It's the Silicon Valley restaurant review thread!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Can some of you SV Dopers post about any restaurant experiences you’d like to share? I’d like to read them.

Mr. Pug and I ate dinner at a new restaurant last night. It’s in Almaden (which is sort of south San Jose), and it’s called “Umunhum,” which means “Hummingbird” in a native American language. I’m here to tell you that this is one fantastic restaurant. The only bay area restaurant that surpasses it, in my opinion, is Aqua in San Francisco. It’s sophisticated and urban, but most of all, the cuisine is fabulous. The chef trained under Wolfgang Puck, and his French/fusion/California cuisine shows it. Their wine list is eclectic and includes wines from around the world, and they pour 20 wines by the glass. Our waiter was friendly and knowledgeable about the food and wines.

I had “Foie Gras with Sauternes reduction, grapefruit, and juniper berry vinaigrette.” It was unctuously good, and I drank a glass of Riesling with it. I then had “Grilled Australian Lamb Chops, cilantro & mint vinaigrette, potato pave and glazed turnips,” and drank a Provence mourvedre with that. These were the best lamb chops I ever ate: the herbal vinaigrette provided a sparkling kick to the perfectly medium-rare chops.

I went back to shake the hand of the chef and tell him how happy we were that his restaurant was so close to us. It is in a mundane-looking strip mall, but it is definitely not a mundane restaurant. I hope a couple of you SV Dopers find an evening to try this restaurant out. They’re going places.

2

I recommend an Italian restaurant (don’t remember the name) that is directly across from the San Jose Convention Center. I still remember that lunch. Excellent.

3

How about some of the places that are enjoyable but not too ritzy? I mean good food, inexpensive, enjoyable. The sort of thing where you and your coworkers can just go and have lunch at and know that everyone will leave satisfied, and not completely broke.

4

xizor: Was it “Il Fornaio”?

Narile: A restaurant that is less expensive than Umunhum, but still not in the bargain basement, is “The Left Bank” in Menlo Park. It’s modeled after a casual Parisian bistro, very interesting and authentic-looking. It serves traditional bistro dishes, such as French onion soup, steak and french fries, etc. The cooking is VERY good. We were there on a Sunday afternoon, and it was quiet, but I hear that it’s a very happening place and can get crowded. I can understand that; the bar was very pleasant and they had a good tap selection.

Another good low-price choice might be “Henry’s Hi-Life” in San Jose, near the Arena. It is in a wonderfully funky old building, and serves good BBQ ribs and steaks. Because of its nearness to the SJ Arena, it is a big Sharks fans hangout, and can get rowdy during a (successful) home game.

When I start looking for high quality and low price, I usually go ethnic. “Chacho’s” in downtown San Jose is some of the best Mexican food I’ve had. It’s a little in the gringo/Tex-Mex line, but everything’s extremely good. It’s very popular, so when I go there, I plan to arrive well before noon to avoid waiting in line. Try the beef enchiladas or the carne asada. They also have one of the best tequila selections I’ve seen.

5

Well for starters, you can visit this this site. It is my Digital City restaurant review page. There are many excellent restaurants in the Silicon Valley area. I will try to list some of my favorites including some of those listed at Digital City.
[li]Le Mouton Noir[/li][sup]Big Basin Way, Saratoga[/sup]
[sup]SUPERB FRENCH CUSINE WITH EXCELLENT SERVICE[/sup]

[li]La Forêt[/li][sup]Almaden Valley, San Jose[/sup]
[sup]IMPECCABLE CLASSIC FRENCH DINING IN A SCENIC SETTING[/SUP]

[li]Rue de Paris[/li][sup]Market Street, San Jose[/sup]
[sup]GREAT BISTRO SERVING ECONOMICAL LUCHES AND DINNERS[/sup]

[li]The Armenian Goumet[/li][sup]Duane Avenue, Sunnyvale[/sup]
[sup]ONE OF THE VALLEY’S GEMS, THE BEST LAMB SHISH KEBAB[/sup]

[li]The Red Sea[/li][sup]North First Street, San Jose[/sup]
[sup]GREAT ETHIOPIAN FOOD SERVED WITH FRESH INJERA BREAD[/sup]

