Singlebarrel - Coolest Bar in Town

While I'm not a big drinker, over the course of my life I think I've been to at least 90% of all the bars in Downtown San Jose and a good portion of the top places in the greater bay area. Singlebarrel is far and away the coolest bar I've ever been to.

It's easy to miss since it's in the basement below Agenda/Bayonne and a barrel is the only signage adorning the exterior. Depending on the time you go, there may be a line wrapping around the corner helping you find your way. However, it is worth both the search and/or wait. By the time you get to the bottom of the steps, you find yourself in a different time--you've just entered a prohibition-style speakeasy! The ambiance is dark and relaxed, with old-school music playing in the background. The bartenders are even dressed in era-appropriate attire.

Now on to the best part... the drinks! Most of the menu is inspired from classic recipes and they are made primarily the original way. Everything is made from scratch. If a drink uses fruit, they're going to cut up fresh sample before infusing it into your drink. I was also surprised to see the bartenders crack raw eggs to extract fresh egg-whites for some of their cocktails. Speaking of the bartenders, the service is phenomenal. They are extremely knowledgeable regarding the full history of all their drinks: how they were invented, who drank them, how they became popular, etc. In addition to the history, the service is outstanding in general. 

2 of my favorite drinks:

- Ramos Gin Fizz: ONLY SERVED BETWEEN 5-6PM (and worth coming early for), takes a solid 10 minutes to make, tastes amazing, and you get a refill when you're halfway done.

- The Old Fashioned: The original cocktail. Aged whiskey, sugar, bitters, lemon, and the magic Singlebarrel touch... a giant spherical Japanese ice cube (it keeps the drink cold for longer without diluting it).

Singlebarrel is the type of unique attraction that we need more of Downtown and in San Jose in general. Definitely worth visiting, and I recommend going early for the full drink selection and extra-exceptional service.

A Peek at Brocade's New San Jose Headquarters

Below is a quick 6min video talking about the Brocade campus that now anchor's San Jose's @First development. It's always nice to see another world class HQ open up here. Brocade will join Cisco, eBay, Adobe, Cadence, and many others with flagship offices in San Jose.

Southwest Adding Flights to Austin

It looks like Southwest is kicking off 2 new daily nonstops between San Jose and Austin. The new "nerd bird" flights kick off November 7th.

World's Largest Haunted House

Well, I was fairly confident that there were no Halloween Haunts in San Jose proper this year thanks to Gyro's "hiatus," but it looks like there is one at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds billed as the World's Largest. Click here for more information and click here for a $2 per person coupon. I'll try to check this out soon and let you know if it's worthwhile!



UPDATE: Made it there yesterday, and it's worthwhile. It's the scariest one that I've been to in the Bay Area this year and is 2-3 times longer than your typical maze.

Zillow Crowns the Winchester Mystery House as the #1 Haunted Home in the US

From "Top 10 Haunted Homes in the U.S.":

(Flickr photo: harshlight)

1. Winchester House (above)
Location: San Jose, CA
Notable ghost: Sarah Winchester

As one of two homes in California sanctioned by the U.S. Commerce Department as being haunted (the other is the Whaley House, below), the magnificent Winchester Housestands alone as perhaps the most bizarre haunted home in the U.S. It was inspired and designed by Sarah Winchester (photo), widow of William Winchester, founder of Winchester rifles. Legend goes that Sarah was deeply affected by the deaths of her daughter, Annie, in 1866 and then her husband, William, in 1881. Sarah consulted a medium who instructed her to build a house to ward off evil spirits. Construction on the Winchester House started in 1884 and continued for 38 years — until Sarah’s death in 1922.

Sarah reportedly held nightly seances to gain guidance from spirits and her dead husband for the home’s design. What resulted was a maze-like residence full of twisting and turning hallways, dead-ends, secret panels, a window built into a floor, staircases leading to nowhere, doors that open to walls, upside-down columns, and rooms built, then intentionally closed off  — all to ward off and confuse evil spirits. Read more about Sarah and the fascinating Winchester House. (Photo of Sarah Winchester: freewebs.com)
> See more San Jose, CA real estate
> See San Jose, CA home values

Art Show @ The Usuals Tonight!

Time	Friday, October 29 · 6:00pm - 9:00pm
Location	The Usuals 1020 The Alameda
Created By	The Usuals
More Info	A group art show celebrating life & death. Featuring Local Artists: Force 129 Christine Benjamin Patricia Black Lacey Bryant Michael Buscemi Michael Foley Joel Ruiz Garcia Josh Marcotte (Lost San Jose) Frances Marin David Nelson Anabella Pinon Tea Shack Project Kate Stewart Sara Tomasello Kristine Taormino Kori Thomson Wadl Wadl Jessie Jane Walden Jesus Villegas ....and more Deathly Beats By: Nate LeBlanc Squareweezy (Bangerz) Vida Treats by: La Senora Nava STREETBOT!! If you attend this opening night in costume or with a Dia De Los Muertos painted face, you'll get 10% off of your purchase (artwork excluded). "Dia De La Vida" will be on view through Nov. 18th. During store hours: Sunday - Thursday 11am - 7pm Friday - Saturday 11am - 8pm

Ballet San Jose - Beginnings (Part 1 of 5)

Ballet San Jose is just kicking off their 2010-2011 Season, so what better way to start things off than a really interesting documentary about their history! Click the link below for part one of their five part documentary series... and if you didn't think a ballet documentary could end with a cliffhanger, guess again =)

Part 1: http://blip.tv/file/4262451

October 2010 Downtown Dimension Highlights

Here are my notes from the latest edition of Downtown Dimension:

• Vote yes on V & W to help put San Jose's finances back on track (neither affects current employees, only future hires)
• More retail is coming in than going out, empty spaces are filling up throughout Downtown
• Camera 3's Lease has been renewed for 10 years
• Clubhouse Restaurant and Lounge is now open in the former Hawg's space
• Broadway San Jose is brining 7 productions for the 2010-11 season, up from 5 the previous season
• The former auto repair garage at 27 E. William St. is being converted into Orchestra Palm Court Cafe, opening in 2011
• The Civic Auditorium upgrades are about to kick into high gear, including new seating and expanded concessions
• The City, RDA, and 1stACT are continuing to develop 10 projects to accelerate Downtown becoming "Silicon Valley's City Center." Music in the Park and the Jazz Festival experienced double-digit growth in attendance and work will continue to improve the live music scene and art scene Downtown. Some active initiatives:
• Creating a plaza along First St. between Reed and William
• Providing a joint-use building for arts organizations to share
• Turn Guadalupe River Park into San Jose's Central Park
• Redesign the plaza in front of the Rep as a gathering and performance space
• The city has installed 80 new bike racks Downtown (now how about starting the bike sharing program!)
• Groundwerx has added high quality LED lighting to 31 trees in San Pedro Square (saw these last weekend and they look amazing)

To read the full newsletter, click here!