The menu at Bistro Elan is French at its roots but with a California sensibility given its reliance on local and seasonal produce. The kitchen sources most of its produce from the California Avenue farmers market right out the front door. The result is a short but instantly likeable menu that reminds me anew of why we’re so lucky to live and eat in Northern California. There’s a brief but well-chosen (and reasonably priced) wine list that’s strong on both California and French wines.
Attractions News - page 63
Silicon Valley residents can count themselves lucky to be surrounded by leading theater companies. Here’s a roundup of the fall’s most promising theatrical productions from TheatreWorks, San Jose Rep, City Lights, San Jose Stage Company and more.
San Jose designer Hector Manuel says he aims to make clothing that enables women to feel sexy and empowered. That’s why he named his label Acta Non Verba, Latin for “Actions, Not Words.”
Other than Halloween, this is perhaps the only night of the year you can act like a real zombie and menacingly roam the streets of downtown San Jose without spending a night in the slammer. You can don your own zombie make-up or the good folks at SLG Art Boutiki can zombify you for $5 starting at noon.
At 10:30 at night in the dark parking lot of an abandoned retail store, a group of young, muscly guys are engaged in what looks to be a very intense debate. But this isn’t a street fight, it’s Treatbot, the ice cream truck from the future, where Karaoke stars satisfy their musical ambitions and sweet tooth.
Silicon Valley made a name for itself by piecing together small parts in a big way, so it’s fitting that Bernie Lubell’s tech-inspired exhibit should also find a home here at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art. Constructed as four interrelated mechanical units and a series of two-dimensional designs, Lubell’s “Conservation of Intimacy” is a testament to both the beauty and anxiety that technology brings us as well as an exploration of the tensions that such a paradox implies.
Bill Maher is the measured, gentlemanly “but seriously folks” sideman to Jon Stewart’s rebelliousness: capable of taking a blimp-launching nutter like Ron Paul and polishing him up to the point where Ron Paul.com feels like officially linking to the I-view. But that’s the point: every night, and every time Maher opens his mouth, he makes someone mad.
In 1977, the Italian American Heritage Family Festa became the first ethnic festival to be held in downtown San Jose. This year the Festa moves to its new home in Guadalupe River Park to better accommodate the 25,000 attendees.
Desserts are not Silicon Valley’s strong suit. Mediocre crème brûlée, ho-hum sliced chocolate cake and uninspired, oversweetened fruit desserts abound. But dig a little deeper, and one can find a few outposts of creativity, such as Saratoga’s Sent Sovi, Ruffled Feathers Eatery in downtown San Jose, and Tigelleria in Campbell.
Sisters of Swing!, now playing at the Retro Dome, takes audiences on a trip way down memory lane with well-sung hit songs blended with a tell-all plot line. Selling more than 90 million records, the Andrews Sisters were on top of their game in the late ’30s and during World War II.
