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Are you kidding? You have definitely missed out if you haven't found some good food! Start off at the CalTrain station near SCU. Drive down El Camino. In one

by physcab 17y ago

Are you kidding? You have definitely missed out if you haven't found some good food! Start off at the CalTrain station near SCU. Drive down El Camino. In one direction (North?) you'll pass by some amazing Indian, Thai, and Vietnamese restaurants. You'll also probably pass by my favorite sushi hole-in-the wall (Hana sushi). Sushi-o-sushi is also good. In the other direction, you'll head towards San Jose. First you'll pass by some great cafe's. Keep heading down and you'll find the ultimate Mexican eatery La Victoria. Actually, anything Mexican in San Jose is bound to be great. If you go to La Poloma (El Camino North) you can find an incredible happy hour--free enchiladas and nachos and $2.00 house margaritas. Around the corner from La Victoria though you'll find Sonoma Chicken Coop. You'll be amazed that you can get a full, moderately healthy meal for under $7.00 and served to you in about 5 minutes. There's also a New Orleans style restaurant near the HP center which is delicious. If you're going fancy there's Il Fornario Italian or Birk's Steakhouse. Outside Santa Clara but a short drive away there's some great restaurants in Santana Row. There's a great Egyptian restaurant near here too, but I can't think of the name of it. The best breakfast places in town are Hobies and Stacks without a doubt.

tptacek 17y ago
I appreciate the detail, and thanks for writing it, but what you're describing here is actually inferior to the offerings in Ann Arbor, MI, which is effectively in the middle of nowhere. A2 has amazing Mexican (La Fiesta), decent cheap Mexican (Sabor), multiple excellent cafes (Sweetwaters, ERC), one of the most famous delis in the country (Zingermans) and their barbeque restaurant (Roadhose), passable Thai, multiple laudable upscale Italian and French joints, one of the best breakfast spots anywhere (Angelos, which unlike Hobies is not supplied by GFS trucks) and in less of a drive than Sunnyvale to San Jose, Common Grill in Chelsea. And we're not comparing A2 to SV, I know, and it's silly to compare cities like that, but it's not crazy to say that the lower bar for "good food city" is "better than Ann Arbor, MI". I concede that Santa Clara is great for food if what you're looking for is a diverse selection of medium/low-end Asian and Mexican. I used to work in the building next to Birks. Pass.
- physcab 17y ago
  I currently live in Gainesville, Florida. When I first arrived, I hated it. I thought, "nothing to do, nothing good to eat, no interesting people, weather sucks...". Most of my friends felt the same way. But somewhere around a year or so of living here, I realized that it was much easier to be bitter about life than it was to be happy. It takes effort to unhitch that tendency to compare. It takes effort to try new places, to make new friends, and explore surrounding areas. Once I gave this town a chance, I began to see the good in it. My friends haven't. They are still bitter. And its very exhausting to be around them sometimes (not to mention slightly depressing). I think its a little unfair to compare completely different cities with completely different histories. You can always find exceptions, and if you are really hell bent on doing this type of comparison, that's your prerogative. You have to appreciate every city for what its worth. If you don't, you are going to be miserable.
  - tptacek 17y ago
    Dude. Some cities, like A2, have excellent restaurants. Some, like Gainesville, are very cheap. Santa Clara does not have particularly great restaurants, and it is not particularly cheap. It's not an emotional thing. When you're choosing a place to live, you probably want people's unvarnished opinions.

by physcab 17y ago

tptacek 17y ago

I appreciate the detail, and thanks for writing it, but what you're describing here is actually inferior to the offerings in Ann Arbor, MI, which is effectively in the middle of nowhere. A2 has amazing Mexican (La Fiesta), decent cheap Mexican (Sabor), multiple excellent cafes (Sweetwaters, ERC), one of the most famous delis in the country (Zingermans) and their barbeque restaurant (Roadhose), passable Thai, multiple laudable upscale Italian and French joints, one of the best breakfast spots anywhere (Angelos, which unlike Hobies is not supplied by GFS trucks) and in less of a drive than Sunnyvale to San Jose, Common Grill in Chelsea. And we're not comparing A2 to SV, I know, and it's silly to compare cities like that, but it's not crazy to say that the lower bar for "good food city" is "better than Ann Arbor, MI". I concede that Santa Clara is great for food if what you're looking for is a diverse selection of medium/low-end Asian and Mexican. I used to work in the building next to Birks. Pass.

physcab 17y ago
I currently live in Gainesville, Florida. When I first arrived, I hated it. I thought, "nothing to do, nothing good to eat, no interesting people, weather sucks...". Most of my friends felt the same way. But somewhere around a year or so of living here, I realized that it was much easier to be bitter about life than it was to be happy. It takes effort to unhitch that tendency to compare. It takes effort to try new places, to make new friends, and explore surrounding areas. Once I gave this town a chance, I began to see the good in it. My friends haven't. They are still bitter. And its very exhausting to be around them sometimes (not to mention slightly depressing). I think its a little unfair to compare completely different cities with completely different histories. You can always find exceptions, and if you are really hell bent on doing this type of comparison, that's your prerogative. You have to appreciate every city for what its worth. If you don't, you are going to be miserable.
- tptacek 17y ago
  Dude. Some cities, like A2, have excellent restaurants. Some, like Gainesville, are very cheap. Santa Clara does not have particularly great restaurants, and it is not particularly cheap. It's not an emotional thing. When you're choosing a place to live, you probably want people's unvarnished opinions.