April Dishcrawl Recap

May 3, 2011 5:17 pm

San Jose Dishcrawl: Restaurant Row Here We Go

This is our biggest turn out yet with 150 food lovers converging in San Jose on Restaurant Row! We are so excited to see that so many neighbors near and far come together to experience the food adventure around San Fernando Street. We hit five delicious stops for this outing of Dishcrawl discovery, starting at The 88 for a wine reception and tours of the residences and sweeping views of San Jose.

The entertainment lounge at The 88 was a sweet way to start off; especially with tasty treats offered by Color Me Sweet and Li’l Puffs! There were delectable marshmallows in various flavors from Linda at Li’l Puffs. The dessert bar from Color Me Sweet included dark chocolate and strawberries & cream macaroonsas well as mini lemon bars, brownie bites, raspberry truffle fudge and cookies & cream fudge.

The night was young as we all gathered in the lobby of The 88 and split up into three different groups to begin our dining adventure. The rotations of groups started in different places but we all got to taste the same great food. We begun atOaxacan Kitchen food truck which serves authentic Mexican cuisine. Chef Ron served tamale verde and mole negro with mild and fresh flavors that make taste buds yearn for more. To top it off, a light and fluffy churro that just melts in your mouth.

 

Off to Whipps Frozen Fruit and Frozen Fruits and Desserts to see Illya for a palate cleanser! Samples of whipped frozen fruit were passed out as we were told that these creamy dreamy treats were made with no cream and no added sugar. What a refreshing and healthy delight!

 

Next we moseyed across the street to talk with the owner of Fahrenheit Restaurant and Lounge, Danny. With the menu featuring modern global cuisine, Chef Christopher gave Dishcrawlers a great sampling experience by not only letting us taste but also see demonstrations of the food. A beautiful orchid caprese salad, flavorful wild herb crusted mahi, and tasty lamb tagine really satisfied all the senses to heighten the dining experience in the lounge.

Loft Bar and Bistro was the last stop of our restaurant row journey. Manager Armando set out a buffet of pickings on the second floor patio for us to enjoy. There were many items we got to try and among the stand-outs were calamari, Chinese chicken salad, and vegetable stir-fry. The group seating and open air stirred up great conversations to end the night!

We started off with sweets and ended on a sweet note by spending the evening with new and old friends.

If you missed this Dishcrawl, don’t worry. We have our next adventure in San Jose already planned! Check it out here!

Here are some of our other upcoming Dishcrawls:

• May 22 – Discover Hometown Pleasanton (Pleasanton, CA)
• May 24 – Lunch in 60 with Eat On Monday (Mountain View, CA) 
• May 29 – Discovering San Pedro Square In San Jose (San Jose, CA) 
• May 31 – Good Eats in Polk Gulch with the Magic Curry Man (San Francisco, CA)

Don’t forget to check out all the photos and don’t forget to add us on Facebook andTwitter!

More about Lil’l Puffs 

More about Color Me Sweet 

More about The 88 

More about Oaxacan Kitchen 

More about Whipp’s Frozen Fruit 

More about Fahrenheit Restaurant and Lounge 

More about Loft Bar and Bistro 

Wednesday Wishlist: For SJ to Host the Best Food Truck Events Ever

While it may have started out as some sort of fad, I think it's pretty clear that gourmet food trucks are here to stay. These trucks allows restauranteurs to keep their overhead low and bring their food to any location with street access. By removing many of the price and location barriers of setting up a restaurant, what you essentially get are true entrepreneurs putting out some of the most creative food experiences out there... all on wheels. Entrepreneurship and creativity is what San Jose thrives on, so what better place to host the ultimate food truck experience?

Thankfully, this is one wish that I think will happen in 2011. SJ Eats 1.0 last month was a learning experience that proved there is a market for food truck events in San Jose. This Saturday, brace yourself for SJ Eats 2.0. More trucks, more space, local music, and maybe even a sneak peak at what San Pedro Square will be like after the Urban Market opens up. Below is the list of food trucks that have been announced so far:

LUNCH (11a-3p) More to come!
Babaloo - Organic Cuban
Bill's Beer Steamed Hot Dog Cart
Cabana Dave's - Globally Inspired
Curry Up Now - Indian Street Food
Hapa SF - Organic Filipino
Iz It - Hawaiianese
Louisiana Territory - Cajun
MoBowl - Rice Bowls
MoGo BBQ - Korean Mexican
Rib Whip
Seoul on Wheels - Nontraditional Korean
Treatbot - Karaoke Ice Cream
Wow - Filipino Silogs

DINNER (5p-9p) More to come!
Curry Up Now - Indian Street Food
Kara's Cupcakes - Dessert
Little Green Cyclo - Vietnamese
Louisiana Territory - Cajun
MoGo BBQ - Korean Mexican
No Way Jose - Mexican
Senor Sisig - Filipino Fusion
Southern Sandwich - Southern BBQ
Tikka Bytes - Custom Indian
Treatbot - Karaoke Ice Cream
Quick Dog - Hot Dogs
Wow - Filipino Silogs
House of Siam
Toasty Melts

For more info, check out their Facebook page right over here. 

Guadalupe River Park Expansion!

Great news today. Yves from the Department of Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services wants to share information regarding an expansion to the Guadalupe River Trail. I'm hoping that one day this will become our Central Park, and it's already off to a great start. If you haven't walked it lately, now is a great time to check it out. Full info on the improvements below.

Hi Josh,

I wanted to share some good downtown news with you and your readers.

The City of San Jose has been developing an extension to the Guadalupe River Trail over the past year.  The project starts at the Woz Way, near the Children’s Discovery Museum and follows the west bank of the river along the parking lot, beneath the freeway interchange and leads to Virginia Street.  The 0.4 mile extension provides views of the river and busy urban scene.  Along the way, trail users can stop to enjoy two interpretive signs; one discusses “Goosetown” (Italian immigrant neighborhood) and the other shares information about the Ohlone tribes that lived along the river.  Decorative pavement at both Woz Way and Virginia Street greet visitors and helps to draw attention to this new recreational and bike commuting resource.  This project came together because of collaboration between the City of San Jose, Caltrans, Santa Clara Valley Water District, Army Corps of Engineers and the State Resources Agency. 

Information about the Guadalupe River Trail including maps and photos can be found at:

http://www.sjparks.org/Trails/GRiver/index.asp

Information about San Jose’s trails can be found at:

http://www.sjparks.org/Trails/

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the project or trail development throughout the City.  I enjoy reading your blog every morning and am happy to finally be able to share a contribution.

Thanks

- Yves Zsutty, Trail Manager

History of Veggielution Video

Great video detailing the history of Emma Prusch Park and the Veggielution community. It's crazy to think we have an organic farm in the middle of San Jose. This is as local as you can possibly get with your produce!