“She was always saying, ‘Try this, try this,'” Lai told San José Spotlight. “I told her, ‘I’ve had enough sandwiches, you should go start a food truck.’ About three days later, a small trailer from Craigslist pops up in the driveway.”

Lai’s mother, Natalie Le, surprised him even more when she tried to convince him to quit his job at Apple and help with her fledgling business. Barely knowing how to cook rice or eggs, he helped for a couple of months. Then, when the food truck became too time-consuming, they abandoned it.

Two years later, his uncle wanted to restart the business, and Lai offered to help cater sandwiches for his 300 teammates at Apple. Their enthusiastic response provided him with his lightbulb moment.

“They all enjoyed them,” he said, “and wanted to order more. I thought, ‘Oh, there’s that food trailer.'”

Lai decide to quit and give it another go. He signed up for the farmers market at the San Jose Rose Garden. On the first day, he began working at 5 a.m. and finished at 4 p.m., selling only 29 sandwiches. He was not discouraged.

“I worked seven days a week and kept learning, learning, learning,” he said. “I was on a quest to share this sandwich. And I was on a mission to elevate Vietnamese food.”

The sandwiches lean heavily on two culturally different aspects of Vietnamese cuisine. The first is the bánh mì bread itself, a variation on the baguette, and chicken pâté, both of which were introduced to the country by the French during their occupation.

The second is a mix of the country’s staple foods: a protein, usually pork in Vietnam, and a healthy serving of vegetables common in the country including cucumbers, sweet pickled carrots, daikon and cilantro. Done right, it’s a colorful, chewy and complex complete meal.

“I realized we were selling to workers who enjoyed a quick lunch,” Lai said. “I kept the idea of always trying to connect with my customers, which was what allowed me to keep moving forward and develop the business.”

He expanded into a ghost kitchen, then a commercial kitchen inside Fuse nightclub in downtown San Jose and finally to The Rec Room before settling into his current location at 86 N. Market St. in 2023.

The menu at Mommy’s is short but flexible. There are six proteins: pork lemongrass patties, grilled lemongrass chicken, shredded chicken, fried chicken, slow-roasted porchetta and a vegetarian or vegan mix that includes tofu, yams and taro. Each protein can be matched with bánh mì as a sandwich, with sheets of vermicelli noodles or rice in a bowl. All come with sweet pickled carrots, daikons, cucumbers, jalapeños and crispy fried onions.

“Most Vietnamese restaurants have a thousand things on the menu,” Lai said. “I just want to try to be the best at this menu, and I’m always finding new ways to improve it. But every few months there’s going to be something different.”

Lai bakes the bread in-house, another journey of his that began with an attempt, which only yielded half a loaf. Since then, he said, he’s developed a bánh mì that is lighter in texture than the Vietnamese version and tones down its almost razor-sharp crust. The result is a sandwich that you can bite into without all the ingredients squishing out.

One departure from the traditional version is that all the meats are served hot and fresh off the grill, which provides a great contrast to the cool, crisp vegetables. But the secret weapon is the cilantro sauce, which takes the flavor in a surprisingly rich direction.

“My mom created that sauce,” Lai said. “It was just a bunch of leftover pieces of vegetables. She thought, ‘We can’t waste this food. We’ve got to figure out how to do something with it.’ It sets us apart from many places.”

The sauce is available for sale and is worth taking home. It also accompanies the two side dishes on the menu,  both of which are exceptional. The Vietnamese Chicken Wings are prepared in a crispy, Korean-based batter and tossed in a vegan fish sauce that adds sweet, sour and savory notes. The Twirly Fries, short and thick with an unusual curve, are topped with scallion oil and fried onions.

First-time customer Denise Wyl came to Mommy’s on the recommendation of her daughters and was impressed enough to say she’d be coming back.

“They know I love Vietnamese food,” she told San José Spotlight. “I had the lemongrass chicken bowl and it was absolutely delicious. And the service was quick and very friendly.”

Mommy’s has never had an official grand opening, Lai said, because he’s been working first on becoming a better business owner.

“I’m concentrating on the food and my people and people in front of us,” he said. “That’s the fun part about this journey, and that’s all that matters. People will find good food if we provide good food.”

Contact Robert Eliason at robt@lostinthestars.com.

Editor’s note: The Biz Beat is a series highlighting local small businesses and restaurants in Silicon Valley. Know a business you’d like to see featured? Let us know at info@sanjosespotlight.com.

The post The Biz Beat: Mommy’s Bánh Mì in San Jose knows best appeared first on San José Spotlight.

“I am probably one of her first customers,” devoted customer Amanda Keith told San José Spotlight. “I kept coming back because of their beautiful display, the quality of the pottery and the pride they take in what they do. They are just spectacular.”

The shop itself was a long time coming. Saldana, a native of Jalisco, Mexico, immigrated to the United States at the age of 20 to raise money to complete her education. For the next 25 years, she held various jobs, including barista, cashier, waitress and porter, all the while maintaining her dream.

“I got married and had four kids,” Saldana told San José Spotlight. “I worked hard and was always thinking that one day I would have something of my own. I wanted to do something that would teach them how to achieve their goals.”

Saldana’s chance came when her brother-in-law, Jorge Vasquez, who makes Talavera pottery in Guanajuato, Mexico, visited California to sell his wares. Saldana saw her opportunity.

“I saw the stuff,” she said, “and I just fell in love with the colors and the beauty. It’s one of the most traditional crafts in Mexico.  I saved and saved so one day I could open my store.”

Talavera pottery originated in Spain and was introduced to Mexico in the 16th century. It is instantly recognizable for its mix of floral and animal motifs, as well as its intricate geometric patterns.

