South FIRST FRIDAY (+ STREET MRKT) Oct 6th, 2023 in Downtown San Jose

South FIRST FRIDAYS is back today and it's going to be a big one. Multiple galleries in three different districts are open from at least 5-10pm. Participating venues include ANNO DOMINI, the Institute of Contemporary Art, KALEID Gallery, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, MACHU PICCHU, Natural Do Salon, 1Culture, and Chopsticks Alley Gallery. 

You can also swing by the San Jose Museum of Art to watch ballet. It'll be an art & culture filled day with many options to try out the newest restaurants in the Downtown area. I have to mention Goodtime Bar and the Club on Post, two excellent additions to the San Jose food scene that are in the Fountain Alley section of South FIRST FRIDAYS.

In addition to FIRST FRIDAYS it is also a STREET MRKT featuring over 50 artists a beer/fermentation garden, live music, and food trucks.

It all goes down today, October 6th. As usual admission is free and all ages are welcome. Click here for a preview of featured art! Below is a map with all of the galleries to check out across three different districts. Keep scrolling for a list of artists and food trucks.

South FIRST FRIDAYS presents:

STREET MRKT an indie urban art faire 
5–10pm, free admission (spend it with the Artists!).
So. 1st St. between San Carlos & William streets

Join us for the LAST OUTDOOR STREET MRKT of the year! Featuring 50+ talented artists gather together out on So. 1st St. transforming the SoFA District into a lively outdoor gallery for the evening. We’ll have stunning paintings, unique sculptures,, chic fashion, live performances and even on the spot experiences like custom poems and the Deep Legends Bus with DJ Dirty Beats . Support our amazing artists and help our local art scene thrive!

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
Soloman Acosta
Rebecca Anguian 
Bay Area Glass Institute  (BAGI)
Purl Bailey (aka Marilyn Roaf)
The Blunt Letters
Bolo Vintage
Julianne Bonnet 
Budding Art Foundation
Bungalow Glow Candle Co.
Emmanuel Cervantes-Mejía + Michael Rogan 
Crossroads Trading Co.
Curious Shapes / Brian Corbin
Current Tattooing
Jhovany De Ala
Jennifer DeChenne
Mario Dimas
Designs by Maureen 
Enchant Christmas
Faded Visualz 
Flow State Sound Healing & Arts 
Force129 & Betty Proper 
Cynthia Gonzalez
Hand in Hand Henna
Sydney Hessel 
Higher Fire Clay Space & Gallery
Jodi408
Land and Sky Fine Art / Joe Mandrick
Frankie McFly 
Julianne McKay
La Madre Bruja 
Mattea Muzzy
Tania Okay + Lotte Van De Walle 
OaxaCali Studios
Tania Okay 
Jean -Luc Pedanou
Ragavon
Francisco Ramirez
Art of Joseph Richardson 
Mason Roberts 
Rene Schilling Sears
Radhika Sinha
South Bay Ceramics
Suha Suha
Sujata Tibrewala
Eric Vasquez
Heylu Wheat

Performances:
S 1st St and San Salvador intersection
6:00pm: SPR Strings Violin & Viola Studio
7:00pm: Huethuetl Tezka Aztec Dance
5pm–10pm DJ Dirty Beats & the Deep Legends Bus

Flipside Crew DJs in the beer garden, plus delicious food trucks!

BEER GARDEN & FOOD TRUCKS

On Tap…
Clandestine Brewing
Fox Tale Fermentation

plus…

Delicious Food Trucks…
3 Brothers Kitchen
3 Hermanos Mexican Grill
Akita Gourmet Sushi
Chickn Bros.

The South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk + STREET MRKT is produced by CURATUS in collaboration with the participating art venues, local artists, musicians, performers and independent businesses.

STREET MRKT is supported in part by a Cultural Affairs grant from the City of San Jose.

Live at the CODAsummit San Jose

Over the next two days I'll be live at CODAsummit 2023 which celebrates the culmination of art, technology, and place. It happens to be in San Jose this year and I'll be heavily posting on social media today and tomorrow.

To see updates as they're happening, just follow The San Jose Blog on any of the following:

• X (Twitter)
• Facebook
• Instagram

I recommend X though since there will be some bonus updates just for that platform.

Today was a half day. The highlights for me were seeing Sonic Runway linked to a live DJ, learning that the Adobe Semaphores spin based on plane noise every time a plane flies over Adobe (in addition to delivering secret messages that give you free Adobe software if you crack the code), and meeting a lot of really cool people working on interesting projects.

