Yan Can Cook

Martin Yan is a famous celebrity cook and this is one of the restuarants that features dishes from his show. Big props to the place for enforcing environmental consciousness. This eat-out is in the Rivermark area in Santa Clara

We ordered Kung Pao Vegetarian. The dish comes with a bowl of rice and lots of oil enough to clog up your arteries.  But with all dishes rich in oil, this one too tastes very very good. The dish is not spicy and I strongly recommend it.

Taste-O-Meter : 7 Tummies
Wallet’s Loss: $

Go There For: A nice afternoon lunch.

Sandbar Restaurant

This is a great Sports-bar. There are a lot of TV’s to watch games. It might seem from the menu that there are quite a few vegetarian option but they are very limited.

They serve just a Vegetarian Toastada and a Mexican Caesar salad. Both these sides have the worst possible combination for  any eater – large size and no taste.

All is not lost for the restaurant as they serve some really good cocktails.

Taste-O-Meter : 3 Tummies
Wallet’s Loss: $$

Go There For: Cocktails Only.

Spice Avenue

If I mention Santa Barbara and the first thing that comes to your mind is the soap opera, then you need to start thinking outside the idiot box and hit the road to see this beautiful city by the beach. Roughly about 1.5 hrs north of LA is the gorgeous city where the beach and sands rule.  If you are wine-lover, there are plenty of good vineyards just north of Santa Barbara captured quite vividly and interestingly by the Oscar nominated flick, Sideways.

At Santa Barbara, we had sampled a few Italian restaurants before and we wanted to eat Indian food. The best eateries in Santa Barbara are in State Street and we found Spice Avenue in State Street as well. The restaurant is an ideal place for a date.  The interiors of the restaurant are tastefully done with some subtle Indian art on a red brick wall. The restuarant has outside seating as well and this might score well with people who have dogs.

As for the food itself, we have nothing but bad news. The soup lacked consistency. Mattar Paneer and Kadai Bhindi were just ordinary.

Taste-O-Meter : 3 Tummies
Wallet’s Loss: $$

Go There For: If nothing else is open in State Street

Red Brick Pizza

If you are making a road trip on US Highway 101 between San Francisco and Los Angeles, there is a little to eat along the way once you go past Salinas except the run of the mill fast food eateries. We did find one little oasis in a place caled Paso Robles.

Red Brick Pizza was surprisingly open on Christmas Day and had an impressive variety of vegetarian pizzas. They also had an option to build our own pizza with our choice of crust, sauces and toppings. We built our own pizza with pineapples, Jalapenos, tomatoes, onions and bellpepper with a thin crust and pesto sauce.

The restaurant serves a good caesar salad and does have both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.  A piece of free advice – Stay away from the alcohol if you are driving

The pizza came back very quickly and was wonderfully delicious. The crust just melted in your mouth and the cheese was optimal. We would definitely go back there again if we are driving on that freeway.

Taste-O-Meter : 7 Tummies
Wallet’s Loss: $$

Go There For: Stretching, Relaxing and enjoying a good meal in the midst of a long road trip

Thai Orchid, San Jose

Thai Orchid is in a strip-mall at Trimble and North First Street. The strip mall is lined with eateries of all cuisines and caters to a lot of office-goers in the First Street Area. Its proximity to E-Bay also accounts for its “busy”ness.

All Lunch entrees are served with clear soup and a salad.  You can give the salad a pass as it is usually a lot of lettuce with just a modest addition of some cucumber and tomato pieces. I recommend the soup. It is pretty appetizing and is not large so does not fill your stomach before the main course.

For the main course, you will not be disappointed if you order the Green Curry or Pad-Kee-Mao or Pad-Thai. Wash it down with some Thai-Iced Tea.  Some believe that the quality of a Thai restaurant can be judged by complex and exciting taste of their Tom-Yum Soup. If that were a metric to judge this restaurant, it is a pretty good one.

The seating is a little cramped and may not be ideal for a large group for lunch.  The place is packed at lunch so expect a 5-10 minute wait. Parking may also be a little bit of a hassle.

Blue Mango, San Jose

Blue Mango has been voted the best Thai/Vegetarian restaurant in the Bay Area for multiple years now, and not without reason.

