Welcome to 2016 San Jose!

Happy New Year everyone! 2015 was a phenomenal year for San Jose and I'm optimistic that 2016 is going to be even better. Here is a look back on how we did on 2015 predictions as well as a look to the future.

2015 PREDICTIONS

• 2nd Generation Residential High-Rises - It has been a long time since a high-rise residential project opened up in San Jose. This year both One South and Centerra will start leasing and will bring a thousand new residents to our city's urban core. Success. One South has filled up nicely and Centerra has just started leasing. Both of these should be completely full in early 2016. 
• Half-a-Dozen More Cranes Downtown - 2014 is the first year I can remember since the early 2000s where we had three cranes in the air Downtown. 2015 will have many more. Silvery Towers, the AC Hotel, Marshall Squares, the Post & San Pedro Tower, Park View Towers, Symphony Towers, and Mill Creek are all expected to start construction this year. We get partial credit for this one. Silvery Towers, the AC Hotel, and Symphony Towers are all well under construction. Marshall Squares and Mill Creek will definitely get going this year. The rest are still up in the air but have good chances along with new 2015 proposals for the North San Pedro Tower, Museum Place, SJSC Towers, Sobrato Block 3, the Greyhound Towers, and #Diridon. 2016 could have more cranes than at any other time in San Jose's history.
• Retail and Office will Thrive Downtown - We are finally building enough critical mass Downtown to make retail succeed, and just about every project mentioned above will have a retail component to help fill gaps between retail centers. Office vacancies will likely fall below 10% as more tech startups realize what a great value and experience Downtown San Jose provides. Fail. Office vacancies did not fall below 10% and we still have key retail gaps, but this is one I'm still optimistic we can hit in 2016.
• Stadiums Galore - Last year we have the grand opening of Levi's Stadium, which is bringing multiple world-class events a stones-throw away from North San Jose. Our hotels, restaurants, and entertainment facilities are also benefactors here. The new Earthquakes Stadium also goes live in 2015, bringing even more events and quality professional sports to San Jose (along with the largest outdoor bar in North America). Success. Avaya Stadium and Levi's Stadium have both proven to be enormously beneficial and boosted our local economy. 2016 will bring the Super Bowl to Silicon Valley and San Jose is already shaping up to be a key benefactor from the event.  
• More Great Restaurants - Last year we got First to Market, Taurinus Brazilian Steakhouse, Spuds, Garlic Bread, Seven Seas Sushi, Nick the Greek, and a lot of other great places. 2015 is going to be the year of the Urban Markets with the SoFA Market realizing its potential and a new Market going up by SJSU. Success. The restaurant scene blossomed in 2015 with major additions such as Lou's Beach Shack, Konjoe-Tei, Hawaiian Poke Bowl, Deluxe, Voltaire, Aura, HOM. The SoFA Market is nearly full, and the new SJSU market should be ready by the end of 2016. With Centerra nearly complete and Silvery Towers under construction, the amount of eateries in the San Pedro Square Market area should double by 2017. We also have some great additions slated for 2016 such as Sushi Confidential, Uproar Brewery, and Social Policy.
• More flights at SJC - We got Tokyo in 2013 and we're about due for at least one new international route this year. You can also expect more routes and flights and the economy continues to thrive. Success. We could not have nailed this any better! Instead of closing one new international route, we are getting four! San Jose will have direct flights to Beijing, London, Frankfurt, and Vancouver in 2016. Seoul and Shanghai are rumored to be in the works as well.
• BRT Launches - We will have our first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line this year, which will run between Downtown and Eastridge. BRT combines the convenience of Light Rail with low construction costs, and may be key to dramatically improving public transit in the short term. More BRT lines and the BART extension area also on their way. Fail. The Alum Rock BRT line was delayed by a whole year and the construction caused a lot of damage to the community. Hopefully we will get this one back on track.
• The Completion of Santana Row - The last major development projects to complete the original vision for Santana Row should be under construction this year. Not to worry, Federal Realty will soon start working on a brand new project across next to the Winchester Mystery House. Success. Santana Row construction is in full swing. An entire building has been leased to Splunk, and there are plans to build a major office campus across the street.

That's a wrap, hope you all have an amazing first day of 2016!