[li]Quincy’s Barbecue[/li][sup]Main Street, Milpitas[/sup]
[sup]SIMPLY THE BEST BBQ IN THE VALLEY, OUTSTANDING LINKS[/sup]

[li]Ciceros Pizza[/li][sup]Stevens Creek Boulevard, Cupertino[/sup]
[sup]THE FINEST THIN CRUST PIZZA, BAR NONE[/sup]

[li]El Buen Gusto[/li][sup]Berryessa Road, San Jose[/sup]
[sup]THE BEST CARNE ASADA TACOS IN THE VALLEY[/sup]

[li]Falafel’s[/li][sup]West San Carlos, San Jose[/sup]
[sup]GREAT FALAFEL MADE BY FRIENDLY PEOPLE[/sup]

[li]Ceasar’s Fried Chicken[/li][sup]Hesperian Boulevard, Hayward[/sup]
[sup]THE FINEST FRIED CHICKEN IN THE BAY AREA[/sup]

[li]Villa Delicatessen[/li][sup]Lincoln Avenue, Willow Glen (San Jose)[/sup]
[sup]NOT AN EATERY BUT A SUPER ITALIAN DELI[/sup]

[li]Bill of Fare[/li][sup]Saratoga Avenue, San Jose[/sup]
[sup]BEST HASH BROWNS IN THE VALLEY, GREAT OMLETES TOO[/sup]

[li]The Original Pancake House[/li][sup]De Anza Boulevard, Cupertino[/sup]
[sup]FANTASTIC SWEDISH PANCAKES, A GREAT PLACE FOR KIDS[/sup]

[li]Sam Kee[/li][sup]Wolfe Road, Sunnyvale[/sup]
[sup]BETTER DIM SUM THAN SF’s CHINATOWN[/sup]

[li]Won Ton House[/li][sup]El Camino Boulevard, Santa Clara[/sup]
[sup]GREAT SOUPS AND FINE SPARERIBS IN BLACK BEAN SAUCE[/sup]

[li]Ditmer’s Wurst Haus[/li][sup]San Antonio Road, Los Altos[/sup]
[sup]EXCELLENT DELI AND PRIZE WINNING SAUSAGES[/sup]

[li]Just Great Sandwiches[/li][sup]The Alameda, San Jose[/sup]
[sup]A HOLE IN THE WALL WITH THE BEST SANDWICHES IN TOWN[/sup]

[li]Original Joe’s[/li][sup]South First Street, San Jose[/sup]
[sup]CLASSIC CHOPS AND THE BEST NY STEAK IN SAN JOSE[/sup]

[li]Tomisushi[/li][sup]Saratoga Avenue, San Jose[/sup]
[sup]SUPERB SUSHI AND THE BEST SAKE TEMAKI[/sup]

[li]The Tadich Grill[/li][sup]California Avenue, San Francisco[/sup]
[sup]BETTER SEAFOOD THAN FISHERMAN’S WHARF[/sup]

[li]Bobby Lee’s Country Smokehouse[/li][sup]Mission Boulevard, Hayward[/sup]
[sup]NOT AN EATERY BUT FINE SAUSAGES AND FRANKS[/sup]

[li]Nordic House Delicatessen[/li][sup]Telegraph Avenue, Oakland[/sup]
[sup]THE BEST SCANDINAVIAN DELI IN THE BAY AREA[/sup]

[li]Neldam’s Danish Bakery[/li][sup]Telegraph Avenue, Oakland[/sup]
[sup]THE BEST DANISH BAKERY IN THE BAY AREA[/sup]

[li]Greenlee’s Bakery[/li][sup]The Almeda, San Jose[/sup]
[sup]CINNAMON BREAD TO BEAT THE BAND[/sup]
I guess this will do for now, I’ll think of some more and post them later on. Good idea pug!

6

I like Colonel Lee’s Mongolian BBQ on Castro St. in Mountain View. Man Bo Duck on Castro St. is pretty good, too.