“This kind of pottery is expensive because of the quality of the work,” Saldana said. “It is handmade, then hand-painted and put back into the oven at very high temperatures. It comes out shiny, and the glaze is going to last a very long time.”

A more “modern” version of Talavera has an initial light pastel glaze, which is then decorated with heavy swirls of white glaze, giving it a much more subtle yet tactile look and feel.

“The way they do this is totally different,” Saldana said. “It is simpler and much more symbolic. I sell it to younger people who are not as interested in the more colorful stuff.”

Saldana travels to Mexico around eight times a year to purchase items directly, hand-picking every piece to ensure the highest quality of craftsmanship in the ceramics and the finest detail work in the painting.

“I want to see the environment and the way they work,” Saldana said. “I chose the designs and the colors. I like buying directly from the families because my business is with my family as well.”

The travel allows her to offer a wide variety of regional ceramics, such at the coal-black Barro Negro pottery which has been made in Oaxaca for more than 500 years. Artisans polish the clay pots with quartz stones, then emboss them with designs using a variety of unusual tools.

“They use their creativity to find ways to make different designs,” Saldana said. “They could use a fork, a pencil, a lid from a drink and other things that you cannot believe.”

Saldana said the red clay pottery she carries, which is made in Michoacán, more closely resembles everyday kitchenware and is increasing in popularity.

“It was the kind of thing we always used in Mexico,” she said. “Then people started replacing it with the newer stuff. Now people are buying it because they remember their grandmas using it, and it brings memories back.”

Another reminder of an earlier generation is the selection of trasteritos she carries, foot-tall cupboards filled with dollhouse-like versions of items intended for display on a wall.

“When people used to be very poor, they would make their own cabinets like this,” Saldana said. “It represents what would be in a traditional Mexican kitchen or home, and each one is unique.”
Besides the other ceramic items Saldana sells, such as calavera figures, unglazed painted dishes and cups, decorative tiles, planters and garden fountains, the shop also carries alpaca sweaters imported from Chiapas.

Saldana said one of her goals is to bring a little bit of her love of her homeland to the Latino community in San Jose.

“The most important thing in my life is my family,” Saldana said. “We fall in love all together with what we do. After that, it is my pride in being Mexican and being able to share my culture and its beauty here in my shop.”

Contact Robert Eliason at robt@lostinthestars.com.

Editor’s Note: The Biz Beat is a series highlighting local small businesses and restaurants in Silicon Valley. Know a business you’d like to see featured? Let us know at info@sanjosespotlight.com.

The post The Biz Beat: El Bazar Azteca shares Mexican art and heritage appeared first on San José Spotlight.

However, the best endorsement may be from owner Ubaldo Navarro-Castillo’s mother, Maria Louisa Castillo, who began teaching him how to cook when he was 6-years-old. She owned a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Jalisco, Mexico, which was so small that it didn’t even have a name.

“I learned to make Chorizo con Huevo old style from her,” he said. “That was where my dream started, and most of our recipes came from there. I brought her here and cooked for her, and she loved how I fixed everything.”

The restaurant did well enough that when Navarro-Castillo left Mexico at 15, he did it more for the adventure than the money. His first job was washing dishes in a corporate cafeteria. His kitchen work was limited to cooking for himself and friends at home — later for his family.

Along the way, he polished his skills, attending culinary school at San Jose State University, and partnering to open the first Taqueria Tlaquepaque at the corner of Curtner and Lincoln avenues.

“We had tacos, burritos and quesadillas,” Navarro-Castillo said. “Just basic Mexican plates. Then we started making different kinds of enchiladas, but the menu was not as big as it is now.”

In 2004, the current location opened on Willow Street as a more formal restaurant with servers. A few years later, a third location opened at the corner of Canoas Garden and Curtner avenues, but along with the original taqueria, it fell victim to the pandemic.

“We used to have 60 employees across the three locations,” Navarro-Castillo said, “and we ended up with only six for this location, basically just the family. It was difficult to stay open, but it was not impossible.”

Navarro-Castillo credits the current restaurant’s survival–and success–to his close devotion to his mother’s recipes. Everything is cooked from scratch daily, like his mole, which simmers for eight hours. Only the freshest produce and ingredients are used, and the meat is of the highest quality, like the tender New York steak in his Bistec a la Mexicana.

“Most places,” he said, “they do shortcuts. I can always tell when somebody is cooking something out of a can. It’s a completely different flavor. You don’t get the quality.”

The attention to detail can be seen in even the simplest dishes. Rice, for example, prepared with tomato juice, garlic, onion and some yellow peppers, is made three times a day, up to five times on the weekend.

The result is fantastic: every fluffy grain is light and distinct, not overcooked and compacted. The tomato flavor is entrancing: subtle but not overwhelming, and the other ingredients enhance without competing.

Navarro-Castillo is particularly proud of his sauces, which are all housemade daily. The red sauce on his top-selling enchiladas is particularly fine. Made with tomatoes, bell peppers and chilies, it has a nice substance and rich flavor, carrying a light, lingering heat.

“We simmer that enchilada sauce for four hours,” he said. “Most people don’t even do it for 30 minutes, or they buy it from somewhere. My sauce is spicy, but you don’t get heartburn because it’s slow-cooked to the proper time.”

Some dishes take even longer to prepare, partly explaining why Navarro-Castillo is in the kitchen at 5 a.m., starting his beans, roasting his chicken and simmering his sauces.

Loyal customer Dave Peters has been coming to Taqueria Tlaquepaque for more than 25 years, and said the tacos are the best in Santa Clara County.

“I drive in from Gilroy just to get the Super Tacos,” he said. “I also like the chicken enchiladas with red sauce. There are tons of taquerias where I live, but nothing compares to this. The flavors here are awesome, just something else, and the service is great, too.”

And that is precisely what Navarro-Castillo likes to hear.

