Pinkberry

368 Santana Row #102 (middle section)
San Jose, California 95128
(408) 557-8883
website

Vitals:
Sun-Thurs: 11 am - 11 pm
Fri-Sat: 11 am - 12 am
kid-friendly
***

It's a bit chaotic ordering froyo here. There are generally only a few flavors at a time and the toppings are limited. I feel rushed to order because there is generally a long line after me, and whenever I want to try a flavor, I have to ask someone behind the counter to give me a sample, and then I feel guilty if I want to try several flavors. When I first tried the froyo at Pinkberry, I wasn't impressed - the froyo was just too tart and didn't have that much flavor, but I think that I've gotten used to it after a few tries. It's not my favorite place to get froyo (I prefer Red Mango and for certain flavors Tutti Fruitti), but if I'm at Santana Row and I want froyo after dinner/lunch, then it's off to Pinkberry I go.

My favorite flavor is watermelon and after that, the plain will do just fine (green tea is ok too). Before, they used to charge for a certain number of toppings, but now, you can get unlimited number of toppings *yay*. Most of the time though, I don't need to get toppings.

Whenever I do get toppings, I usually get some fruit and mochi (the mochi here are soft and slightly chewy (I hate hard mochis)). It can get kindof pricey (a bit overpriced in my opinion) an, but sometimes, you just need to give yourself a little treat. It's a feel good treat, it's a dessert that is somewhat good for you.

Straits (Santana Row)

333 Santana Row
San Jose, California 95128
(408) 246-6320
website

Vitals:
Sun-Tues: 11 am - 10 pm
Tues-Sat: 11 am - midnight
not particularly kid-friendly
accept credit cards
***

This is the place to go if you want to mix, mingle and people watch (hence, not a particular good place if you want to bring the kiddies). It was recently expanded and it is crowded most days. As for the food - if you want good Singaporean food, some of its dishes are actually pretty good, but the prices are rather outrageous considering the small portions (no real value here).

I actually prefer its prior location in Palo Alto (I believe it's been closed). The atmosphere was quieter, I had a chance to enjoy my meal at a reasonable pace and I was able to converse with my friends. At Santana Row, the noise can be deafening.

Singaporean food melds a lot of different flavors likely because it is at the cusp of different regions. Indians, Chinese, Indonesians, Malaysians and other people of Asian descent make up most of the population and that likely had an influence on the food. When I look at the menu at Straits, I see different dishes spiced up with different herbs and spices, especially curry. It's very similar to Malaysian food, and there is a liberal use of shrimp paste, curry and soy sauce to add flavor to dishes. The flavors can be rather powerful.

Favorites here include the Roti Prata (Indian flatbread with yellow curry dipping sauce $7), Singapore Satay Sticks ($9), Origami Seabass ($24) and garlic noodles ($10). The Origami Seabass is particularly good - it is artfully presented in a parchment paper basket and the fish is so tender and flavorful (but again, the portions are rather tiny considering the price).

If you're in the mood for Singaporean place, I guess this is the place to go (don't know many other Singaporean places), but if I wanted good food at a good price, then I'd probably pass. The food can be good, but there isn't much value here as the prices are just too high. If, however, I wanted to people watch, then this is probably the best place to hang out, get a drink and just people watch to my heart's content.

Favorite Tomato Sauce

Sometimes, my favorite dishes are the easiest to make and consist of a few simple ingredients.

I love Summer. There's an abundance of fruits and vegetables - especially stone fruits like peaches, nectarines and the like and heirloom tomatoes.

I first discovered heirloom tomatoes at my local farmer's market, and today, there was an abundance of heirloom tomatoes at my favorite stand, the Happy Boy Farm. It was like tomato porn. The tomatoes looked amazing and I couldn't wait to get them into my kitchen and start making my favorite tomato sauce.

I picked up about 3 lbs. of tomatoes (I try to use the brandywine tomatoes), a bunch of organic basil and some small purple garlic.

Ingredients for Tomato Sauce:

3 lbs. heirloom tomatoes
1 bunch organic basil
4-6 cloves garlic
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt (or salt to taste)

First, I put the olive oil in a pan and saute the garlic for 1-2 minutes. Next, I add in the tomatoes and then let the tomatoes simmer (medium heat) for about 30-45 minutes. I add in the basil and salt and then let the sauce simmer some more.