Slice of Homage Review 🍕🤯

We are fortunate to have a lot of great pizza places in San Jose. For New York Style you have the ever-popular A Slice of New York and Bibo's. For Chicago, there is Blue Line and Paxti's. For more traditional Italian, Pizza Bocca Lupo. Californian? Pizza Antica. We even have some awesome Indian fusion pizzas--my favorites are at Blast & Brew on North First Street.

However, out of all the pizza genres and all the pizza places I have been to in Silicon Valley... the Detroit-style pizza at Slice of Homage was the best I've ever had. 

They have actually been around for a couple years for take-out, even operating out of a nightclub, but they have finally gotten a dedicated space in August. It's easy to miss, nestled between The Farmer's Union and San Pedro Social along Santa Clara Street in Downtown San Jose.

Detroit-style pizza is known for a crunchy, cheese-lined edge and crispy bottom. The crust almost tastes caramelized while the dough bakes bubbly and fluffy in the center.

Slice of Homage's flagship and my favorite slice of all time was appropriately named "The Detroit vs. Everybody." This masterpiece has a special four-cheese blend, bacon, Genoa salami, Rosa Grande pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms. It's topped with dollops of fresh ricotta, freshly grated Grana Padano, basil strips, and garlic-infused extra-virgin olive oil. Every ingredient is premium and it tasted like magic. Perfectly balanced despite the insane amount of meat and cheeses. 

If you want to step it up another level you can dip it in homemade ranch sauce or use a hot honey packet or two. They also had vodka sauce, buffalo, and BBQ dipping options.

You can order it by the slice for $13, and one is enough to fill up most people.

Of course my wife and I had to try more of their options including the Margherita, Halla Mahalo (a take on Hawaiian with fresh pineapple, American bacon, Canadian bacon, tomatoes, and jalapenos), and traditional New York slice with pepperoni and basil.

Everything was delicious. If you are a carnivore, you should run not walk to get "The Detroit vs. Everybody." The vegetarian Margherita was also spectacular so you can't go wrong either way here. There aren't enough superlatives to describe just how good the pizza was here, you have to try it for yourself.

They also have a Sicilian-style pizza that takes days to make, but you typically have to order it in advance and can only get it by the tray. It's on my list for next time.

Word has started getting out. Slice of Homage has they highest Yelp rating of any pizza place in San Jose with over 200 reviews. It even has a higher rating than Tony's pizza in San Francisco. Truly epic for pizza lovers and I will be back here many, many times. It's also one of the few spots Downtown conveniently open every single day from lunch to dinner (11:30am-9pm). 

Slice of Homage is located at 163 West Santa Clara Street in Downtown San Jose.

Rollati Ristorante - Downtown San Jose's newest flagship restaurant

I had the chance to try out Rollati across from San Jose City Hall on opening weekend and am happy to say it lived up to the hype. This restaurant is brought to you by the same group responsible for Left Bank, LB Steak, and Meso Mediterranean at Santana Row. I like all of those places, but Rollati is my new favorite.

Quick disclosure that this was not a sponsored meal. I paid for everything and my wife and I crushed seven courses and four cocktails, so we got a pretty good feel for the place. We also dined at 5pm since we have a baby at home. I'm bummed we had to leave before we could see Sonic Runway light up in front of City Hall through the massive floor to ceiling windows, but we'll leave that for another trip.

First off, it's gorgeous. Right when you walk in there is modern yet homely feel. The bar looks awesome and was completely packed by the time we left. You can see through to the kitchen and brick pizza oven and there is small shop by the host desk for take-home items and Italian condiments. Eventually they will also set up outdoor seating with fire pits and planters for privacy.

We started with the namesake dish, the Eggplant Rollatini with roasted garlic ricotta, spinach, and marinara. This alone was worth the trip. One of the best Italian dishes I have ever had, full stop.

We washed the Rollatini down with a Limoncello Spritz using housemade Limoncello, Elderflower, and Proseco and one of the most unique cocktail's I've even had... an Heirloom Martini with olive oil washed vodka, heirloom tomatoes, basil, and white balsamic. Yup, balsamic. It was like a taste of Italy in a Martini. I wouldn't order it on its own, but surprisingly it paired perfectly with the food. 