“This is my dream come true,” he said. “I love doing it. It’s my cup of tea. I get my satisfaction when I see people are happy when they are eating.  When I see them leave happy, that’s my reward.”

Contact Robert Eliason at robt@lostinthestars.com.

Editor’s Note: The Biz Beat is a series highlighting local small businesses and restaurants in Silicon Valley. Know a business you’d like to see featured? Let us know at info@sanjosespotlight.com.

The post The Biz Beat: San Jose taqueria claims ‘Masters of Mexican Munchies’ title appeared first on San José Spotlight.

It’s a formula that works, as attested by the loyalty of longtime customers such as Gary Snyder, who said he only needs to wave his hand to workers at the counter to place his regular order of two mustard dogs.

“I’ve been coming here for over 40 years,” he told San José Spotlight. “I like everything about the place. The food has always been great, but the employees are what keeps me coming back — there are some wonderful people here.”

Not much has changed at the 23-seat diner since it first opened. The Happy Hound is still family owned. The burgers are still a third of a pound, and the hot dogs are still all-beef and eight inches long. Derek Quinet, co-owner and grandson of founder Hugh Dresslar, intends to keep it that way.

“We’ve added things here and there to accommodate vegetarians,” Quinet told San José Spotlight. “But we haven’t changed where we get our food, how we prep it or how we serve it. The flavors and portions never change. We want people to leave happy.”

The diner has its roots in the successful Hound Dog Restaurant in Danville, founded in 1968 by Dorothy Dresslar. She had no experience in the restaurant business and financed it by borrowing against her car. In 1972, following a friendly divorce, banker and now-ex-husband Hugh Dresslar glanced through her books and spotted potential.

“He had business acumen,” Quinet said. “To him, it looked like a money-making operation. So he took from what she was doing and opened this place, where there used to be an Orange Julius.”

Hugh’s son, Dan Dresslar, took it over in 1987 and gave nephew Quinet a job when he had personal difficulties. At first, he was put to work sweeping floors, but he absorbed everything he could from his uncle.

“He was the most kind-hearted person I’ve ever met,” Quinet said. “I learned the business from Dan, and I care for employees the same way. Many have been here up to 20 years, and few quick-serve restaurants can say that about their people.”

Of course, the menu’s lead-off is different takes on all-beef hot dogs, which are steamed but can be grilled on request. Snyder’s favorite, the Happy Hound with mustard, relish, onions and tomato, is also there. As is Quinet’s — the Cheese Hound, piled high with shredded cheddar cheese.

Other variations include hot dogs with chili or sauerkraut, corn dogs (with a vegetarian version available), Polish sausage and the Hell Hound, with cheese, tomatoes, grilled onions, chopped bacon, jalapeños and Angry Sauce — a kicked-up must-try version of Thousand Island dressing that can be substituted on request with any item or ordered separately.

The Mexi-Hound is the sleeper on the menu: a hot dog, chili, onions, tomato and cheese wrapped in a tortilla. It’s sloppy but flavorful, and the meat and bean chili carries just enough heat to register without being overbearing. There’s a burger equivalent, the Mexi-Burger, which also comes in a tortilla.

Despite the name, Quinet said the diner’s mainstay is its burgers, which account for about 60% of the sales. Cheryl Snyder, Gary’s wife, said she appreciates the burgers as much as she does the “family-oriented vibe.”

“They are terrific,” she told San José Spotlight. “They are cooked perfectly, very juicy and the bun is really good. And I love the look of the place, the atmosphere. We are always happy to be here.”

Quinet works closely with vendors to ensure the meat is delivered frequently, guaranteeing freshness, and that all produce is locally sourced. He periodically has his employees and regular customers do taste tests to ensure everyone is happy with the food.

“I think we’re one of the few places still offering that kind of quality,” he said. “It’s a big portion-size burger at about the same price as what our competitors are getting for a fast-food burger. If you want a good burger, you can come here.”

The burgers, which can be ordered as singles or doubles, come with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and the ubiquitous Happy Sauce.  Extras include cheese, bacon, chili and grilled mushrooms, with grilled onions, jalapeños or lettuce wrap on request.

A tortilla-wrapped Mexi-Burger matches the Mexi-Hound in style and ingredients, and turkey and chicken burgers are also available. A BLT with six slices of bacon on a French roll is available, and a vegan burger, made with soy, is the go-to for 16-year veteran employee Sarai Mejia.

Side orders include beautifully prepared beer-battered onion rings, golden-brown tater tots and shoestring fries that beat any that a famous chain makes. Chili, cheese and Parmesan cheese are available as add-ons. Milkshakes include all the standards and offer specialties like blackberry, banana, pineapple, Oreo, coffee and Butterfinger.

The Happy Hound is as old-fashioned as you can get, but that’s how the customers like it, and Quinet is determined to please them every way he can with the diner’s food and service.

“People know us,” he said. “You see the same faces a couple of times a week or with their parents on weekends. We greet them with a smile and bring their food out instead of calling their number. That’s the personal experience I would want when I go out to eat.”

Contact Robert Eliason at robt@lostinthestars.com.

Editor’s Note: The Biz Beat is a series highlighting local small businesses and restaurants in Silicon Valley. Know a business you’d like to see featured? Let us know at info@sanjosespotlight.com.

The post The Biz Beat: The Happy Hound — a Los Gatos good eats landmark appeared first on San José Spotlight.

One of San Jose’s only Black-owned gyms has a story of perseverance and success that’s a perfect celebration of Black History Month.

“We were doing push-ups,” Hooks told San José Spotlight. “We’d run a lap, then do some crunches. It was all outdoors with no equipment. It slowly gained traction, and I kept the workouts affordable so people had no excuses to stop.”

