BEST BITES
TASTE TRIPS
92 South Bay Accent
French cuisine, this Bay Area institution blends
fresh ingredients with impeccable preparation. $$$
Left Bank, Menlo Park. 650/473-6543; San Jose.
408/984-3500. Popular eatery features contemporary
French cuisine and a variety of seafood prepared
with fresh, seasonal ingredients. $$$
Melting Pot, 1 Transit Center Way, San Mateo.
650/342-6358. Fondue spot features four flavorful
cooking styles and a variety of entrees with dipping
sauces. Be sure to save space for the chocolate
fondue. $$
Navio (Ritz-Carlton Hotel), 1 Miramontes Point
Road, Half Moon Bay. 650/712-7000. This luxurious
seaside restaurant overlooks the panoramic
golf course. $$$
The Plumed Horse, 14555 Big
Basin Way, Saratoga. 408/867-4711.
This 2011 Michelin-starred restaurant
delivers contemporary, seasonal
California cuisine based on solid
French techniques. $$$
Zola, 565 Bryant St., Palo Alto.
650/521-0651. Seasonal French
cuisine features regionally sourced
meats and produce, complemented by
a wide selection of French and California
wines. $$–$$$
GERMAN
Ludwig’s German Table, 261 N. Second St.,
San Jose. 408/771-9871. This spirited German
establishment serves grub and brews in a contemporary
interior and outdoor beer garden. $$
Teske’s Germania, 255 N. First St., San Jose.
408/292-0291. Starting with appetizers like potato
pancakes and jalapeno cheese–stuffed pretzels,
Teske’s serves tasty German comfort food. $$
GREEK
Dio Deka (in Hotel Los Gatos), 210 E. Main St.,
Los Gatos. 408/354-7700. Enjoy authentic Hellenic
cuisine served in a warm, relaxing setting. $$
Evvia Estiatorio, 420 Emerson St., Palo Alto.
650/326-0983. Evvia offers a lighter approach to
traditional dishes. Family-style dining; open spit
for roasting lamb. $$
Myth Taverna & Lounge, 152 Post St., San
Jose. 408/286-7678. Modern Greek cuisine served
in an ultra-urban atmosphere with elegant indoor
or patio dining and frequent live entertainment. $$
Nemea Greek Taverna, 96 S. First St., San Jose.
408/279-4225. Serves up modern Greek cuisine
made with the freshest ingredients and featuring an
Old World charm–style setting. $$
Opa!, Multiple South Bay locations, www.opa
authenticgreek.com. Fresh, homemade meals
steeped in Greek family spirit and tradition. $$
HAWAIIAN
Coast Poke Counter, 87 N. San Pedro St., San
Jose, 408/320-4372. Located in San Pedro Square
Market, this poke place serves fresh cuts of premium
fish in an elegant setting. $–$$
Da Kine Island Grill, 23 N. Market St., San Jose,
408/568-9700. Popular for its live Hawaiian music
performances, this feel-good-vibe venue specializes
in exotic island-style cuisine $$
Hukilau, 230 Jackson St., San Jose, 408/279-4888.
Hawaii’s greatest culinary hits, including pupu
platters and macadamia-infused dishes, round out
the menu of this tropical hotspot. $$
If you haven’t been to Napa Valley recently, now is the time
to go and soak in the new growth bursting among the vineyards and hillsides.
While you’re there, enjoy a leisurely weekend brunch at one of these outstanding
eateries.
Located right on the Napa River, the Calistoga Inn Restaurant and Brewery
(1250 Lincoln Ave., Calistoga) is one of the most popular outdoor dining venues
in the valley. Brunch is a big deal here, featuring classic breakfast
dishes alongside hearty lunchtime fare. There are the favorites like
eggs benedict and huevos rancheros, along with the Napa Valley
Breakfast: scrambled eggs topped with Vermont cheddar, served
with asparagus and other veggies, and a chicken-apple sausage.
Main courses include fire-grilled skirt steak, oven-roasted salmon,
seafood linguini and the Best Burger topped with cheddar
cheese and applewood smoked bacon.
Boon Fly Café (4080 Sonoma Highway, Napa) is a bright and cheery
restaurant that looks just like a classic red barn. The food is just as vibrant
and fun. The weekend brunch features eclectic offerings like the Red
Quinoa and Egg White Bowl, which comes with hen of the woods mushrooms
and roasted squash and marinated tomatoes. There’s the Green Eggs and Ham,
which wraps poached farm-fresh eggs in honey-cured ham topped with a lemon
leek cream. The Boon Fly Benedict adds jalapeño to traditional hollandaise
sauce for an extra kick.
It’s brunch tapas style at the Farm at Carneros (4048 Sonoma Highway, Napa),
where you can choose four dishes from the main menu to share at the table
for a per-person price. Choices include avocado toast with crispy capers and
pickled pearl onions on rye, lobster rolls or crispy duck confit
hash, among other delectable dishes. Add on the housemade
beignets with lemon curd and a bubbly glass
of Domaine Carneros Brut Rosé for the perfect
brunch. Or try one of the restaurant’s brunch
cocktails, like the Green Juice on Vacation,
which lets you mix vodka, gin or rum with
that healthy concoction of kale, celery, apple
and cucumber.
The chefs at Archetype (1429 Main St., St.
Helena) seek out the freshest seasonal ingredients
from Northern California to keep their
oak-fired oven and grill turning out amazing food
for the brunch bunch. The buttermilk Belgian waffles
go sweet or savory: Choose from either Meyer lemon
curd with berries on top, pork belly, egg and feta-red pepper,
or friend chicken and collard greens. There are many other inventive plates
here, including the bacon, lettuce and trout sandwich, and the Buddha rice bowl
served with a five-minute egg, kimchi and shitake mushrooms, with a choice of
chicken, smoked trout or veggies. —P. M.
Rosie
McCann’s
Crow’s
Nest
