                                          San Jose, CA 95128        

San Jose Bike Party - Xmas Ride Tomorrow

Bring a thermos of coco cause it’s gonna be a cold but awesome night as we ride through some of the best decorated neighborhoods of San Jose. Decorate your bike with tons of lights as we show folks how we roll.

We will be doing a canned food drive at the START of the ride, so bring a CAN!

Route and Prerides will be announced Closer to the ride.

Wednesday Wishlist: Yoshi's @ San Jose

Yoshi's is a legendary Jazz Club at Oakland's Jack London Square with a secondary location in San Francisco. It brings in top tier Jazz performances in an intimate setting and even has a sushi restaurant as a part of each club. Given we have one of the largest Jazz Festivals in California, I think there is definitely a market for a 3rd Yoshi's location in San Jose.

Right outside Diridon station there are high hopes of building a new entertainment district so that people coming from all over the Bay Area (and even California with High Speed Rail) could have easy access to San Jose entertainment options. A Yoshi's would be perfect either there or in SoFA!

Pho 69 Press Release

I've received additional information on Pho 69's opening ceremony this Saturday! The ribbon cutting takes place at 2:30pm in SoFA and features traditional lion dancers. Sounds like a nice stop to make before heading to Christmas in the Park.

For Immediate Release:                                    Contact:

December 13, 2010                                           Khanh Bui: (408) 394-0369 or pho69noodlea@gmail.com

Something Hot is Coming to your Mouth at Pho 69

San Jose, Calif. -  An enticing new restaurant has come to Downtown San Jose.  Restaurant goers throughout the city are invited to sample the unique sights, sounds and tastes of Pho 69, conveniently located in the eclectic SoFA District, next to Original Joes’ (321 S. 1^st St., San Jose, CA 95113).

Join us for the grand opening on Saturday December 18^th, ribbon cutting and lion dancers at 2:30pm.

From the moment you enter into the inviting surroundings of this contemporary restaurant, you quickly realize this is not your typical Pho restaurant.  The knowledgeable staff greets you with a warm smile and you are immediately captivated by Pho 69’s thoughtful, savvy service.

The aroma of the rich pho broth with hints of star anise and cinnamon is a welcoming invitation to the forthcoming hot bowl of luscious rice noodles that is sure to warm you during this winter season.  The pho comes in a variety of broth options including traditional beef, free range chicken, locally farmed vegetable and seafood, all expertly prepared and gingerly tended to maximize flavor.

Along with the enticing aroma of comforting hearty pho, the modern interior complements the experience. Earth-toned glass tile covered walls, large lantern style pendent lighting and the warm orange of the hand embroidered chrysanthemum banquettes are a gentle complement to the subdued modern nickel-shaded sconces, historic green stair case and uplifting white textured tiles surrounding this contemporary eatery. The walls have been outfitted with museum grade hangers and left intentionally naked as Pho 69 puts out a call to local artist to exhibit their craft.

The relaxed sophistication of the dining room of Pho 69, with its stylishly trendy comfortable furnishings, muted lighting, and blend of soft and vibrant colors is the perfect neighborhood place to meet up with friends or have a business lunch.

Noted for the aromatic and simple but elegant preparation of its local products, modern Vietnamese food has become the new darling of the culinary world. The open kitchen sends the aroma of fresh herbs and spices wafting to your table as you anticipate your meal.  With all of your senses engaged, you know you've come to the right place to sample the delicious fare of Vietnamese cuisine.

Aside from pho, savor Pho 69’s other dishes such as the fresh grilled BBQ pork Vermicelli bowl with julienned vegetables, fresh herbs, bean sprouts and caramelized brown sauce. Continue your dining journey with fresh spring rolls with grilled tiger shrimp, hot and crispy crab eggroll or the roasted Japanese eggplant with crunchy shallots.  If you need just a quick bite, then have a Vietnamese sandwich filled with pickled daikon and carrots, cilantro, jalapeño, your choice of grilled meats, and for the indulgent, request the pate spread.

With so much to offer, there is always something hot coming to your mouth at Pho 69.

Pho 69 is situated at the gateway of the SoFa district in Downtown San Jose. Operating hours are Monday through Thursday from 11:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., closed Sundays. There is ample parking in the many lots in the neighborhood, many of them free after 6pm. 

New Electric Car Charging Stations Downtown

As a little Christmas present to electric car drivers, the week of the 20th will kick off the ability to start using the charging stations right in front of City Hall between 4th and 5th on Santa Clara Street. Coulomb Technologies will be installing at least 5 EV stations, 4 in front of City Hall and one in the San Fernando and Fourth Street garage. This is in addition to the 2 in the Convention Center installed earlier this year.

San Jose is the first city in the country to put in these charging stations. Likely Coulomb will try to turn the space in front of City Hall into a "demo" zone showing other cities how non-obtrusive EV charging solutions could be deployed in their city. Some ideas they are throwing around for this area are repaving part of the sidewalk with green recycled concrete and adding solar cooling stations.

For more info, check out the SJ Business Journal article over here.

San Jose Downtown Association End of Year Slideshow 2010

A nice recap of 2010 in Downtown San Jose, spread across 4 short videos!

Downtown Restaurant List Updates

A few notes on changes and improvements that are coming to the Downtown San Jose Restaurant list:

• Added Pho 69 to the list (opens Dec 18th).
• Today I found a new restaurant in the downtown core that wasn't on the SJDA's restaurant list! Unfortunately, it was another Subway :P
• I confirmed that La Nostra Pizzeria & Ristorante did in fact close. I created a new tab on the spreadsheet (you can see these at the very bottom) called "Closed Downtown SJ Restaurants." Anytime we lose one I'll move it to this tab so we have a history of previous restaurants.
• I created a new column for store hours that I have started filling up. Also any restaurant that is open on Sunday will be highlighted in blue.