7

All us carnivores in the office are huge fans of the cubed beef at Camranh Bay in San Mateo. It’s the default choice for goodbye lunches and the like.

8

If we are going as far up as San Mateo, may I recommend some less than four star restaraunts that are greasy and very good?

Mr Pizza Man, in San Mateo
and
Jersey Joe’s also in San Mateo.

Redwood City has two good places, that I can think of.
Hawaiian Drive-in
and
Fifth Quarter pizza.

Just thought I would share with the world a few places to get delicious cheese and other good things.

Oh, and this is well off the mark as far as Silicon Valley goes, but it is good stuff.
El Perito (I think thats the name.) Its in Half Moon Bay. They have yummy quesidillas. With bacon even. Yum.

pat

9

I just found out yesterday, that Cicero’s Pizza will be changing hands in the next few months. This is the worst possible news imaginable. Their pizza is without a doubt the finest thin crust in the land. Everyone that I have ever taken there walks away praising the joint.

We now must begin planning for the official Straight Dope Pizza Party. This is serious folks. Cicero’s is the only place that I go to for my pizza, period. No other restaurant can compare to it. If you knew what a demanding foodophile I am, you would know that this is high praise indeed.

I will be starting a thread about this in the near future, I just wanted to post this here because all of the Bay Area foodies will be checking in at this thread.

This is almost enough to make me use the frowning smilie…

[sub]But not quite![/sub]

10

Hey, Zenster, I checked out Cicero’s on Metroactive.com:

http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sunnyvale.sun/10.27.99/taste-9943.html

Sounds like a real pizza joint! If the Straight Dope Pizza Party is a weekday thing, I’m there.

Here’s my next review:

Amber India, on Camino Real, in Mountain View. Here’s another of those terrific Silicon Valley restaurants which are paradoxically housed in a scrubby little strip mall. At first, you will think you are pulling up to the wrong place, but as you exit your car, the heady aroma of spicy Indian cuisine will hit you and you will know you are there.

Contrasting with the dull exterior, the interior of the restaurant is elegant, even opulent. The restaurant’s managers must have known that they would be catering to a well-to-do dotcom crowd of emigrant Indians, and their decor and especially their cuisine show their sensitivity to this.

The menu is broad and descriptive. You won’t find the typical Indian “combination plate” here, but you will find many luscious-sounding dishes which are unfamiliar to you. We ordered one of their biryani (layered pilaf), a lamb dish in spicy cream gravy, a potato and cauliflower dish, raita (yogurt salad), and chutneys. The lamb was tender, rich, and delectable; the biryani was wonderful but superfluous as they serve plain steamed basmati rice gratis with every meal; the vegetable dish was fiery, classic Indian vegetarian cuisine; and the raita was piquant and cooling. The chutneys (mint and mango) were vibrantly hot, intensely flavored and fabulous.

Service was a bit formal, but a pleasure to watch because the food arrives in bright copper serving vessels.

In short, four stars out of four for this restaurant. Without question, it is the best Indian food I have ever had. The price is a tad steep, but not over the top, considering everything is handmade and carefully crafted. With the weather so cold and dank, it’s time to give this place a try and warm up your insides with some spicy comfort food of the gods.

Oh, yes, and there’s a lunch buffet, too – $10.

11

I “ORIGINAL JOE’S” still in San Jose? I loved their veal and spaghetti-it reminded me of similar establishements in new york.Stepping into the place is like entering 1955! And the cocktails are huge!

12

egkelly: Original Joe’s is most assuredly still here. I’m hoping to get over there for lunch one of these days, but it’s a bit of a walk for me. It’s not the walk there that bothers me, but the walk back, with a bellyful of lasagna or linguine and meatballs (burp)! Wish you hadn’t told me about the cocktails. You’re right, it’s a restaurant right out of the 1950s, complete with grumpy old waiters and everything.

13

I stopped working in Mountain View, now I work in Brisbane. The restuarant I miss most is Tung Kee. Why can’t they take this thing farther up the peninsula? (They just closed the one on Castro St., I heard).

El Paso Cafe in M.V, on ECR.- great Tex-Mex

Le Petit Bistro, right next to El Paso, great French food, not California-French but French.