New Year's Eve 2015 At the Market!

Once again the San Pedro Square Market is hosting a free New Year's Event! This year the theme is Star Wars and costumes are highly encouraged. All ages are welcome.

Music will be provided by Groovy Judy (info below). There will be specialty Star Wars-themed cocktails all night such as Vader-Ade, Yoda Soda, and Qui-Gon Gin & Tonic. At midnight the Market will be doing a balloon drop.

The festivities start at 9pm and the Market will be open until 1am.

More on Groovy Judy | Hendrix inspired Funk Rock: Groovy Judy is one of the “top” female guitarists and entertainers in the The Bay Area. Influenced by great artists such as Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles and Sly and The Family Stone, her style and energy equals some of today’s most-known artists. Her stellar guitar playing, inspirational lyrics, colorful dress, and upbeat personality help people smile and feel good about themselves. She performs all over The Bay Area and beyond. With her band she always puts on an upbeat, positive show that gets people up and dancing.

San Jose Bike-Sharing Program is Getting a HUGE Expansion

Earlier this month the city council unanimously approved a dramatic expansion in San Jose's bike-sharing program. The current system has 16 stations filled with 130 light blue bikes that can be rented and dropped off at any other station in the network. 15 of those stations are in Downtown San Jose and one is in Japantown.

The expansion will bring 100 bike stations to San Jose and a whopping 1,000 bikes! That is close to an eight-fold increase over the current program. With that many stations and bikes, hopefully more people will get out of their cars and give the system a test run.

It gets better--the expansion will cost the city nothing. Motivate (the vendor providing the stations and bikes) will self-fund the program through corporate sponsorships and user fees that will range from $60-149 per year (for unlimited 30 minute rentals).

Several other Bay Area cities are getting stations and bikes, such as Oakland, Emeryville, and Berkeley. However, several cities that were part of the original Bay Area Bike Share pilot program will not be offered a free pass like San Jose was. Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Redwood City did not get enough riders to justify either an expansion or having Motivate self-fund the program. They will either have to pay to keep their bikes or choose a different program entirely. That really would be a shame because a membership in the San Jose program also gets you access to bikes in the other cities that also participate in Bay Area Bike Share.

Source: SVBJ

Roots and Rye Restaurant Review

Roots and Rye (R&R) is one of the newest Santana Row restaurants. It's tucked in next to Maggiano's and Kara's Cupcakes in a space that previously housed Roux Louisiana Kitchen and Hot Tamales. I'm not a big fan of the decor, which makes the whole restaurant look like it is still under construction. However, I hear that they are going to run plants and vegetation on those exposed wood pillars which would provide a unique effect. Like their sister restaurants Straights and Sino, they have a unique restroom that is partially unisex--might as well get that out of the way now so that there are no awkward surprises ;).



They have an impressive outdoor patio space with plenty of heat lamps. R&R also features live music on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. A nice Jazz band was playing while we dined there the second time around.

So now, let's get to the good stuff... the food. They recently changed their menu to focus more on small, shareable plates that are available all day. They still have some main courses that are available after 5pm. R&R also has a long list of unique craft cocktails and bourbons.

SMALL BITES (SERVED ALL DAY)

Parmesan Fries with a 63 degree egg, fines herbs, truffle aioli - This is their signature small plate and an absolute must-try. You can either dunk the fries into the egg, or pour the egg on top of the parmesan fries. I could eat this all day.

Brussel Sprouts with parmesan, capers, red wine vinegar - Brussel sprouts are usually not my favorite side to order, but these were outstanding. The lemon zest and capers added an extra kick and help make this a perfect addition to your meal.

Roasted bone marrow with red wine braised short rib, potato pepper crostini, pickled radish - When foie gras became illegal in California, bone marrow turned into my new go-to for some extra indulgence on special occasions. The presentation, flavor, and portion size of R&R's bone marrow were all impressive. However, I will say that the first time I dined here there was foie gras on the menu, and it was excellently prepared. If I had the choice, I would go with the foie gras over bone marrow any day of the week.

BIG BITES (5PM TIL CLOSE)

Fried Petaluma Chicken with house-made apple sauce, brussel leaves, mustard caviar, pickled vegetables, apple cider jus - Excellent chicken with crispy skin exploding with flavor. They nailed this dish and the accompaniments.