To see the spreadsheet, just click here!

Pho 69 Launches Dec 18th in SoFA!

I'm really excited about this place! For the 3 people living in San Jose who have never had Pho, it's essentially Vietnamese street food (or "common people" food). The US analogy would be a hamburger or hotdog. However, it looks like Pho 69 is going to take a traditional Vietnamese staple and modernize the entire experience, much like The Counter does with gourmet hamburgers and sides. It looks very nice inside--and it's a 2 story retail space like Eulipia. I'm very happy with the location as well, right at the entrance of SoFA near original Joe's. 

Looks like their Grand Opening will be Dec. 18th at 2pm. Also, their normal hours will be Mon-Thur 11am-8:30pm and Fri-Sat from 11am to 10pm. It's a shame more restaurants aren't open on Sundays, but hopefully that will change over time.

Baseball San Jose: Episode 1

Paesano Ristorante Italiano Grand Opening Video

December 2010 Downtown Dimension Highlights

Here are my notes from the latest edition of Downtown Dimension:

• Downtown San Jose is in full holiday swing with Downtown Ice, Christmas in the Park, Winter Wonderland, KALEID Holiday Show, the Holiday Parade, You-sing-it Messiah at California Theater, Carols in the California, Santa Go-round, and Concerts at St. Joseph's Cathedral.
• The $120 million expansion of the Convention Center has been fast-tracked and they are hoping to start the project in 2011 and finish in late 2012. Most of the project will focus on tearing down the old city library and adding 45,000 sqft of ballroom space sitting on top of new meeting space [TSJB: maybe they can squeeze in a new retail space or two on the ground floor]
• The parking lot underneath 280 on South First has been SoFAed up. The columns have been repainted with colors from the San Jose flag to brighten up the area. This is also the only lot to still offer free parking after 6pm each day.
• SJSU broke ground on a $90 million project to renovate and expand the Student Union.
• Four new taxi stands have been added: San Pedro Square, SoFA, and two off 2nd St. in the historic district.
• PwC expands into the "Sobrato Tower."
• Taste of Paris and Clubhouse are now open!

To read the full newsletter, click here!

Hundreds of Santa's Helpers to Build 2,400 Bikes at "Bike Build"

A great event to help out needy children is coming to the convention center this weekend, just in time for the holidays! Please have a look at the press release below.

Press Release 
Contacts: 
Jodi Engle 
408-205-8456
jodi@prxinc.com

Ori Nagel
408-966-7801
ori@prxinc.com

TurningWheels for Kids Grants Holiday Wishes
Hundreds of Santa’s Helpers to Build 2,400 Bikes for Needy Kids on Saturday, December 11, 2010

San Jose, Calif. – December 9, 2010 – BMX riders and X-Games Gold Medalists Ryan Nyquist and Joey Garcia are challenging Silicon Valley corporate execs in a tricycle race at this year’s Bike Build on Saturday, December 11th, 2010. In its sixth year, Big Bike Build 2010, presented by TurningWheels for Kids, will gather more than 700 volunteers to build 2,400 bikes for underprivileged kids in one day at the San Jose Convention Center’s South Hall, 435 S. Market St., San Jose. 

The work whistle will blow at 8 a.m. with bicycle construction peaking at 11 a.m. when volunteers will set down their tools to watch the first-ever Great Tricycle Race, pitting the pros against local all-stars:
Gene Banman, CEO of Zero Motorcycles
Dan Fenton, CEO of Team San Jose
Rich Gamboa, Vice President of UBS
Carl Guardino, CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group
Joe Parisi, CEO and Founder of Therma Corp.
Joe Rodriguez, Columnist for the San Jose Mercury News 
Josh Thompson, former Strikeforce Mixed Martial Arts champ
Wes Wasson, Chief Marketing Officer and Sr. Vice President of Citrix Systems

Nyquist has taken the Dirt Crown twice in the Dew Tour (’09 and ’10) and won 13 X-Game medals in his legendary BMX career, spanning more than 15 years. Garcia won the Gold medal at the 1996 X-Games and Bronze medals at the 1995 and 1998 X-Games. Their participation was arranged by volunteer Mathew Mardesich, president and CEO of ROG & Co., Inc., which develops action-sport terrain parks for kids.

Twenty children from CityTeam Ministries will also participate in Bike Build and help build the bikes they’ll take home, along with a helmet and lock. The remaining bikes will be given to more than 25 Bay Area charitable organizations for distribution.

TurningWheels for Kids was the vision of Susan Runsvold, a nurse manager at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, who wanted to buy bikes at Christmas and give them to underprivileged children; children she believed might otherwise not receive any present from Santa. Runsvold began what she hoped would be a tradition of collecting money from her friends and colleagues to purchase as many bikes as possible for holiday distribution. 
“A bike is still the No. 1 requested item by children above an iPod or video game or anything else,” states Runsvold. “A bike provides a child with—not only health benefits—but a great deal of independence and joy.”

To date, TurningWheels for Kids has raised nearly $900,000 to purchase new bikes and helmets, and it has recently started to visit local neighborhoods to assist with and teach children routine maintenance of the bikes. Thanks to two individual donors who pay all modest administrative fees, 100 percent of donations go to buying bikes and helmets.
Each year, the bikes are bought in bulk, costing on average $85 for a bike and helmet, and are built by hundreds of volunteers coming together for one day of group bike construction, with thousands of children receiving a brand new bike and safety helmet. 

TurningWheels for Kids is a program of the Valley Medical Center Foundation. Every year there are more requests than bikes. This year there are requests for 3,100 bikes and only supply for 2,400. You can lend your support by making a donation at www.turningwheelsforkids.org.

###