The cheeseburger is a rather ignominious symbol of American food. I love a good burger, but given the environmental, social and health costs associated with industrial beef (antibiotic resistant bacteria, E. coli, global warming, brutal working conditions, water pollution and inhumane treatment of animals come to mind) fast food burgers cause me to lose my appetite. But that’s changed with the opening of Steak Out in Mountain View
Articles by Stett Holbrook
The opening of downtown San Jose’s San Pedro Square Marketplace is still a few months off, but the public can get its first peak at the long-anticipated (and long-delayed) market at SJMADE on Sept. 17-18. SJMADE will hold a vendor fair showcasing San Jose artists, designers and brands alongside a handful of market vendors. The event runs 11am-7pm both days.
Forget about the little .99 cent package of dried noodles and foil wrapped flavor packets. Real ramen is made with fresh noodles, a deep and rich soup and delicious toppings like roasted pork belly, eggs, pickled bamboo roots and seaweed are one of Japan’s most delicious exports. With its large population of Japanese ex-pats and visiting businessmen, Silicon Valley has developed a thriving ramen scene.
Chef Salvatore Calisi no longer has stars in his eyes. Calisi was the opening chef at Dio Deka in Los Gatos, a high-style, modern Greek restaurant. His bold cooking helped spur the upscale Greek food phenomena underway in Silicon Valley. Along the way, Calisi scored a Michelin star for his efforts, joining a small group of just three other Silicon Valley chefs to be so honored.
Some people are saying that farm to table is a trend. ‘Farm-to-table’ is enjoying a popular run, but I believe it’s more than a trend. The term denotes those restaurants that define themselves by the quality of their ingredients and often have special relationships with farms and artisanal purveyors and as such celebrate local and seasonal food and produce.
Cue the Don Henley: “I can feel it in the air. The summer’s out of reach.” Well, almost. We’re in August already. Summer is ticking away, and those buzzkiller back-to-school sales are here again. There are a few weeks left to savor the big, ripe flavors of the season. Here are my picks for savoring the last bites of summer.
When it opened four years ago Dio Deka represented a new breed of Greek restaurant: modern, upscale and sexy. The Los Gatos place became an instant hit where the previous Italian restaurant in the Hotel Los Gatos failed to generate any sparks. Today Dio Deka is part of a new resurgence of high-end Greek restaurants in Silicon Valley.
I knew that industrial meat production in America was a disaster—a disaster for the environment, for the people who work in the feedlots and chicken warehouses and for the animals unlucky enough to live their short, miserable lives in cruel confinement. But it takes actually seeing how the vast majority of livestock are raised to really turn my stomach and my conscience.
The field of high-end Greek restaurants is suddenly getting crowded. Evvia in Palo Alto was the first entry. Then came the Dio Deka, a posh restaurant started by several Evvia defectors. Now there’s the new Myth Taverna and Lounge in downtown San Jose, and there is yet another Greek-themed restaurant in the works nearby.
The city of Cupertino calls itself the “heart of the valley,” but strangely the city itself has no center. If you go looking for the city’s core, you won’t find it. There is no downtown. No central meeting place. But every city needs a center, and I nominate Park Place restaurant. It’s not a particularly civic-minded place, just a bar that serves food. But since Park Place is located at De Anza and Stevens Creek boulevards, the de facto geographical center of town, it’s as good a choice as any.