The gym’s lobby has the look and feel of a living room. The names of regulars are written on envelopes displayed by the door. Paper and pens are nearby to leave Valentine’s Day notes. The workout area is barely visible from the front desk.

“Gyms can be intimidating,” Kerri Hooks, co-owner of the gym and Earl’s wife, told San José Spotlight. “I want you to feel cozy and comfortable. You don’t think you’re at a gym until you turn the corner and see all the equipment in the back.”

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The Black Urban Barn gym offers strength training for local high school basketball and softball teams, boxing coaching and high-energy workouts for adults who yearn to burn off calories. Read the story at SanJoseSpotlight.com to learn more. #gyms #bayareagym #fitness #weightlifting #strengthtraining #sanjose #siliconvalley

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There is a layer of irony in the domestic atmosphere. The seeds of the gym were sown in 2012 when Kerri hit a breaking point with Earl. She ordered him to stop drinking or leave home.

“I wanted to live a certain life with my kids,” she said. “One with peace and no chaos. I said, ‘You’re not going to have both your family and your drinking.’ And, smart man that he is, he decided he didn’t want the crazy life anymore.”

In 2005, Earl was working full-time as a carpenter when his problems with alcohol began. It started slowly, with an occasional drink, and escalated to drinking heavily every day for seven years.

“I was on the verge of losing everything,” he said. “My marriage, my kids, my respect for myself. I just wanted to get sober. I started slow, trying not to drink for the day. And I built the confidence to try for a whole month.”

His oldest daughter, Frankie Zia, witnessed her father’s struggle and his road to recovery.

“I had always wondered what was in that bottle that was worth risking your family for,” she told San José Spotlight. “But after my mom gave him the ultimatum, I thought, ‘Wait, what’s going on?’ He’s acting normal, and I didn’t see any bottles anywhere.”

Going strong six months later, Earl needed something to fill the void left by his alcohol dependence and began doing a simple five-minute daily exercise routine at home.

“I already lost about 12 pounds just by not drinking and changing my eating habits,” he said. “That gave me that edge and the confidence to say, ‘OK, now I’m sober. If I work a little harder, what else can I do?'”

He started calisthenics and working out in the park until he broke his thumbs, another turning point in his life. Having traded his addiction to alcohol for one for fitness, he said he felt humbled by his injury.

“When I couldn’t use my hands, it opened me to the idea of helping others: training beginners and showing them how to lose weight,” Earl said. “Kerri asked me when I wanted to start. I said, ‘Later.’  She said, ‘We’re starting on Monday.'”

Gathering some of Kerri’s friends at the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden, Earl taught the routines that had been successful for him. He built a clientele through word of mouth and social media posts and made enough to buy weights and equipment, which he hauled to each session. Then, after 10 years of outdoor coaching, he moved into his current location.

“I would never have taken that leap, but (Kerri) forced my hand. Luckily, we already had a core group committed to the Hooks family and our vision,” Earl said.

Now, with more than 70 clients aged 12 to 74, Earl has outfitted the gym with professional weight machines, a half-basketball court, punching bags and all the niceties of training that would never have fit into his old Ford Expedition. The music is loud, and the energy and enthusiasm of his clients is very real.

Jenna Dougherty, one of the original clients from the park days, said while she misses the outdoor classes, she likes the new opportunities at the indoor facility.

“It gives Earl the chance to come up with more classes,” Dougherty told San José Spotlight. “He’s a very positive coach, very encouraging and supportive, and the fact that I have consistently worked with him has been a really positive thing for me.”

Several classes are adaptations of his boot camp program, a cardio-based group workout that includes strength training with weights and kettlebells, sling bungees and “jump and pump” using trampolines.

“I can modify and adjust any workout,”Earl said, “so that it’ll fit your fitness level, your age or your goals. I encourage people to try things on their own and change whatever they need to. If they’re not having a good day, I want them to do what they feel.”

Hooks thinks the gym’s casual atmosphere makes joining and working out regularly a little easier, particularly for beginners.

“I hope I can change peoples’ minds about the gym experience,” he said. “You’re not around a bunch of people who are in shape and outdoing you in a competition. Our clients are just everyday people who look like you and share their highs and lows with us.”
While Kerri is pleased with the gym’s success, she is even happier to have her husband back.

“The person I married was such a go-getter,” she said. “And now he is once again the outgoing, happy guy he was before. Who he was when he was drinking was someone I did not know. But he’s back and it feels like home.”

Contact Robert Eliason at robt@lostinthestars.com.

Editor’s Note: The Biz Beat is a series highlighting local small businesses and restaurants in Silicon Valley. Know a business you’d like to see featured? Let us know at info@sanjosespotlight.com.

The post The Biz Beat: San Jose gym seeded in recovery and family appeared first on San José Spotlight.

Served with flakey malabar paratha flatbread, the daal, a lentil dish, is soaked for 72 hours and then slow-cooked overnight. Topped with lines of white butter sauce, the dish is smooth and creamy without losing the texture and chew of the lentils. A spicy kaleidoscope of seasonings will keep you guessing, but Sawant mentioned ginger, dried fenugreek and red chili powder. It’s a magnificent dish.

The menu for Fitoor’s opening last April took only three months to create, but it involved a lifetime of experience. Sawant began cooking at age 15, when he learned to make tea for his mother’s guests, adding assorted spices like ginger. He graduated to making rotis and soon began working at the Ambassador Hotel in Mumbai.

His sense of style and desire for constant innovation come from his five years as a chef on cruise ships, some with as many as 2,500 passengers. As he pointed out, on a long voyage at sea, the daily routine for those passengers mainly varies with what the kitchen provides.

“You have to keep them interested in the food,” he told San José Spotlight. “The chefs had their own sections, and there would be different cuisines every night. It was very hard, and you worked continuously for seven to eight months.”

