DEALS ON MEALS 94 South Bay Accent food, authentic Mexican cuisine and hand-crafted cocktails made with organic juices. $ Pedro’s Restaurant, 316 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos. 408/354-7570. Veggie wraps, chicken mole and chile verde are among menu highlights. $$ Reposado, 236 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto. 650/ 833-3151. A chic backdrop is well served by such popular Mexican culinary favorites as adobo marinade steak and tortilla soup. $$ Sancho’s Taqueria, 491 Lytton Ave., Palo Alto. 650/322-8226. Adam Torres, formerly with Village Pub, serves up an assortment of veggie, meat, and seafood burritos, plus other Mexican favorites. $ Tacolicious, 632 Emerson St., Palo Alto. 650/838-0500. Serving upscale Mexican food featuring a wide variety of artisan tacos. $$ Vive Sol, 2020 W. El Camino Real, Mountain View. 650/938- 2020. Mountain View boasts this popular spot that showcases the heady moles indigenous to the Puebla region. $$ Zona Rosa, 1411 The Alameda, San Jose, 408/ 275- 1411. Honoring the cookery of Mexico and featuring hand-pressed tortillas and fresh, locally grown ingredients. $$ MOROCCAN Chelokababi, 1236 Wolfe Road, Sunnyvale. 408/737-1222. Home-style Persian cooking, great kebabs and a unique rice cooked for 17 hours. $ Dishdash, 190 S. Murphy Ave., Sunnyvale. 408/ 774-1889. Astute service, a warm atmosphere, and exceptional Middle Eastern cuisine. $$ Menara Moroccan Restaurant, 41 E. Gish Road, San Jose. 408/453-1983. Established more than 30 years ago by Arvind Shah, Menara was the first Moroccan eatery in San Jose, and its unique cuisine, atmosphere and sense of culture resonate to this day, thanks to Shah’s son, Anand, carrying on the family tradition. Guests are quickly absorbed by the restaurant’s majestic North African architecture and décor, and invited to relax on lush lounge sofas or comfortable leather throw pillows while awaiting their meal. The restaurant offers a selection of six-course dinner menus featuring Moroccan salad, authentic appetizers, choice meats, garden-fresh vegetables and delectable desserts. Refreshing sangria or a signature Moroccan mojito nicely complement the cuisine, and an exotic belly dancing show every evening adds a final, traditional touch to a truly memorable dining experience. $$-$$$ PACIFIC ISLANDS Banana Leaf, 182 Ranch Drive, Milpitas. 408/719- 9811. Comfortable, open kitchen-style cooking and flavorful entrees like Mango Prawn. $-$$ SEAFOOD Blue Water Seafood & Crab, 860 Willow St., San Jose. 408/289-8879. East Coast-style crab house with a wide selection of seafood specialties as well as plenty of choices for land lovers. $ Driggsy’s Seafood, Sports Bar & Grill, 1150 Murphy Ave., Suite D, San Jose. 408/437- 1986. Traditional American-style food and drinks served up in a spirited atmosphere. $$ Fish Market, Palo Alto, 650/493-8862; Santa Clara, 408/246-3474; San Jose, 408/269-3474. Fresh, high-quality seafood comes from the restaurant’s own fishery and partnering seafood farms. $$ McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant, 170 S. Market St., San Jose. 408/283-7200. BEST BITES Glorious summer days bring out the brunch in South Bay diners. What could be more enjoyable than consuming that most important meal of the day with family and friends at one of the many popular brunch spots in the region? Locals love the fabulous eggs Benedict at the two locations of Los Gatos Cafe (340 N. Santa Cruz Ave. and 15662 Los Gatos Blvd.), although the killer herb potatoes and raspberry coffee cake have legions of fans, too. Launched in 1987, these happy spots deliver goodies like airy “souffle omelets” and a slew of other top-of-the-morning treats. Another long-timer with a huge breakfast fan base is Bill’s Cafe, a local tradition since 1977 with five locations in San Jose. Patrons rave about the amazing salmon Benedict or the crab-cake Benedict, the superfluffy pancakes, scrambles with lots of additions, hearty waffles, well over a dozen omelets, several iterations of French toast and more. The decadent bread pudding French toast includes all your daily calories. Generous servings and extremely friendly service have made Bajis Cafe (2423 Old Middlefield Way, Mountain View) a top-rated brunch destination. Justifiably famous are the freshly grated hash browns with bacon or ham and the justsqueezed orange juice. The design-your-own omelet bar delivers a dizzying array of add-ins like linguica, olives and kielbasa, while pancakes (buttermilk, buckwheat, fruit) are also offered many different ways. St. Michael’s Alley might have moved to fancier digs a block away some years ago but the restaurant’s original location, now called The Annex (806 Emerson St., Palo Alto), is the hot spot for weekend brunch in town. Guests dive into goodies like blue monkey pancakes—with blueberries and bananas swirled in the batter—and a wide array of breakfast items. Or go with a tasty treat like salade Nicoise, seared tuna on greens with avocado, olives, cherry tomatoes and a hard-boiled egg. Pancakes, omelets, eggs Benedict and the like are fine, but some brunch lovers like to expand their horizons at one of the Crepevine locations (San Jose, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Burlingame), offering a huge array of crepe dishes along with all the usual popular brunch choices. Served with delicious home potatoes and a green salad, there are at least 20 kinds of crepes, like the savory Greek version, featuring spinach, olives, roasted almonds, onions and feta cheese with a yogurt sauce. —S.H. TapaOlé Menara Moroccan
South Bay Accent - Jun/Jul 2015
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