San Jose Recs.

[makymark02]

I will me in San Jose and will be at the Marriott are there places near by for both lunch and dinner worh checking out

[rworange]

Will you have a car?

[makymark02]

Yes we will have a car

[newportrieats]

The Grill on the Alley at the Fairmont Hotel and Original Joes are great bets. Both have awesome bar service for food if travelling on business.

[Claudette]

If you have a map or a concierge, it's a quick drive on the freeway to Aqui in Willow Glen or Campbell for great Southwestern fare.

[emi50]

Picasso's Tapas on Santa Clara Street. Eulipia on South 1st. Loft Bar and Bistro on 2nd St. Perfect Finish Wine Bar (great small plates) on 1st. La Victoria Taqueria on San Carlos. (Arcadia in your hotel is a Michael Mina restaurant, fyi.)

[Claudette]

Pizza Chicago is a couple of blocks away on San Fernando, and excellent. (I am not able to add the link.)

[mdg]

Why drive to Aqui when you have the infinitely tastier Mezcal right downtown?

Downtown San Jose is probably best known for its Vietnamese restaurants, like Vung Tau. Search for San Jose and/or Vietnamese and you'll find more options. House of Siam is a good Thai option.

It would help to know more about your food preferences, price range, where you're coming from, etc. to give better recommendations.

Michael

[mdg]

I see the map is showing Mezcal outside of downtown. That's because Chowhound has the zip code wrong - it's 95113, not 95101. With the right zip code and Google you can get the correct location just a few blocks from the Marriott.

Michael

[rworange]

I changed the zip

Found a few reviews and blogs about Mezcal while updating the restaurant record
http://melissagoodtaste.blogspot.com/2009/05/mezcal-san-jose-ca_31.html
http://www.metroactive.com/metro/01.07.09/dining-0901.html
http://sjdowntowneats.blogspot.com/20...

[Claudette]

If you go to Mezcal, be sure to get the grasshoppers - unusual, crunchy, and good. The moles were just okay - the four of us weren't impressed, having had many better moles elsewhere, but it's within walking distance of your hotel.

Aqui is not Mexican - it's Cal-Mex, with Niman beef, great salads, apps, desserts, specials. I've eaten there for 15 yrs and never ordered the same thing twice. It's just a fancy cafeteria-style place, with food as the main draw.

[jsaimd]

Where are your favorite moles or pipians. I love pipians, but haven't found too many...

[Claudette]

Sorry to disappoint you, but there's a restaurant in Tucson called Cafe Poca Cosa, and the chef there is from Sonora, Mexico, and she has seemingly endless recipes for moles - all delicious. The cafe's regionally famous for her authentic, delicious food - if you're ever there, order the Plato (3 moles/specials of the day on one plate, chef's choice). Last time I was there, one of the moles was a yellow almond mole on fish - fantastic! I've yet to find good moles here, but maybe that should be the start of another thread.

http://cafepocacosatucson.com/