For vegetarians who love Thai food, you can’t get a bigger variety of dishes to choose from. The vegetarian menu is extensive and demands multiple visits! For starters, the Wontons are super tasty and the TomYum soup is extremely appetizing. If you even remotely like salads, definitely try the Mango Carrot Salad..it is crazy good!

For the main course, apart from the usual curries, the Pad-Ke-Mao is one of the best you’ll eat. The Prig-Khing was a disappointment though, and I will not recommend it.

Finish your meal, with the fried banana and ice cream and walk out a super happy person. And for those who care, the waitresses are extremely cute!

Taste-O-Meter : 7 Tummies
Wallet’s Loss: $$$$

Go There For: A Second Date, Nice Dinner

Falafel Drive In, San Jose

This place is the definition of a great “hole in the wall” place! Falafel Drive -In has been serving, without question, the best falafels in the Bay Area for decades!

On a typical lunch day, you will see a line of 10-15 people along the sidewalk waiting to order, with another 20-30 odd sitting under a makeshift plastic roof, munching away happily on their wraps! You can try to analyze the menu and figure out what to order….or just ask for the Falafel Sandwich and the Banana Shake!

It is super tasty…and it’s cheap!

Taste-O-Meter : 7 Tummies
Wallet’s Loss: $$

Go There For: Quick Lunch, Take out

Zeni, San Jose

Authentic ethiopian food, a cosy atmosphere and good service will leave you wanting to come back again to this place!

The food is quite appetizing and tasty across the menu. Try the Sambussas for starters and I will not reccomend the salad. For people new to Ethiopian food, Injera bread is the staple dish and is served family style on a single plate along with the dishes you order! First timers, go with the vegetarian combo. This has portions of the Ye-Misir Wot (red lentil gravy) , Ye-Kik Alitcha (yellow lentils with onion, garlic, ginger and turmeric), Atakelt Wot (A mixed vegetable preparation), Ye Gomen Wot (Greens cooked with spice) and Ye Timatim Fitfit(a cold dish – scrambled injera bread with onions and tomatoes).

The Fouull and Shuro Wot are quite tasty too, and should definitely be tried. If you are a coffee person, do not forget to try their ethiopian drip coffee after dinner!

All in all, this is probably the best Ethiopian restaurant in the South Bay!

Taste-O-Meter : 7 Tummies
Wallet’s Loss: $$$

Go There For: A Second Date, Friendly meeting, Exotic Dinner

Dasaprakash, Santa Clara

Who says you can’t take your date to a South Indian restaurant?

Dasaprakash, in Santa Clara, is a famous restaurant in the city of Chennai, India. And it tries to live up to its name here!

The restaurant has a very nice setting, with nicely done wooden flooring and thought out decors on the wall. Look for the photo of the roadside tea vendor on one of the walls….its a classic!

The food is decent. The Kaunjeevaram Idly is something you dont find in many south Indian restaurants and is worth a try. The Dosas, Vadas and Oothappams are all good and will not disappoint. The chutneys were so-so and could definitely be better. Also the Bisibele Bath and Tamarind rice are definitely worth trying!

For the super hungry/uninitiated, go with the combos at the end of the Menu. The service is quite good, though it’s also a by-product of the low traffic in the restaurant.

The restaurant is also super quiet and the music they play in the background is surprisingly appropriate and at the perfect volume level. This makes for a great place to have dinner and a nice conversation.

And it is definitely more expensive than most South Indian places in the Bay Area.

Taste-O-Meter : 6 Tummies
Wallet’s Loss: $$$$

Go There For: A Second Date, Important Lunch/Meeting

Slice of New York, San Jose

If you’re one of those yankees in the Bay Area missing your slize of ‘za, worry no more…Slice of New York is exactly what the name says it is. Or if you havent ever been to New York and have just seen the famed NYC roadside pizzerias on Seinfeld…trying this place is a Must!

You get two slices of pizza and a Soda for $6. Usually the veggie choices for this are Cheese, Margherita and Mushroom. All three are T.A.S.T.Y. The Times Square (their Veggie speciality) is good too although its not as authentic.

All in all, stop by for a quick bite…have a couple of slices, with minimal damage to your wallet and a smile on your face.

Taste-O-Meter : 7 Tummies
Wallet’s Loss: $

Go There For: Quick Bite, Pizza Craving!, Take Out