Crab Station in Sunnyvale - best Cantonese food I’ve had in the South Bay.

Little Sichuan in San Mateo - best Sichaun cuisine, if you like Chinese food, chances are you already know about this place.

Santa Sushi in San Mateo - according to popular opionion, best Ramen joint in the Bay Area. It’s the best I’ve had, but I haven’t eaten at all of them.

La Bamba’s in Mountain View - best burrito, according to the folks on ba.food. I agree, although I usually get the taco’s.

14

Well, I live in Seattle now, but every time I go “home” to Sunnyvale to visit my parents we go to the Country Gourmet. It’s at Fremont and Mary in Sunnyvale, and it’s GREAT! Wonderful sandwiches and salads, some different-but-not-weird entrees, relaxed, cozy atmosphere. I wish there were a clone up here.

Another favorite is Willow Street Wood-Fired Pizza, which has multiple locations. Great food, fun atmosphere. I wish there were a clone of this one, too!

These are, by far, my favorite SV restaurants, and I lived there for 18+ years!

15

I’ve got to mention Il Postale for excellent service, superb Italian cuisine, and wonderful wines, all at reasonable prices. It’s in Sunnyvale, on Washington Ave., right across the street from Macy’s.

16

The absolute bestest pizza place in the entire South Bay (and the whole world, for that matter) is Pizza Presto in San Jose and Cupertino. They put a little teeny dash of chili powder in the sauce. Yum.

17

I did like Willow Street Wood fired pizza the one time I went there.

Amber India is also very good.

Passa(?) off of Central and Lawrence (I believe) is pretty good indian. I’ve only eaten there once, and someone else drove, so not sure of the street.

I liked Kabuls on El Camino when I went there three years ago. I need to try it again soon.

I also enjoy Byrne’s deli/market sandwiches for lunch sometimes.

18

Pasand, not Passa.

A coworker suggests Taj India off of Wolfe for good indian food.

19

Best Italian restaurant I’ve been to in California has to be Fellini O in Newark. Unpretentious, not terribly expensive by SV standards, but very, very good.

It’s near the north end of the Newpark Mall. Exit 880 at Mowry and go west.

20

For me, the valley goes north to at least San Carlos, please bear with me if your thoughts are more south.

Mango Cafe on Hamilton in Palo Alto. Spicy Jamaican food, including really good jerk and an excellent mild chicken dish (palau, sp?). I’ve eaten everything on their menu. It’s all good. Spicy without taking out any taste buds (YMMV). I strongly recommend the chicken or veggie roti (curried chicken in flat bread). Mmmmmm. No reservations, you will want a smoothie, although they have some great Jamaican ginger ale. Dinner for two runs about $30. Beer.

Shiok! in Menlo Park is one of the best things than can happen to your mouth in public. Singaporean food. Again, some of it is very spicy, if you are a wussy like me, DON’T eat the red sauce that might be occupying the far corner of you plate. Get the calamari, the nasi goreng (sp?) or the singaporean chicken. There are veggie versions of most dishes. I believe they are not taking reservations.

Thai Time in San Carlos, on El Camino Real is excellent filling Thai food. The curry is well balanced and the rice is cooked to perfection without fail (I spent 4 months at my last office eating there about twice a week).

Fuki Sushi in Palo Alto is excellent.

The Left Bank in Menlo Park (Santa Cruz Ave) is owned by the same people as La Folie in San Francisco. It’s an orgasm on a plate. The subtlety and complexity of the flavors is worth being quiet while you eat. I even ate/enjoyed the salad (for those of you who know my carnivorous habits, this is an event). Good wine. Expensive. Left Bank is more Cafe food, loud and casual dress. La Folie is skirt/tie, quieter and has pate to die for.

Other recommends:
Ramona’s Pizza in Palo Alto.
La Costena burrito bar in Mountain View. (Burrito Real, while owned by the same people is NOT the same)
BJ Bull’s pasties and pies in Palo Alto.
Kabul Afghan Cuisine in Sunnyvale (already mentioned, but get the lamb and raisins, skip the elephant ears.)