Places to Eat in San Jose

[gsunchang]

As suggested by one of our dear administrators here in YW, I wanted to ask if anyone could suggest a good place to eat in San Jose. (This could include Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Palo Alto, Moutain View, etc.)

Crucial criteria - NO CHAIN RESTAURANTS

And I am open to any kind of food...

But I would like to know a good Chinese, Korean, Sushi place (I mean real good sushi)

Please note that I've gone to many restaurants since I've been up here... so I may have tried your suggestions. Thanks in advance!

[kboy75]

Palace Korean BBQ buffet on El Camino, along with a lot of other Korean joints and Korean-owned Japanese places along Lawrence Expressway.

[lethal]

Lots of good Vietnamese places if you're interested.

I went to this place named Korean Palace (I think) that seemed good at the time, but I hadn't been exposed to Korean food yet, so I didn't have a basis of comparison. Korean Palace...or Seoul Garden...damn, I forgot the name.

[Chester]

There's a billion places...really impossible to narrow down suggestions.

But, for informal and economical, my new favorite is Shan (Indian/Pakistani). They have a place up in SOMA in SF, but recently opened a second location in Santa Clara at Lawrence and Stevens Creek. Very good food (with the price-point in mind) and superlative naan that's made to order.

Entrées are all $5-7 or so and not terribly big. Perfect size for a single person, with a side of naan if you're hungry. Also the perfect size for two or three people to share a whole slew of different plates.

[sandra]

Originally Posted by Chester

There's a billion places...really impossible to narrow down suggestions.

But, for informal and economical, my new favorite is Shan (Indian/Pakistani). They have a place up in SOMA in SF, but recently opened a second location in Santa Clara at Lawrence and Stevens Creek. Very good food (with the price-point in mind) and superlative naan that's made to order.

Entrées are all $5-7 or so and not terribly big. Perfect size for a single person, with a side of naan if you're hungry. Also the perfect size for two or three people to share a whole slew of different plates.

i knew you were going to respond to this =) i told gsunchang to post here w/ the expectation that you'd point him out to the right places to go. any more suggestions?

[dorkus malorkus]

There is Phu Lam in east San Jose. A great chinese place. There is also Krung Thai and Sa Pang that are both great for Thai food.

[Chester]

Originally Posted by kasia

i knew you were going to respond to this =) i told gsunchang to post here w/ the expectation that you'd point him out to the right places to go. any more suggestions?

Yeah. Don't listen to Frink. Halu and Tokushima are way better than Ringer Hut if you want ramen.

I have a ton of suggestions, but, really...the parameters need to be narrowed down. The South Bay is way too vast of an area to have totally open parameters.

Let's start with gsunchang's favorite cuisine...or a specific price range...or a particular vibe...or even a particular area (i.e. Downtown San Jose).

Originally Posted by gsunchang

Sushi place (I mean real good sushi)

There's a fair number of great sushi places in the South Bay, particularly if you extend your boundaries up the Peninsula to Palo Alto. I just had a really fantastic meal at Fuki Sushi, which is a long-term crowd favorite.

But my favorite sushi place in the South Bay is Sushimania in Southish San Jose...off Curtner/85...a few doors down from Nickel City. Stupid name, great sushi. Top-grade ingredients and a goofy sushi chef/owner who knows his shit. Chill, neighborhood vibe. Not cheap, but not pricey -- not for sushi.

Also...not orthodox in that Hidei does vary substantially from straight-up sashimi and sushi, but he doesn't indulge much in the way of goofy fusion stuff.

Anyway, I can't recommend the place highly enough. Sit at the bar and share your beer with Hidei and you'll have a great fucking meal.

[haru908]

chinese food- Ocean Palace, on monterey road
thai food- krung thai
pho- pho beef #1 on capitol- looks real dirty, but has the best flavor

ABSOLUTELY BEST BUFFALO WINGS IN THE WORLD- Cluck University aka Cluck U's its right across from the Santa Clara University dorms. El Camino and some street, i forget. But you have to try it, they've some how managed to squeeze heaven into a chicken wing. Oh btw, get the nuclear sauce.

[Chester]

Originally Posted by haru908

ABSOLUTELY BEST BUFFALO WINGS IN THE WORLD- Cluck University aka Cluck U's its right across from the Santa Clara University dorms.

I'll second that, though perhaps a smidgen less effusively.

Oh btw, get the nuclear sauce.

