Wednesday Wishlist: High-Tech Dining

Since we're in the middle of Silicon Valley, it would only make sense to see a little bit more tech incorporated into at least a few restaurants. I think we should be at the cutting edge of innovations in dining tech. A great example of a restaurant that blew my mind in London is called Inamo. 

Above each pair of seats is a projector and each table has little touch-pads in the corner. You use the pad to order all of your food, request drinks, pay for the meal, customize the background of the table, and even do things like play video games or view a subway map highlighting bars and nightclubs to go after your meal. As you're flipping through the menu, a picture of the food you are thinking about ordering is shown on your plate... pretty damn cool. You can even pull up a video screen of the kitchen to watch the chef make your meal. This was one of the most innovative restaurant concepts I have ever seen, and the tech really isn't that complex. 

I would love to see new concepts like this in San Jose that better incorporate technology into dining and innovate on the whole experience. While food has evolved over time, the dining experience itself is not much different than it was decades ago. Inamo really took it to the next level, and I'm hoping some aspiring restauranteurs try to one-up them in the valley.

New Earthquakes Stadium Sketches

It looks like the Earthquakes filed some new sketches for their stadium with the San Jose Planning Department. It's supposed to take a year to build and be ready by 2013, so it should be breaking ground sometime in 2012. Future phases will also include retail, offices, and housing in the area near the stadium.

Thanks to the good folks at the San Jose Development News Forum for the tip. Click the image below to enlarge.

Blackarrow is Moving to San Pedro Square

Well this is interesting. A while back a few people reported that there was some activity going on in the old Tied House space. It turns out that they have converted the space into offices for an advertising company called Blackarrow (which also has offices in New York and Philadelphia). While I would love another flagship restaurant here, offices are much better than an empty space.

Tons of Downtown San Jose Restaurant List Updates!

It's been less than 2 months since the last update to the to the Downtown San Jose Restaurants doc, and there have already been a large number of updates and additions. First and foremost, we are now up to 215 eateries on the list!!! I'm also aware of 11 places that are under construction and should be ready by the end of Q1 2012.

As for my mission of going to every restaurant in Downtown San Jose... I'm currently at 194 / 215 (90%).

Below is the changelog from the Downtown San Jose Restaurants Doc:

• 11/6/2011 Added South First Billiards (they have a full menu)
• 11/6/2011 Added the new Subway on 2nd St. (used to be a Quizno's)
• 11/6/2011 Added Cafe 488, ground floor of the Sobrato Tower
• 11/6/2011 Added Cabritos, which is in the former Melting Pot / Maceo space
• 11/6/2011 Added Chacho's, which opens in 2012
• 11/23/2011 I added an asterisk (*) next to my favorite restaurants. These are all places that bring something unique and exceptional Downtown.
• 11/26/2011 Added Starbucks in the Coleman Target
• 11/26/2011 Added Miro's on 282 Almaden.
• 11/26/2011 Added Anzo's Cafe & Deli on 11 Fountain Alley
• 11/26/2011 Added 10 Almaden Cafe on 10 Almaden
• 11/26/2011 Added Riverpark Mart on 333 W San Carlos

If you haven't bookmarked it yet, here's the link to the spreadsheet! There is also a permanent link over to the right entitled Downtown San Jose Restaurants.

Saturday Stats: Silicon Valley Unemployment Drops Again

Here's a nice statistic for you. Unemployment for the San Jose Metropolitan Area dropped from 9.6% to 9.5% in October. This compares to a rate of 10.8% around the same time last year. The current unemployment rate for the state of California is 11.2%, which means we are well below the average. This is a good indicator that the local economy is starting to recover.

The Usuals All Black Friday Sales!

This Black Friday, why not support something local and awesome. The Usuals is the only clothing store I know that throws frequent parties for patrons with live music and features rotating local art on the walls. They are also one of two locations that sell I<3SJ shirts! Come get your local grove on at The Usuals then head over to the after party at Motif.

Happy Thanksgiving San Jose!

Intermolecular IPO

San Jose-based Intermolecular had a $96 million dollar IPO last week. They do research and development for the clean tech and semiconductor industries. Their headquarters is on North First Street near Montague Expressway.

For more info, click here.