The cruise ship influence can be seen in Sawant’s creative presentations, such as the Water Chestnut & Green Pea Kulcha. The kulcha resembles a large and puffy bread balloon and is topped with a streak of creamy jalapeño topping. Cut open, it reveals a thin layer of a mildly spiced bright green pea and water chestnut puree. The buttery kulcha’s sourdough-like texture is irresistible, chewy and flavorful.

After his stint on cruise ships, Sawant returned to Mumbai and became head chef for the Masala Library and Farzi Cafe under the wing of Jiggs Kalra, known as the “czar of Indian cuisine.” Heavily influenced by Kalra, Sawant credits him with bringing traditional Indian cuisine to a modern level.

When he came to the Bay Area to launch Fitoor, Sawant was struck by the varieties of fruits and vegetables he hadn’t had the chance to work with in India. He eagerly began formulating his version of Indian-Californian cuisine.

“I saw so many different things,” he said, “so I thought, ‘Let’s make a twist and use the flavors of India on the ingredients here.’ We have a marinated sea bass, for example. The flavors are a combination of Mumbai and Calcutta, but the fish we are using is from here.”

The variations are often playful, like the Papdi Chaat Nachos on the Shareables menu. Sawant has blended avocados, green peas and sprouts into his version of guacamole and topped it with mint and ruby-red date chutneys and a cheddar cheese spread. Laid out on a plate and studded with papdi crackers, like an alien caterpillar, the fruity date chutney gives the dish some sweetness and a compelling fire.

Fitoor General Manager Sienna Forde’s favorite dish on the Small Plates menu is the Beetroot Chevre Kebab. Crisp beetroot coleslaw is served alongside crusted and delicately flavored balls made from a blend of cottage cheese, goat cheese, cream cheese and labneh. They rest on a small puddle of mint chutney, and a dollop of mustard aioli completes and elevates the dish.

“I love cheese,” she told San José Spotlight, “but I don’t like stringy cheese, so it’s the perfect texture. The gravy is extremely flavorful, not too spicy, and well-balanced. And with some garlic naan? Chef’s kiss.”

Forde has been in the restaurant business for 15 years, but working with Indian food was a new experience. She is also a sommelier. Champagne and rose wines are Forde’s go-tos at Fitoor. She said they cut through the thicker curries and yogurts and have a low enough ABV to not exacerbate higher spice levels.

“You must remember that it is a heavily spiced cuisine,” she said. “There are a lot of underlying flavors that you try to bring out with the wine without having the food overshadow it — and vice versa. These wines are crisp, but not too crisp and not too high acid.”

While Sawant describes his own spice tolerance as a seven or eight out of 10, he is careful to keep most dishes at an American-friendly four. The kitchen can adjust the heat up or down the scale for many dishes, but some, like the black-peppery Pulled Jackfruit Ghee Roast, which edges toward a six, can’t be adjusted.

The Paneer Pepper 65 Spice happily sits at around a five and is a terrific dish for those who don’t mind a little heat. A patty of paneer, about the consistency of a veggie burger, is marinated overnight in a mild version of Indian 65 sauce. It’s coated and deep fried then served with a reduction of rassam, a rich and spicy South Indian soup. Its topped with a swirl of spicy cream and is a must-try.
Sawant has switched out the menu once since opening and, with his relentless creativity, is getting ready to do it again.

“Cooking is my first priority,” he told San José Spotlight. “It’s my hobby. It’s my everything. I’ll start exploring and in a few days or weeks, I’ll have another dish. That’s my regular routine and I focus on it on a daily basis.”

Contact Robert Eliason at robt@lostinthestars.com.

Editor’s Note: The Biz Beat is a series highlighting local small businesses and restaurants in Silicon Valley. Know a business you’d like to see featured? Let us know at info@sanjosespotlight.com.

The post The Biz Beat: Santana Row’s Fitoor offers flavorful tour of Indian cuisine appeared first on San José Spotlight.

All the restaurants are unique in their own way, from El Halal Amigos’ strict adherence to Islamic food traditions, which gives the dishes a fresh and unadulterated taste, to The 10th Street Distillery’s custom-designed stills, which produce world-class whiskeys in a California style.

And the variety of menu items, from Desi’s Gol Gappe to The Last Round Tavern’s Cubano pizza to The Club on Post’s creative cocktails like the Espresso Martini G’s Way, almost guarantees that customers will discover new favorites at each.

Several of these places are customer suggestions, which are always welcome and a great way to support those independent businesses who are braving a difficult industry to provide great service and quality menu items to all.

10. The Last Round Tavern

During my interview with Paleta Planeta’s owners, they recommended the nearby The Last Round Tavern, and I stopped in for lunch. I was immediately impressed by owner Caleb Orozco’s enthusiastic approach to customer service. My order was just as noteworthy: a sandwich made with tender 14-hour braised brisket served on a delectable ciabatta-style bread.

Orozco developed the recipes for the in-house baked bread and his delicately blistered crust for his pizza. He skillfully translates the ingredients for his lunchtime offerings into a creative pizza menu. It might sound improbable, but it works beautifully. The Cubano is a perfect example: The sandwich starts with Black Forest ham, salami and 14-hour braised pulled pork. The pizza version adds garlic sauce, pepperoncini and spinach, making one of the best meat pizzas I’ve ever tasted.

9. El Halal Amigos

It took Chef Hisham Abdelfattah two years to transform El Halal Amigos from a wildly popular food truck into a must-visit lunch and dinner spot. He credits social media for a good part of his success, but being about the only halal-dedicated Mexican restaurant around certainly helped.

