Santa Teresa Neighborhood Information

Santa Teresa is a region of San Jose I admittedly neglect to cover. Fortunately, there is a realtor named Sophia Delacotte that focuses on that region and has put up a website with local tips and info (news, events, school info, shopping, demographics, etc.). To have a look, just click here.

Ballet San Jose - A Great City (Part 5 of 5)

The final part of Ballet San Jose's documentary takes a step back and talks about the impact a world class cultural attraction has on the city. This is my favorite part of the documentary and I definitely recommend watching it even if you haven't seen their other pieces. You'll even get some encouraging words from Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak about his hometown of San Jose. Just click the link below!

Part 5: http://blip.tv/file/4386692

Older Parts

Part 1: http://blip.tv/file/4262451 

Part 2: http://blip.tv/file/4303425

Part 3: http://blip.tv/file/4332357

Part 4: http://blip.tv/file/4365103

Restaurant.com Ad in the Sidebar

I'm not a huge fan of ads, but I ran into one that I could live with over to the right because I think it will actually add value for most readers. I go out to eat at least 5 times per week (explains all the food posts, right?), and I've managed to pick up a few tricks for saving money when dining out. In fact, here are my best tips:

1.) Costco AMEX Card - gives you 3% back on ALL restaurant purchases that accept AMEX.
2.) idine - Gives you a 5-10% discount at participating restaurants, including the tip. No cost for participation, just sign up and register your credit cards.
3.) Open Table - You get a $1 credit for making an online reservation, and sometimes a $10 credit on select restaurants. Also no cost for participation.
4.) Restaurant.com - Let's you buy $25 restaurant gift cards for $10 or less.

The 4 items above are not mutually exclusive, meaning you can stack all 4 discounts on top of one another if you get lucky, but by far the most substantial discount you can get is with item number 4, the Restaurant.com gift card. The way these work is simple. You pay $10 for a $25 gift card, but there is a small catch. You usually need to spend at least $35 and have a minimum party of 2 people to use the gift certificate. So let's say you go to a restaurant and spend $40. If you used a Restaurant.com gift, the net cost will be $25. However, Restaurant.com frequently discounts these gift cards even more. Right now, you can get an additional 80% discount by typing in "GOBBLE" at checkout. That brings the gift card price down to a ridiculous $2 and the cost of that $40 meal for 2 becomes $18.

449 restaurants within the San Jose area participate in this program, including 34 in Downtown San Jose and a few in Santana Row. So I think it would be nice to have easy access to their latest promotion right on The San Jose Blog. Their discount usually varies between 20% and 70%. Whenever you see an 80%, that is a good time to collect gift certificates. Also, once per year they have a 90% fire sale ($25 gift cards for $1). There is no better time to grab them, but the date is easy to miss and they don't advertise it in advance. Just make sure to type in the code at checkout to get the maximum discount!

Body Worlds Vital is Now Open @ The Tech

Don't miss the world premiere of Gunther von Hagen's BODY WORLDS Vital at The Tech Museum. Opens November 13.Tickets on sale now.

BODY WORLDS Vital, in its first-ever showing, celebrates the potential of the human body and the body in motion. Featuring authentic human bodies, the exhibition shows the body in health, distress, and disease. These detailed anatomical studies, compositions, and representations allow visitors a penetrating gaze at what lies beneath the skin.

The human body is built for action and experience. Intricately formed for optimal functioning, the living body is designed for survival, striving, and achievement.

BODY WORLDS Vital tells the compelling story of how best to defeat life-threatening diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease through informed choices and lifestyle changes.

Physician and anatomist Gunther von Hagens’ BODY WORLDS exhibitions are the original, precedent-setting public anatomical exhibitions of real human bodies, and the only anatomical exhibits that use donated bodies, willed by donors for the express purpose of serving BODY WORLDS'mission to educate the public about health and anatomy. The bodies are preserved through a remarkable process calledPlastination enabling visitors to learn what lies beneath the skin.



Only $19 for adults.
Only $12.00 for children 17 and under
Only $17.00 for Seniors 65+ or College Students with ID.
All pricing includes admission to The Tech Museum.

Members save over 40%. Become a member today.

Audio guide rental is available for $5.00 more (English or Spanish). Add The Human Body IMAX documentary for only $5.00 more each all ages.

Whole Foods Comes to San Jose

The first Whole Foods in San Jose proper is now open on Blossom Hill. The 50,000 sqft store has some unique twists such as a Middle Eastern shawarma bar, 200 products from local vendors, 300 different types of beers, an in-store dining area, coffee bar made out of recycled materials, and a play area for kids. In fact, it's unique enough that Whole Foods will offer tours of the store to patrons.

To balance out the good news with some predictable bad news, the Downtown San Jose Whole Foods has been delayed from 2011 to 2013. Maybe that will give them enough time to put rooftop parking back in the plans for that location.

November 2010 Downtown Dimension Highlights

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

• Groundwerx is now responsible for tree trimming services Downtown, adding to aesthetics and safety.
• The City Council is leaning towards agreeing to an aerial HSR structure (instead of further pushing for an underground alignment) in exchange for the ability to make design and materials decisions on the final structure.
• Lost Gatos Brewing Company is now open in the former home of A.P. Stumps (they also added tons of HDTVs and have a huge underground banquet facility).
• The renovated Civic booked its first 2011 show and will schedule a grand opening celebration.
• Hookah Nights is moving to a new home in SoFA and is changing names to Swinging Hookah
• Subway is now open at the ground floor of 360 (meh) and is the 6th Subway Downtown (double meh)
• Paesano Ristorante Italiano, the first restaurant in San Jose's Little Italy, is set to open very soon.
• San Jose is about to take control of State Highway 82 to remove a bureaucratic step in developing or improving the historic route including Blossom Hill, Monterey Highway, and the Alameda.
• A new 3 story primary and urgent care medical clinic will be built at 17th and Santa Clara Street. It should be up and running by 2014.
• Express VTA light rail service has begun and is offered 6 times daily.
• Downtown Ice opens November 19th and will continue until January 17th. Kristi Yamaguchi will celebrate the grand opening on November the 22nd.
• Downtown San Jose Holiday Schedule
• Downtown Ice opens Nov 19
• Christmas in the Park opens Nov 26
• San Jose Holiday parade is Dec 5
• Winder Wonderland opens Nov 24
• South First Friday is Dec 3
• Harvest Festival is Nov 26-28

To read the full newsletter, click here!

Soul of the Community 2010 - San Jose

This video is more oriented towards San Jose than the last Soul of the Community video I posted. If you have seen the previous one, you can fast forward to the 3 minute mark or so.


Knight Soul of the Community 2010 - San Jose from Knight Foundation on Vimeo.

Roosevelt Radio @ Britannia Arms (South De Anza)

If you feel like a dose of some local indie rock this weekend, check out Roosevelt Radio over at Britannia Arms on De Anza this Saturday! You can preview their songs right over here, or watch the video down below.

Sat 11/20 @ 9:30 pm
Britannia Arms
1087 South De Anza Blvd, San Jose
$5 at the door, 21+