After close to 30 years, I moved from Portland, OR (PDX to some of you)
in early March to the San Jose, CA area. I live in a town called
Campbell - next to San Jose.
A good friend visited this weekend - his kids wanted to go to Great
America - a Paramount theme park in Santa Clara - also next to San
Jose.
My friend is a dining fanatic. He has not spent time here. So it fell
to me to choose.
what I chose:
Night 1 - Dinner (Friday, June 10): Emile's - downtown San Jose:
What I expected. Sturdy, French/Swiss/Continental preparations
from the late 60's/early 70's. That's not a dis. Great flavor
and well presented. Nice room and superior service. Expense: high
end, but they did not impose their stated corkage fee of $20 per
bottle for 2 bottles of Oregon pinot. Go back - YES.
BTW: Did you know that French Laundry imposes a $50 corkage fee - at
least according to its website. I bet that gets waived a lot.
Day 2 - Lunch (Saturday, June 11): Lavanda - University Avenue in Palo
Alto. We were actually headed for the Il Fornaio in Palo Alto, but we
were misdirected and ended up here. Great first course small plate
dishes - pureed fava beans, marinated mushrooms, roasted anglet
peppers with shaved ricota salata (sp?). Entree: griled sea bass on
spinach and wild mushrooms. Go back - YES
Day 2 - Dinner (Saturday, June 11): Manresa In Las Gatos; according to
some lists, the 38th best restaurant in the world. I'm not a big
believer in lists like this but what the hell. Awesome meal but highly
stylized and arty - risk of becoming a one trick pony. Go back: low
interest AND they screwed up my reservation.
Overall winner: Lavanda in Palo Alto, the place we happened upon.