Abdelfattah brings vibrant freshness to every dish, even simple dishes like his rice, which is so good, I would be satisfied with just that and some of his house-made salsa. But entrees, like his slow-cooked Barbacoa Costillas, combining brisket and beef ribs, are masterful, and he can even make vegetarian options, like sweet potato and fried kale tacos, a must-try.

8. Desi

Desi is a great example of the trend of high-end restaurants incorporating regional street foods into its menus. You will find the Chicken Tikka Masala that you would expect in an Indian restaurant. But you will also find the delightful Gol Gappe, spheres of puff pastry you poke open, fill with a cubed potato mixture, then spoon in infused waters to add flavor. Co-owner Archana Nagrath calls them “water bombs,” and they are savory and refreshing at the same time.

Desi is Indian down to its cocktails, drawing exotic and hard-to-place flavors from kala khatta (a syrup made from Indian blackberries) and a thick rose jelly called “gulkand” to add an air of cultural diversity. The menu also includes fusion elements, such as “Tikka Chance On Me,” a variation on bruschetta with tikka chicken, bell peppers and mozzarella.

7. Bayon Temple

COVID took me out after an ill-advised trip to the rodeo and Annalise Freimarck filled the Biz Beat gap with her story on Campbell’s Bayon Temple. This Cambodian restaurant in Campbell is co-owned by Vila Pho, a native of the Banteay Meanchey province, who specializes in the traditional dishes she grew up with.

Freimarck said that Pho’s signature dish is Amok, a white fish that she spices with lemongrass, kaffir lime and galangal and fish sauce and then hand-wraps in a banana leaf to be steamed in coconut milk and collard greens. The fish comes still wrapped to the table, making a distinctive presentation. Other favorites are the lemongrass-marinated kebabs, traditionally served on Cambodian New Year, and the sweet, sticky Mango Rice for dessert.

6. The 10th Street Distillery

You can tell you’re in a magical place as you walk into the tasting room at The 10th St Distillery and see a Wonka-like assembly of stainless steel boilers and copper-domed stills through the window. That this contraption also produces some of the best whiskey in the United States is equally magical.

Owners Virag Saksena and Vishal Gauri have taken advantage of California’s climate to produce a portfolio of high-end products that have the same profound depth and finish as the great aged whiskeys of the world—and they do it in a fraction of the time. The proof is there to be tasted, whether it’s their flagship Dragon Triple Cask, rated 94 points by the Beverage Testing Institute, or the lower-end California Coast Blend, citrusy and just as smooth.

5. The Club on Post

Walking by The Club on Post before it opens, you might not notice it at all. But once they bring the picnic tables and umbrellas out onto the closed-off street, the whole area brightens with the promise of good food and fun. Owner George Gonzalez, who opened the restaurant after 24 years in the real estate business, has the time of his life with the simple pleasures of greeting customers and shaking cocktails.

The food can be as formal as miso-glazed Chilean sea bass on a bed of coconut quinoa or as playful as braised pork belly glazed with cardamom-pomegranate sauce and topped with fresh pistachios, mandarin orange sections and golden pears. And where else can you get grits with Cajun shrimp? No matter what is ordered, every dish is creative and vibrant.

4. The Burger Bar

Standing like a well-preserved relic from an earlier age, the Burger Bar is the last of 30 hamburger stands founded by Albert Berger in 1953. Purchased in 2015 by the Barrita family, owners of La Victoria Taqueria, they understood immediately that they now owned a treasured institution and have worked to keep it in line with their customer’s expectations, offering a bag of five burgers for $9.99. The bag is the No. 1 seller, but there is considerably more to the menu worth exploring.

The half-chicken in another great deal—pro tip: call ahead to avoid the 20-minute cooking wait time —but keep the popcorn shrimp, burritos and fish and chips in mind. And definitely try the apple turnovers and the amazing strawberry milkshake, which caps off any meal perfectly. Expect a line at lunchtime, but service is fast and the experience is a lot of retro fun.

3. Jalisco Taqueria

Open until 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, Jalisco Taqueria has carved out a place for itself among those with the late-night munchies. Originally serving just tacos and burritos, about 80% of the business happens through their drive-through window. The food is as traditional as it gets, harkening back to founder Ampelio Meza’s Jalisco roots, and it’s kept that way through rigorous daily taste tests by every cook and manager.

While it’s great to grab your chile verde to go, by all means, take the time to park, get an unrushed view of the menu and eat in the dining room. The food is plated beautifully, and you might be tempted to try some more serious dishes, like the rib-eye steak. But no matter what you order, you’ll enjoy the fresh tortillas and the in-housemade salsas and sauces, like the cadillo used on the chile rellenos.

2. Campus Burger

Sometimes, a story approaches almost viral popularity, making me wonder why that one gets the reads rather than another. This is not the case with Campus Burger, which had a record-breaking number of online reads in its first few days, coinciding with its instant success with nearby San Jose State University students. Nothing beats the lure of an affordable burger.

Owner Jim Angelopoulos began his career at age 10, peeling potatoes at his parents’ 24-hour diner in San Martin. Once on his own, he found success with Scrambl’z and Yolk’d restaurants before selling them and plotting out a way to produce hamburgers that he could sell for $1.99 apiece. The stripped-down menu—with the only choices being cheese or no cheese and the number of patties—makes service fast and efficient. Students plus affordable burgers? Gold mine!

1. Saapaaduu

I reviewed Saapaaduu shortly after its Jan. 27 soft opening, and already a lover of Indian food, I found its menu to be a revelation. Specializing in the cuisine of southern India, the restaurant leans heavily on street foods and many dishes unavailable at typical Indian places.

It’s home to the best dish I have tried over this year’s assignments: roattukadai kalan, which translates as “roadside mushrooms.” The ragu, made from mushrooms, tomatoes and onions, has a thick, almost meaty texture. It’s a thick, almost meaty ragu of chopped mushrooms, tomatoes and onions with a compelling profile of black pepper.

