Hopping on the bandwagon is the most effective way to manufacture camaraderie. It provides all of the benefits minus any effort or years of dedication. Not to say that Mr. Harada and I are perpetual wagoneers, but we heard a rumble through our many sources…
Restaurants News - page 31
Koja Kitchen embodies the food truck dream. In 2011, Alan Tsai and three friends bought a high-tech set of wheels for meals. Their Korean-Japanese fusion coaxes complex flavors from superb ingredients. After catching the eye of the Food Network’s Guy Fieri, they established stationery joints…
Next to jazz, barbecue is America’s greatest invention. But amateurs have sullied its hallowed reputation by throwing the word around like it means nothing. Barbecue is not just tossing a slab of meat on a hot metal grate. Calling that barbecue is like calling Keyboard…
Few types of cuisine inspire like Japanese food. It is elegant and intricate. The quality of ingredients is amplified by the mastery of technique. Not every Japanese eatery seems to embrace this concept, but when I find one that does, it stands out. Leichi is barely…
Downtown San Jose has a variety of places to wine and dine, and the SoFA Market is making its name heard thanks to the managing style of Nate LeBlanc. Coming over from San Pedro Square Market, where he was the manager, LeBlanc took a moment to…
As someone inclined to pronounce terroir like a breed of dog, it’s comforting that wine snobbery is nowhere in sight at CooperVino, a new wine bar in Cupertino’s planned “downtown” development across from Vallco Mall. Though short on neighbors for the time being, the wine…
Maurice Carrubba has revived the beautiful Mount Hamilton’s GrandView Restaurant & Venue since taking over ownership and re-opening last year. Along with the success of the restaurant, a new venture has also came along—three months ago Carrubba bought a farm across the street. We sat down with him to talk…
A long-standing favorite of locals, something about a brightly decorated Mexican restaurant with patterned woven textiles as table cloths exudes authenticity. Sombreros and paintings hang on the walls. Piñatas are strewn across the front of the restaurant. A Christmas tree with family photos and ornaments…
Celebrate the past year or ring in the new one, but don’t do it on an empty stomach. Below is a list that includes five- to seven-course dinners, dancing, champagne—we’ve even got a masquerade ball. It’s time to party like it’s 2016, and beyond. Hult’s…
Pub naming is an exercise in obscurity. Combine two usually unrelated, but whimsical words—The Rugged Beaver, Bog N’ Porridge, The Goat’s Goggles—and you have a memorable christening fit for a quaint neighborhood hangout. But this inventiveness in nomenclature rings phony when it’s not rooted in…
