It’sDiningTime!
San Francisco/Bay Area restaurant reviews by Chris NorrisArchive for Hmmmm…
The Grill on the Alley, San Jose
The Grill on the Alley, San Jose
March 2008
Hmmmm. The Grill on the Alley is located in the Fairmont Hotel in downtown San Jose and is typical of hotel restaurants. Overpriced food that substantially underperforms the price you pay. One weekend evening when Laura and I couldn’t get in to any of our favorite places, we were able to get a table at The Grill, have a decent meal, and head off to our movie across the street no worse for the wear. But, I wouldn’t be inclined to return unless similar circumstances prevailed. The Gill has a good selection of fish, so don’t let the name of the restaurant scare you away based on perceived cholesterol overload!
Pedro’s, Santa Clara
Pedro’s, Santa Clara
May 2008
Hmmmm. Pedro’s is located in a very high traffic location near Highway 101 and a tremendous number of high tech companies, including Intel’s headquarters. Pedro’s has been at this location for over 20 years and is something of an institution among Silicon Valley engineers. It’s a huge place, with acceptable Mexican food, and is a popular choice for large groups who want to eat reasonably quickly, and where boisterous behavior won’t be out of place. Lunch is mob scene, while dinner is busy, but not overrun. Be careful of weekend brunch specials – the food is good, but the crowds can be immense. Pedro’s makes a pretty good margarita, making it a good “after work drink” location!
Kobe
Kobe
June 2008
Hmmmm. At one time, Kobe was considered a pretty happening Japanese restaurant. However, the years have gone by, and while much else in the world has changed, I don’t think Kobe has made a serious effort to upgrade their menu, their staff, or their facility. Kobe is located in what used to be Mervyn’s Center on El Camino in Santa Clara. But, since it appears that all of the original buildings housing department stores in this strip mall are slated for demolition in the near future, perhaps Kobe’s days are numbered as well. Personally, the only reason I’d go back to Kobe would be to hear the inside scoop about what’s going on in South Bay high technology companies. There are so many conversations in progress at this restaurant during weekday lunches that you could write an entire technology blog while ingesting your daily recommended allowance of maguro and hamachi!
Green Papaya – UPDATE, Los Gatos
Green Papaya – UPDATE, Los Gatos
April 2008
Hmmmm. This restaurant is on its way down. We’ve been here several times before, but the pricing is beginning to get out of control and the service is way slow. At a recent lunch, two of us paid $55 for two dishes, steamed rice, an ice tea and a diet coke! Come on … the food here is ok, but not worth $55. And I shouldn’t have to wait the better part of an hour for it. This lunch was way below standard.
Pedro’s Cabo Grill, Los Gatos
Pedro’s Cabo Grill, Los Gatos
Feb 2008
Hmmmm. Pedro’s is a bit of a Chevy’s clone located on the main drag in Los Gatos. The salmon and the chile Colorado are quite good, and the tortilla soup is terrific. Fajitas were ok, not great – plus, we had a quite a wait to get tortillas after the fajitas were delivered to the table which was pretty annoying. These places all generally seem the same to me – Chevy’s, Mexicali Grill, the Pedro’s chain, etc. Expect competent Mexican food in a Cabo style restaurant, with an equal number of hits and misses, and strong margaritas to help you look past some of the food and service problems. Pedro’s Cabo Grill in Los Gatos is not fundamentally different.
Southern Kitchen, Los Gatos
Southern Kitchen, Los Gatos
Feb 2008
Hmmmm. The Southern Kitchen is a terrific country breakfast diner, complete with huge platters of eggs, bacon, pancakes, biscuits & gravy, chicken fried steaks, and everything else bad for you. Let’s face it, sometimes you just gotta have this kind of food. In California it’s surprisingly difficult to find home cooked, diner food like you ordered as a kid at the little café in your hometown. Usually, the California locals want vegetarian foo-foo food without the grease and other good stuff that gives diner food its special place in your heart, literally and figuratively. Southern Kitchen satisfies the need for alternatives. And, if you want to eat healthy? Get a salad and the house made soup … always way good!
Mexicali Grill, Santa Clara
Mexicali Grill, Santa Clara
Jan 2008
Hmmmm. The Mexicali Grill is a clone of a Chevy’s style Mexican restaurant, with a Cabo themed, large open seating area and diverse selection of Mexican food and drinks. The problem with the Mexicali Grill is that it’s not as good or as consistent as Chevy’s, and even the Cadillac Margaritas can’t make up for the occasional complete miss, like way overdone salmon or salty, but otherwise bland, chicken mole. Like fajitas? Mexicali does a good job on fajitas. Like chile Colorado or chile verde? Those are good too. Otherwise, you might prefer the food at Chevy’s.
Izakaya Restaurant, San Jose
Izakaya Restaurant, San Jose
Feb 2008
Hmmmmm. Izakaya is a little sushi place nestled between two other restaurants on First Street near downtown San Jose. Izakaya is actually crammed into the corner of a building shared with Genji and has about 8 tables and quite good sushi. While I don’t have recent experience at Izakaya’s neighbors, House of Genji, a Teppan style Japanese steak house, or Cathay Chinese Restaurant, they have both been good lunch choices in past years. And, Menara Moroccan Restaurant is just across the street on Gish. Lots of choices on this corner, but Izakaya’s not a bad choice when the need for sushi hits you suddenly.
Faz, Sunnyvale
Faz, Sunnyvale
Feb 2008
Hmmmm. Faz is a Mediterranean restaurant just off Highway 101 in Sunnyvale that serves as a pretty good location for a casual business lunch. The food is reasonably good and the atmosphere is quiet enough for two people to carry on a normal conversation without having to shout or strain to hear over the background din. Dinner can be a different story. The quality of the food and service at Faz is highly variable. Sometimes the food is really good, and sometimes not good at all. And occasionally the glasses will have smudges. Or a plate won’t be clean. Or you’ll wait a long time for a fork. Keep Faz in mind for lunch, but you can do much better for dinner.