Check the Instagram link in the article—Saapaaduu offers special menus regularly for Western holidays like Mother’s Day and Christmas and Indian festival days like Onam, Tamil New Year and Diwali. They also periodically offer the Banana Leaf Lunch Menu with a selection of more than 30 dishes served, of course, on a huge banana leaf.

Contact Robert Eliason at robt@lostinthestars.com.

Editor’s Note: The Biz Beat is a series highlighting local small businesses and restaurants in Silicon Valley. Know a business you’d like to see featured? Let us know at info@sanjosespotlight.com.

The post 2024 in review: The top 10 Biz Beat stories appeared first on San José Spotlight.

“It took us five years of work,” Saksena told San José Spotlight. “Understanding how each little knob affects things. Running experiments. Deciding the angle of the lyne arm and the volume of the helmet. Learning to make great whiskey.”

Growing up in India, Saksena only had the local product, which was made from triple distilled molasses with a little whiskey essence added for flavor which he described as “one-dimensional.” When he first tried a single malt, he said it was an epiphany on how complex and rich the flavor could be. After falling in love with two different aged whiskies, he was dismayed when the supplies of both dried up and became unavailable.

“The retailers told me there were limited releases,” he said. “I thought it was some marketing scam to justify the high price. I had a sense of loss of something I would never taste again and it had happened twice.”

Having home-brewed beer, Saksena asked himself: how hard could it be to make a good whiskey and does it need to age for 30 years? He traveled to Scotland to apprentice at Kilchoman Distillery — only to discover what he learned there doesn’t apply to California.

The difference, he said, is in the “angel share,” the amount of whiskey that evaporates over time. In Scotland, where it is humid, a barrel loses 3% in a year, mostly in evaporated alcohol. In California, the dry heat takes 10-15% a year, mostly in water.

“The advantage of that higher share,” Saksena said, “is in two to three years, I get something which beats the pants off other 15- to 20-year-old whiskeys. And the proof is my latest Dragon Triple Cask.”

Rated Best of Show at the 2024 Whiskies of the World competition in San Francisco, the Dragon Triple is the distillery’s flagship and best seller. At an ABV of 54.9%, this full-bodied whiskey is beautifully smooth with caramel, vanilla and dried fruit notes riding on a layer of toasted oak and a light and lingering finish.

One important factor in the making of 10th Street Distillery whiskey, Saksena said, is to double the fermentation time. After the initial dose of yeast does its work, which can take up to two and a half days, the mash is left to rest for another two or three days, which allows local sourdough yeast in the air to reinfect the mash.

“It makes a richer and more complex whiskey,” Saksena said. “It also gives it a sense of terroir. You can’t make sourdough bread in New York like you can’t make this whiskey in Texas or Tennessee.”

Following fermentation and distillation, most whiskey is placed in used oak bourbon casks, which have been shaved, toasted and re-charred for primary aging.

“The casks are still depleted,” Saksena said, “so they are not as intense. But it kicks up the caramel and vanilla notes, reminding people of bourbon, even though it’s a single malt whiskey.”

From there, the whiskey is shaped by the next cask it occupies. The Wine Cask Finish Peated Single Malt — which “Whisky Bible” author Jim Murray named his “Liquid Gold” best of 2023 winner — is finished in a pinot noir cask, which gives it fruity notes to complement its smokey undertones.

“It’s light as a feather, which makes it approachable,” Manuel Rocha, Jr., a first-time visitor to the tasting room, told San José Spotlight. “You get the smell of vanilla and sweetness, but you also get the taste of fresh earth on a rainy day.”

Other whiskeys from 10th Street Distillery, like the California Coast Blend, remain in straight oak casks long enough to pick up that familiar chardonnay tannin. The winner of gold medals at the 2020 Whiskies of the World and 2021 New York World Wine and Spirits competitions, this combination of two 10th Street single malts and two pot-distilled whiskies from the old Seagram’s plant in Lawrenceburg, Indiana is a perfect entry-level whiskey.

Though on the opposite end of the Dragon’s high price point, the blend is just as easy to drink. Surprisingly rich and complex with notes of stone fruits, it is light enough to accompany a meal and serious enough to sip as an aperitif. Given an unprecedented 94 points from the Beverage Testing Institute, its smoothness and character give it a luxurious versatility.

“One of the most gratifying parts of the job,” Saksena said, “is when customers tell us how amazing our products are. They drink it not because it is a local whiskey, but because it is superior to whiskies from Scotland, Japan, India and Australia. We are putting San Jose on the map.”

Contact Robert Eliason at robt@lostinthestars.com.

Editor’s Note: The Biz Beat is a series highlighting local small businesses and restaurants in Silicon Valley. Know a business you’d like to see featured? Let us know at info@sanjosespotlight.com.

The post The Biz Beat: San Jose distillery makes award-winning whiskey appeared first on San José Spotlight.

Owner Caleb Orozco uses his homemade sourdough bread and thin-crust pizza dough as a base for identical ingredients, such as in-house braised brisket and pulled pork, to create two distinct and delicious menus that mix the traditional and the original.

“The menus are kept small, and that’s intentional,” Orozco told San José Spotlight. “We want to hold it down to the things we do right. When you run slim, you just become more resourceful.”

The variations on the Cubano are a case in point. As a sandwich, the Black Forest ham, salami and 14-hour braised pulled pork are served with Swiss cheese and pickles on a chewy, fresh-baked sourdough roll. The pizza version has the same meat, but adds garlic sauce, pepperoncini and spinach. It hits all the notes and might be the best all-meat combo you’ve ever had.

Orozco, 31, graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in city planning. After five years of matching vacant properties to investors, his contract was up — and he was looking for something new.