Beef Short Rib with potato puree, caramelized roots, charred leeks, red wine jus - This dish was just okay. It was standard fare for short rib and did not blow my away like the chicken. I would have rather ordered two more small plates instead of this, which seem to be R&R's strong suit.



SWEETS

Fried Apple Pie with honey crisp apples, roasted quince, creme fraiche ice cream, cider reduction - Save some room for dessert, and order this! If you like apple pie, this dessert will not disappoint.



Candy Bar Tart with chocolate ganache, salted caramel, spanish peanut nougatine ice cream, sazerac caramel sauce, huckleberry compote - This is their most popular dessert and was my wife's favorite. It tastes like all of the candy bars you craved as a child melted into one.



Roots and Rye Affogato with house spun fennel ice cream, almond anise biscotti - A much better alternative that just ordering coffee at the end of your meal. I really enjoyed the cappuccino-soaked ice cream and biscotti. The coffee was a little bit too bitter for my tastes, but a regular coffee drinker should love this.

DRINKS

Churchill Downs (bourbon whiskey, strawberry aquavit, lemon, green cardamom, fever tree ginger beer) - This is one of their signature cocktails and had a very unique flavor that is difficult for me to describe. It was like drinking a flower. This is light enough on the alcohol for either gender to enjoy. This was my wife's favorite.

Goldenrod (terroir gin, herbal liquor, lemon chrysanthemum honey, absinthe, rosemary) - The taste here was even more unique than the Churchill Downs. The combination of flavors actually made this taste kind of like sawdust, which pairs well with the decor. I couldn't resist drinking this since it was so different, but wouldn't recommend it to most people.

Barrel Aged Old Fashioned (bourbon whiskey, bitters, demerara sugar) - I'm a bit of an Old Fashioned snob since this is my favorite cocktail in general and this is the only cocktail that I can reproduce at home. R&R uses Buffalo Trace, which has a bit of a bite to it but I would expect nothing less from a traditional Old Fashioned. This is the cocktail that I would order first in the future.

Del Carlo Documentary

Tom Wohlmut from WMS Media has a special holiday treat for everyone today, a full-length documentary on one of San Jose's most famous photographers. Arnold Del Carlo photographed San Jose from World War II to the Valley of Heart's Delight to Silicon Valley. There are very few people in the world that have been alive throughout all three of these eras, let alone photographed them. The story is told by Del Carlo himself though interviews conducted when he was 93 and 94 years old.

At one point Del Carlo even purchased his own plane and became skilled at taking aerial photos across the valley. He has shot iconic photos of people, buildings, landscapes, and even some of the first electronics made in Silicon Valley (especially IBM products).

The photos and stories are incredible. Every San Josean should watch this!



Del Carlo - Professional Photographer from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

San Jose State University

Hart's Department Store in Downtown San Jose

Downtown San Jose Aerial

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Visit San Jose Promo Video

I just ran across this 90 second video below that highlights a lot of local (mostly San Jose) attractions in a very short period of time. Check it out for yourself!

Saturday Stats: San Jose is the 7th Best Place to Own a Home in America

A new survey conducted by Porch and Redfin ranked San Jose as the 7th best city in the US to own a home. They looked at a variety of factors such as health, education, economy, walkability, safety, and traffic. Note that this study is based on people's opinions and not objective metrics.

San Jose scored very highly in healthy living (#2), climate (#5), educational opportunity (#8), and walkability (#4). All of those sound about right to me except for walkability as there are only specific neighborhoods that have high walk scores.

The lowest scores were commute (#22), and I expected lower on this one, real estate confidence (#65), and security & safety (#29). Again these are people's perceptions. I would disagree with the safety ranking as statistically San Jose is one of the safest large cities in the world.

The biggest surprise was that economic opportunity only ranked #15. By any objective criteria this should easily be #1 for the country.

Overall, San Francisco ranked #47 on the list while New York can in at #26. For the full list hit the link below.

Source: Porch

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

We sincerely hope that you and your family enjoy the holidays this year!

For a fun little adventure, you can check out the most decked out holiday decorations in San Jose along with a map and addresses over here. The site even allows you to plan a route to visit multiple homes.

May all your holiday wishes come true this year!