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San Francisco/Bay Area restaurant reviews by Chris NorrisArchive for Deli
Caffe Siena, Los Gatos
Caffe Siena, Los Gatos
October 2007
Way Good. This little café is located on the corner of Main Street and College Avenue in Los Gatos. Continue up College Ave and you can eat at Tapestry or wine taste at the Testarossa Vineyards. Head down Main a block and you’re at Dio Deka. A bit of a dining Mecca, that corner. The Caffe Siena is an Italian themed café with a selection of Italian pastries and breads, great espressos, and an absolutely wonderful selection of paninis. If you’ve been to Italy and had the opportunity to choose your own sandwich out of a deli case, and wait while its grilled just for you on a panini grill manned by experts, then you know that the American incarnations of these sandwiches are nothing like the Italian original. Caffe Siena challenges that statement. Go for the paninis, and have the coffee and pastry for dessert.
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Sourdough Eatery, San Jose
Sourdough Eatery, San Jose
July 2007
Way Good. The Sourdough Eatery gets close to a Woo-Hoo for its unique ambiance and for enabling a truly one-of-a-kind lunch experience in downtown San Jose. The Eatery is owned and operated by Barbara and Michael, and is located on North 1st Street in a house that is over 100 years old. Barbara danced for the Folies Bergere while studying art in Paris, and has created a body of work that literally fills the walls of the restaurant. In fact, she has painted portraits of George Bush Sr., as well as Bill (and soon to be president?) Hillary Clinton and been invited to the White House!
I first discovered the eatery when a previous lunch companion, Ron V., put me on to it almost 20 years ago. The Eatery is surrounded by bail bond offices, and is across the street from the county jail and courtrooms. Expectations are not high for restaurants on this block of 1st street. But walk into the Eatery and be surrounded by portraits of celebrities, seascapes, blondes, cats & dogs and breathe in the wonderful smell of freshly baked sourdough bread, and the uncomfortable reminders of the wrong side of the law are left on the street. While the interior feels more like a british pub, when you walk into the back garden, you are transported to a biergarten outside of Munich on a warm summer day! Mature trees covered in ivy provide almost complete shade from the hot sun, and eclectic tables scattered randomly throughout the garden beg you to kickback and unwind.
I missed quite a block of years between my first dozen visits and my most recent dozen visits, but Barbara and Michael are doing well, Michael still opens my beer for me (yes, I make an exception, and ALWAYS get beer here for lunch), and the sandwiches are truly incredible. Be sure to ask for a bit of dijon mustard on the side; it adds a lot to the fresh sourdough! The Eatery is only open for lunch, Monday thru Friday, but it’s the perfect location for a casual get together with co-workers or friends you haven’t seen for a while. And be sure to tell Barbara and Michael if you love the place – it makes them SO happy!
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Erik’s Deli Cafe, Fremont
Erik’s Deli Cafe, Fremont
July 2007
Way Good. Erik’s has kind of an organic, wholesome twist to their sandwiches, with lots of fresh ingredients. Me and my two older boys have made a bit of a habit out of Erik’s – we seem to come across them when we are feeling NOT in the hamburger mood, which is pretty often for me and the oldest (not so often for number two son …!) By the way, the soups are terrific and I especially like the REO Speedwagon sandwich, made with turkey and ham in wheat pita bread stuffed with alfalfa sprouts.
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