Next up were the Gnocchetti Alla Bava with pancetta and crispy sage. This was almost as good as the Eggplant Rollatini. We also went with a Traditional Caesar which sounds a bit basic to try at a trendy new restaurant but it had crispy parmigiano crisps and a rustic crouton that made it one of my favorite Caesars of all time. They nailed the sauce with just the right amount of anchovy flavor.

For the next round of drinks we got refreshing Bufala Negra which is bourbon with basil, balsamic, and ginger ale (yup another drink with balsamic) and a Black Manhattan which uses bourbon and multiple Italian Amaros. These were definitely up to "craft cocktail" standards and honestly I would be perfectly happy coming here just for the drinks at the bar.

Finally the real show, the main courses. A Spaghetti Alla Limon with Dungeness Crab. This had a lemon cream sauce, parmigiano, and breadcrumbs. We added on the crab as an option and it was outstanding. And then just when we think we've had our favorite course...

...a "Thousand" Layer Lasagna with Beef Short Rib Ragu. This was really something else and unlike any other Lasagna I've had before. It was crispy, soft, cheesy, and meaty in all the right proportions.

We were crazy so we also ordered a Braised Rabbit with polenta, pine nuts, and currants. This was my wife's favorite. It didn't taste gamey at all and was much more flavorful than let's say a chicken dish.

We were completely stuffed at this point. There were no leftovers, we ate everything. However, when every single dish is this good, you have to assume they are going to have great desserts as well. So we squeezed in a Fig Leaf Panna Cotta and I have no regrets. It was served with a Florentine cookie and fig compote.  

Final verdict? Was it worth $250 for two (in all fairness it was probably a meal for three or four)?

Yes. 10/10. 

Rollati is the best major new restaurant in Downtown San Jose since Petiscos (which is now San Jose's first and only Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant). If you live in Miro which is directly above the restaurant, I am very jealous and you're probably going to gain some weight.

Protip: you can park for free after 6pm in the neighborhoods around the Miro Towers and all day on Sundays. They also have valet parking and there is 90min of free parking in city-owned garages throughout Downtown San Jose.

Artificial Intelligence Incubator coming to Downtown San Jose

Computers, the internet, and smartphones were disruptive tech that completely changed how people work and communicate. Yet, those innovations will pale in comparison to how AI will change the world over the next few years. No tech job will be as important as those involving AI functionality.

For Silicon Valley to continue to be the most innovative place on earth, we need to lean hard into AI. Fortunately, one of Downtown San Jose's biggest advocates, Gary Gillabough, is looking to build an AI incubator right in the middle of our urban core. He believe San Jose should be the capital of AI development, and we really should be.

Gary is working with a partner to bring as many as 40 or 50 AI startups to Downtown San Jose. This would not only fill up some of that vacant office space, but align San Jose with the most transformative technology that is being deployed today. 

As a side-benefit... those bright minds would be roaming the streets of Downtown, and perhaps bring ideas to make San Jose a better place to live. Personally, I would love to see AI incorporated into public art of some kind in Downtown San Jose. How cool would it be if you could go to Sonic Runway, say a sentence, and have that entire experience change based on how AI perceives that sentence. Dynamic, digital, personalized art should be part of the San Jose brand and we will likely need to leverage some form of AI for that.

As Gary mentions in the article linked below, an AI incubator will also create a positive buzz and excitement Downtown that will likely attract even more companies and people that want to be around that type of energy.

Source: The Mercury News

Levitt Pavilion San Jose hosting Madison McFerrin today in St. James Park

Live music is returning to St. James Park for the fall... starting today!

Every Sunday (October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29) bring a picnic, drop a blanket on the lawn and enjoy free, all ages, high quality concerts from 3pm – 6:30pm in Historic St. James Park. There will be a Beer & Wine Garden featuring Coterie Winery and local breweries, and delicious local food trucks will be on hand to ensure a stress free Sunday evening in the park.

Formed in 2016, Friends of Levitt Pavilion San Jose is a nonprofit with a mission to build community through free, all-ages, high-quality live music shows and performances on a permanent stage in historic St. James Park.

The Levitt San Jose Spring Concert Series will feature top local and national artists, giving a sneak peek of what’s to come when Levitt Pavilion San Jose joins the community of permanent Levitt venues across the country.

Levitt San Jose has held 2 previous concert series (Spring ‘23 & Fall ‘22) featuring National and Local touring acts including Antibalas, Lyrics Born, Jose James, La Dona, Maurice “MoBetta” Brown & Melanie Charles, La Luz, Los Yesterdays, JC Smith Band, Noah & The Arkiteks and Orgone. 