That's it. So simple and so good.

Left Bank (Santana Row)

"Authentic French Brasserie"
multiple locations in Menlo Park, San Jose and Larkspur

377 Santana Row
Suite 1100
San Jose, CA 95128
(408) 984-3500
website

Vitals:
Tuesday-Friday 11:30AM to 11PM
Saturday 11AM to 11PM
Sunday 10:30AM to 10PM
Monday 11:30AM to 10PM
Brunch is served Sat & Sun from opening until 2:30PM
Business-casual, but can be kid-friendly
accepts credit cards
***


Met up with a friend for brunch. It was a nice day so we sat outside and chatted a bit before we ordered.

Since I like calamari ($10.75), I suggested it as a starter. The calamari was done well - the breading was crunchy and not too oily and the squid was soft and tender. It laid on a bed of fried onions, which was a nice touch and the mustard dipping sauce was quite good.

Since this was a "French" place, I knew that I would have to try the quiche ($14.50). My friend ordered the eggs benedict (it was "Parisien" style with Parisian ham, not sure if it was any different than regular ham though - $10.75).

The quiche was made with crab meat, mushrooms, spinach and emmenthal cheese. It was just ok. The crust, which should have been flaky, soft and buttery, was hard and tasteless almost. The crab meat was overpowered, it didn't taste like any crab was in the quiche (I could tell by texture that crab was present, but couldn't taste any of it). The flavors were rather bland I have to say. The salad had a vinegary dressing that would have been a good complement to a rich quiche. The portion was adequate. So far, my favorite place to get quiche is at Twist Cafe in Campbell, and this didn't even compete.

As for my friend's eggs benedict, I can't say anything because I didn't get to try it. Maybe next time.

As for Left Bank generally, I think that it's a good place to go if you want french casual food that is simply and well prepared, but I do find it to be rather expensive. I've gone on other occasions and have enjoyed the roasted chicken, the bouillabaisse (good but the portion was rather small for the price - $24.75) and the duck breast (fabulous but expensive at $21.25), but I don't know if I'd go out of my way to eat here, unless I was specifically in the mood for some French food and was willing to shell out some serious cash.

Village California Bistro & Wine Bar

378 Santana Row
San Jose, CA 95128
(408) 248-9091
website

Vitals:
Lunch M-F: 10am - 3:30 pm
Dinner: from 5 pm
Brunch Sat & Sun: 8:30 am - 3:30 pm
Semi-formal, but can be child friendly

We went here for dinner before catching a movie (date night!). Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to try the 3 course dinner (which is $27 for a salad or soup, entree and a dessert), so we just opted for an appetizer to share, dinner entrees and no dessert.

Santana Row is the go-to place for people watching, a lot of good (but crowded and somewhat overpriced restaurants) and shopping in San Jose. Because of the high concentration of a lot of amenities, a lot of people flock here and it's pretty hard to find parking (unless you go during a weekday/weeknight). I like strolling around the Row, go window shopping and find a place to eat. If one place is crowded, then there's always another restaurant down the street.

Luckily, since it was a weeknight, we were able to sit at an outside table. It's almost a casual semi-formal type place. There are white table cloths on the tables, the dishes are presented well and it's a bit pricey.

We opted to try the calamari with garlic aioli ($9). It was not a good start to the meal. We were give a generous portion, but the breading was very oily and the calamari was chewy and overcooked. The garlic aioli sauce was flavorless.

I tried the fennel dusted scallops ($27). The scallops were fresh and done well. Not overdone and not too underdone either (it seems as though many places serve scallops rather raw). The flavor was good, I liked the vegetables that came with it (heirloom tomatoes, some summer squash) and the portion was pretty generous. I guess I wasn't really in the mood for scallops because when I saw my hubby's dish, I knew that I had to switch.




His "pan seared local sole" ($19) was fabulous. It was fresh, flaky and had a fabulous rich flavor (lemon butter caper sauce) that didn't overpower the fish. The vegetables were a nice complement and the potato puree just added a bit of weight that helped fill me up. We've been to Yankee Pier (next door) a few times, and it's sad when a restaurant like Village makes better seafood than one that supposed to specialize in seafood.

I don't know if I would go out of my way to go here again, but I'd definitely give it another try.