TALKINTRAVEL™

See What’s Cooking in San Jose By: Ruth and Rich Carlson

San Jose overtook San Francisco in population years ago and now the capital of
Silicon Valley is taking on the city’s culinary status. Thanks to a diverse population,
the highest disposable income in the country, and a cultural renaissance, San Jose is
becoming a dining destination. To find your way to San Jose, just follow your nose.
Foodies are gathering at Santana Row, an outdoor mall in the live/work European style.
Builders imported ancient stone remnants of cathedrals from France and Spain and
surrounded them with public squares where old men gather to play chess, yummy
mommies teach their babies how to walk and businesspeople check their email.
As you’d expect in Silicon Valley, most restaurants and public spaces are wired.
Santana Row residents live on the second floor of Mediterranean-style pastel
condominiums while the street level is dedicated to shops and restaurants. Its home
to high-end designers like Tod’s, Gucci and Burberry, (psst, H and M is soon to open
for the more budget minded), but from the beginning, restaurants have been the
runaway success. Thanks to warm days and nights, (San Francisco’s fog may be
romantic but it’s chilly), Santana Row resembles an Italian village with diners at sidewalk
cafes for a front row seat to the parade of young women with purse dogs teetering on
high heels, couples holding hands and laughing friends debating where to eat.
There are restaurants for every palate and budget, all representing the diverse cultures
of the Valley. Antica’s thin crust potato pizza, Straits Singapore-style grilled salmon
wrapped in banana leaves, and French pomme frites at the Left Bank tempt you for
dinner while the Vintage Wine Bar offers cheese plates and wine tastings to you’re your
appetite. You’d expect wine tasting on Santana Row but the latest rage is tequila tasting. 
El Jardin is an outdoor patio in the Mexican style with 240 kinds of pure agave
tequila – the largest collection in Northern California. Aficionados claim tequila has as
much subtly and complexity as wine. If you’re having too much fun to leave
Santana Row, check into the Hotel Valencia where high touch luxury meets high tech.
The Santa Cruz mountains form a dramatic background to the Cielo deck, where you
can enjoy live music and gather around an open fire pit after sunset. The hotel’s V-bar
attracts the fashionistas on martini and manicure evenings. Come down to earth at
the Farmers Market held every Sunday, rain or shine, from 10 to 3 on the main promenade.
Local farmers cart in fresh flowers, organic produce and homemade goat cheese, so you
can take a little bit of Santana Row home with you. While Santana Row is the newest
addition to the South Bay’s culinary scene, the downtown has been reinventing itself.
Formerly apricot and prune orchards, the city center has retained its small town atmosphere
and in fact San Jose is consistently rated one of the safest big cities in the U.S. It’s easy to
walk to all the major spots: the Convention Center, the Museum of Art, City Hall, the
Tech Museum and numerous ethnic restaurants. Start your exploration at The historic
Sainte Claire Hotel. Built in 1926 at the height of the jazz age, it caused Will Rogers to
comment, “Look like here hotel outgrew the town.” The town has finally caught up.
Larkspur Properties recently spent six million dollars to restore The Sainte Claire to its
original glory. The Grande Hotel, designed by the same architecture firm behind the
Mark Hopkins and the St. Francis hotels in San Francisco, once again resembles
an Italian Palazzo with elaborate grillwork, arched doorways and painted ceilings.
The stuffed monkeys for sale in the lobby are a reminder of the hotel’s eccentric past.
The original owners owned a pet monkey called Bobo that had his own room and
bathroom. His favorite pastime was wandering down the hallways, unscrewing light
bulbs and flushing them down his toilet! Hotel guests have a front row seat of the
Caesar Chavez Park where toddlers run through sprinklers on hot summer days and
San Jose State University College students read textbooks in between stealing kisses.
The hotel’s restaurant, Il Fornaio, is popular with tourists and locals alike who come for
the wood oven pizzas, rotisserie chicken and the fresh baked olive and rosemary bread,
which is also available in the adjoining bakery. A newcomer to the San Jose dining
scene was preceded by an international reputation. The legendary chef Michael Mina
opened the sleek Arcadia across the street from The Sainte Claire. When Al Gore
made a recent stop in San Jose to promote environmental issues, he extended his stay
to have lunch at Arcadia. No word on whether he ordered the signature lobster corn
dog on the end of a popsicle stick, or Mina’s version of popcorn; organic corn tossed
with black truffle and chives. If you’re in the mood for Southwestern Asian food,
E&O trading company offers traditional dishes with a twist. Don’t miss the Indonesian
corn fritters and pomegranate margaritas. Walk off dessert by visiting the Tech
Museum of Innovation. The mango-colored walls are your first clue this is not your
usual staid museum. Truly interactive, it encourages visitors to become innovators by
designing a rollercoaster, watching a hurricane form, or experience an undersea
adventure in the Imax dome theater. Technically Parcel 104 is not in San Jose but i
t’s worth the short drive to Santa Clara. Celebrity chef Bradley Ogden’s inspiration is
in a strange location, right off Highway 101 next to a Marriott Hotel. But as soon as
you step through the door, you’ll be tempted to check your cell phone and laptop.
Plush carpeting, gentle lighting, muted tones and an open wood fireplace invite you
to pull up a leather chair and relax. Parcel 104 used to be a pear orchard and the
chef still works with local farmers to nab the best organic produce, which determines
the daily menu. The chef lets the fresh ingredients speak for themselves. Start with the
caramelized onion flat bread and if it’s on the menu, order the lobster-morel risotto,
rich and briny at the same time. Follow it with the "sampler plate" of desserts: tiny
tastes of satiny crème brulee, French toast, a gilded tapioca pudding and watermelon
agua fresca. Order the wine flight for the presentation alone. A candelabra type
arrangement with flutes containing 2 ounces of different wines and champagnes is a
fun way to learn more about pairing wine and food. While you’re in the neighborhood
visit the Intel Museum and discover the history of Silicon Valley, including the origins of
the computer chip. It’s becoming more difficult to score a reservation at San Jose’s
top tier restaurants, an indication that the economy is picking up. Once again, venture
capitalists and inventors are drawing plans on restaurant napkins and sealing deals over
dinner. Energy is rumored to be the next “gold rush” and while no one knows how long
this latest incarnation of the Valley will last, San Jose’s innovative cuisine can help fuel and
inspire tomorrow’s leaders. -END-
Details: San Jose Convention and
Visitors Bureau: Sanjose.org
Santana Row: wwww.Santanarow.com
Hotel Valencia: www.hotelvalencia.com
The Sainte Claire Hotel: www.thesainteclaire.com
Arcadia restaurant: www.michelmina.net
The Tech Museum of Innovation: www.thetech.org
Parcel 104: www.Parcel104.com
Intel Museum: www.intel.com/museum