Don't forget to make sure your affairs are in order, beforehand.

Another place: Brigitte's in Santa Clara. It's in a kiss-of-death location, right by the Saratoga/Pruneridge intersection, across the street from Pruneridge Golf Course. Small, bistro-style French place that has been quite charmingly made up. It's run by a wife/husband team who care about the place to an amazing degree. If you're looking for a relatively elegant meal (but not at all stuffy) in an unlikely location, check out Brigitte's.

[Seamus]

La Victoria for burritos &c., downtown near Santa Clara Street. Their 'special sauce' is orgasmic.

[Chester]

Originally Posted by Seamus

La Victoria for burritos &c., downtown near Santa Clara Street.

I like La Vic...it's kind of a BDSJ institution. Everyone makes pilgrimages there at closing time.

Taqueria El Grullense on San Carlos near 87 is pretty good, too. And I have always liked Super Taqueria, up by SJSU.

[gsunchang]

Originally Posted by Chester

I have a ton of suggestions, but, really...the parameters need to be narrowed down. The South Bay is way too vast of an area to have totally open parameters.

Let's start with gsunchang's favorite cuisine...or a specific price range...or a particular vibe...or even a particular area (i.e. Downtown San Jose).

First off, Kasia was right... damn Chester the sheer quantity of info you offer is amazing. Thank you for the suggestions!

But I was looking for a good Asian place. Cheap is good, but quality is what counts. See, I've been to Fuki Sushi... if you sit at the sushi bar, good sushi. If you sit a table... the food is for crap. "Korean Palace" is not REAL Korean food. Being Korean, I'm really particular and I just haven't seen one that is close to decent. I've also been to "Korea House", "Korea BBQ" and "The Corner Place." They all suck.

Been Sushi O Sushi - bad.

Birks is a great steak place, but I've given up meat...

Now the one good place I've found is on Castro in Mountain View. It's called "Don Giovanni." Great Italian food.

I've been to 2 different Pho places... but pho is pho.

I'll take you up on your suggestions! Thanks again.

[Chester]

First off, Kasia was right... damn Chester the sheer quantity of info you offer is amazing. Thank you for the suggestions!

No problem, but you might not want to follow my suggestions, as...

- I just had dinner at Fuki Sushi a couple weeks ago, at a table, and loved the food there. (Then again, we didn't really have sushi/sashimi.)
- I like Sushi O Sushi, though I don't think it's particularly great or anything.
- I think Don Giovanni should be blown up as a community service event.
- I think people who don't eat meat are dorks.

A few more suggestions:
- The Korean place on El Camino down by the Pomeroy intersection. It's adjacent to the little strip mall that contains what is now a middle eastern place and used to be Chi-Dog. Adjacent to the middle eastern place is..."Side Dish Place" (something like that). Never tried it, but I like the place to the left of it.
- The Korean place in the same center as Sushi O Sushi. Well...there's a few. But I like the place with the bank of TV screens inside.
- My favorite pho in the immediate area is Pho #1...on Stevens Creek near Lawrence Expressway (Santa Clara side...kind of across the street from Blockbuster). Mind-bogglingly-vast menu -- not just pho.
- Pho at Khanh's Garden is too Americanized, but they have the best Vietnamese fried spring rolls in the area, so when served in a bun dish, they're awesome.

[Chester]

Originally Posted by professor frink

R-I-N-G-E-R-H-U-T

Ringer Hut is cool. I like going there when I'm not in the specific mood for ramen, or when I want to ingest one of their noodles + yakimeshi combinations in an Anti-Atkins orgy.

But I don't think their ramen is as good as either Halu's or Tokushima's (which has the best yakimeshi out of the three, hands down).

But they have more stuff than the others. I would avoid any of RH's teriyaki meats, but their katsu isn't bad, and we've always enjoyed their seafood katsu.

I'm a big fan of their sara-udon -- crispy-fried noodles drenched in gravy sauce. And, if you like champon noodle soups, Ringer Hut is the place to go. They've introduced a curry champon dish a couple months ago that's a big hit with one of my co-workers.

[lethal]

Originally Posted by gsunchang

"Korean Palace" is not REAL Korean food. Being Korean, I'm really particular and I just haven't seen one that is close to decent.

I've been to 2 different Pho places... but pho is pho.

Blasphemy!

Some pho is better and/or more REAL than other pho, just as some korean food is REAL Korean food.