Today's artist is Madison McFerrin. Her full bio is below.

Artist bio:

Throughout her fruitful independent career, spanning three EPs and multiple collaborations, Madison has earned accolades from The New York Times, NPR, The FADER, and Pitchfork, who named her a Rising Artist in 2018. Her genre-bending work has led to Questlove dubbing her early sound “soul-appella.” In addition to a stirring performance on the renowned COLORS Studio platform, McFerrin has also performed at Lincoln Center, Central Park SummerStage and BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn, and shared stages with the likes of De La Soul, Gallant, and The Roots. Off the stage, Madison’s music has been featured in episodes of Comedy Central’s Broad City and HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness. Working at the intersection of artistry and community building, McFerrin co-curated programming for the BRIC Jazz Festival in 2021, and in 2022, aligned her MAD LOVE initiative with the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy to provide some much needed space for healing from the collective trauma of the pandemic. Last fall, she mesmerized crowds at sold out shows in London and Paris during her It’s Been Too Long… European tour and made her debut at the Corona Capital Festival after releasing, "Stay Away (From Me)," which she performed live on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s  #LateShowMeMusic series. Ahead of releasing new music in 2023, Madison has continued to blow away sold out crowds at shows in New York City and Los Angeles.

San Jose local, 23 year old self proclaimed Jazz school drop out turned rhinestone rebel, JOY. will be opening for Madison McFerrin.

Friends of Levitt San Jose social links: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter,

The Levitt San Jose Music Series is supported in part by the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, which partners with towns and cities across America to activate underused public spaces through the power of free live music, creating welcoming, inclusive destinations. Presenting a broad array of music genres and cultural programming, Levitt venues and concert sites are community anchors where families, friends and neighbors of all ages and backgrounds come together. Learn more at levitt.org. 

FYI - You may have heard about Levitt San Jose’s efforts to break ground at St. James Park. Having dealt with a progress-halting lawsuit and the current appeal of the Court’s initial decision, Friends of Levitt Pavilion San Jose perseveres, and sets the tone for the future site of a Levitt Pavilion with this concert series. By recognizing the magic of live music to bring communities together and activate public spaces, Levitt San Jose strives to carve out a new era for Downtown San Jose’s most historic park.

Mid-Autumn Festival today at San Jose's Berryessa Branch Library

The mid-autumn festival is a wonderful opportunity to learn about and appreciate the diversity of Asian cultures in San Jose. Decorate paper lanterns, munch on delicious treats, and enjoy performances by lion dancers and storytellers.

The festival celebration takes place today, September 30ths, at the Berryessa Branch Library from 10am-1pm. The library is located at 3355 Noble Avenue in San Jose.

Rock 'n' Roll Marathon this Weekend

If you’re looking for a fun and fast way to experience the spirit of San Jose, look no further than the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Jose marathon. This annual event, which will take place on September 30 and October 1, 2023, is part of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series that features live music, cheer squads, and a festive atmosphere along the course.

The Rock ‘n’ Roll San Jose marathon offers four distances to choose from: half marathon, 10K, 5K, and KiDS ROCK. Whether you’re a seasoned runner or a beginner, you’ll find a challenge that suits your level and goal. Plus, you’ll get to enjoy the scenic views of downtown San Jose, the Rose Garden, and the Alameda as you run.

The race weekend kicks off with a two-day Health & Fitness Expo at the San Jose Convention Center, where you can pick up your race packet, shop for running gear, and get inspired by guest speakers and experts. On Saturday, you can join the 5K or the KiDS ROCK races, which are perfect for families and friends who want to have some fun together. On Sunday, you can test your endurance and speed in the half marathon or the 10K races, which are known for being flat and fast.

But the fun doesn’t stop at the finish line. You’ll also get to celebrate your achievement with a medal, a T-shirt, a free beverage, and admission to the Finish Line Festival and Post-Race Concert. There, you can rock out to live bands, enjoy food and drinks from local vendors, and mingle with other runners and spectators.

If you’re feeling generous, you can also run for a cause by joining the St. Jude Heroes program. By fundraising for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, you’ll get free race entry and other perks, such as an exclusive medal, a race singlet, and access to the race weekend hospitality experience. You’ll also help St. Jude lead the way in treating and defeating childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

Register now for the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Jose marathon and get ready to rock your run. You’ll not only have a blast, but also make some lasting memories in Speed City (new nickname for San Jose?). For more information and registration details, visit the official website of the event.