He opened sandwich shop Genuine Heroes with his father, an amateur chef, on Silver Creek Valley Road. While Orozco handled the business end of the shop, he also absorbed his father’s cooking techniques. They later moved to the current location — the former Nick’s Pizza — on East Santa Clara Street and opened as The Last Round Tavern in 2019.

Pizza wasn’t on the menu at first, until one night when Orozco came in late and hungry.

“I cranked the ovens at three in the morning,” he said. “I made (the crust) super thin, spread the sauce and cheese all the way to the edge and threw it in the oven. Then I started making it for friends or whoever knew about it. The more we brought it out, the more people would ask about it.”

Orozco is justifiably proud of his crisp sourdough pizza crust — buttery and light, but firm enough to carry ingredients without becoming limp or soggy. The crust has an array of fine bubbles on the outer edges that Orozco said he worked hard to perfect.

“One of my goals was to figure out how to get those little micro-blisters on our pizza crust and sourdough rolls,” he said. “That is a sign of the right fermentation and what the science creates in the oven.”

Customer Steven Kaley ordered a half Wrigleyville and half Pride of Philly pizza on his second visit: one side with hot giardiniera, sausage and chopped garlic and the other side with pulled pork, garlic sauce, provolone and fresh arugula.

He’s impressed by the Wrigleyville, saying the peppers’ flavor and heat make the pizza particularly distinctive.

“It’s not what most people would think of as spicy,” Kaley told San José Spotlight. “It’s got a really good kick and a really good balance. The sausage is super fresh, and the cheese is perfect. It’s done right.”

The ciabatta-style bread served at lunch is also made from scratch and from a sourdough base. Besides the standard deli fare — like the Italian Special, made with ham, soppressata, coppa and provolone — there are specialty sandwiches like the freshly baked herbed turkey and the house meatball, which comes with a splendid sweet-tart marinara sauce.

There are also weekly sandwich specials, like the 14-hour braised brisket made with sharp cheddar, garlic aioli and hot giardiniera,  and chicken parmesan with fresh mozzarella.

Orozco said production limits keep the day and evening menus separate for the moment, but he hopes to serve a unified menu with all current options by early next year.

“I’ve learned to develop a system,” he told San José Spotlight. “I have been having to learn on the job, which has been tough, but I think it will serve me in the long run. I have a great team, but the only way to lead them is by example.”

Contact Robert Eliason at robt@lostinthestars.com.

Editor’s Note: The Biz Beat is a series highlighting local small businesses and restaurants in Silicon Valley. Know a business you’d like to see featured? Let us know at info@sanjosespotlight.com.

The post The Biz Beat: Standout pizza at San Jose’s The Last Round Tavern appeared first on San José Spotlight.

Still O.G. and Alter Ego’s split personality is exciting but relaxed, a perfect mix of casual and formal. The rooms have totally different vibes and their own small bite and craft cocktail menus.

Owned by the creative forces behind nearby craft cocktail locations Paper Plane and MINIBOSS, Still O.G. is the reincarnation of Original Gravity, which specialized in small market brews and a wild poutine made with green peppercorn gravy.

“The whole craft beer industry became very over-saturated,” co-owner Dan Phan told San José Spotlight. “We thought about doing a cocktail club where we can slow down the experience. And if there was a wait for the club, you can listen to some records up front with some of the old O.G. food.”

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Did you know this San Jose bar has an “alter ego”? Still O.G. and Alter Ego’s split personality is exciting but relaxed, a perfect mix of casual and formal. The rooms have totally different vibes and their own small bite and craft cocktail menus. Learn more about the downtown spot in our next Biz Beat article on SanJoseSpotlight.com. #sanjose #sanjosefoodie #bayareafoodies #bayarea #siliconvalley #bars #speakeasy #vinyl #cocktails

♬ Lo-Fi Hip-Hop Chic Calmness(1415020) – Kimochi Timbre

Still O.G. is built as a designer audio experience with $100,000 worth of custom speakers, a studio-quality Pioneer RT-909 tape recorder and $77,000 in acoustic paneling that ripples across the ceiling. Even the bar is designed to not interfere with the sound, serving mostly cocktails on draft.

“Since we have DJs doing vinyl sets, we don’t have any shakers here,” Elias Kassner, the alchemist behind the drinks menu, told San José Spotlight. “It would ruin the ambience and we want people to be able to appreciate what’s being played and mixed.”

Still O.G.’s bar food menu includes Bavarian sausage and smashburgers, but has recently expanded to include some adventurous options like tender scallion pancakes and robata-styled skewers including octopus, shrimp and shishito. Pro tip: Get the almost-delicate crab garlic noodles to share and kick it up with a skewer of King Trumpet mushrooms or eggplant.

The cocktails on tap are all named after songs in regular rotation at the booth. The Come Sail Away is a particularly bright and elevated drink made with yuzu-tinged Nikka Coffey Gin mixed with a sprightly St. George basil eau de vie, then given a dash of carbonation.

The restrained lighting and softer music in Alter Ego lends itself to more elegant presentations that can veer into whimsy.

The foamy Passard Egg with crispy chorizo is served in the shell and the Golden Osetra Caviar comes with potato chips, seaweed and onion dip. The savory Shiso Fumi milk bread with salty house butter is a must.

Banned from the front of the house, shakers are definitely in use at the Alter Ego bar, turning out drinks like the Canyon Lullaby. Served in a cactus shaped glass, it merges rye with the acid of passionfruit and lemon juice, toning it down with aromatic bitters and Calpico topped with an orchid to make a very adult smokey lemonade.

Or the Asteroid Blues, served in a glass held by a small astronaut, an occasional motif in both bars. With tequila, manzanilla, avocado, lychee and lemon, it blasts off from many directions at once.

There is also a menu of the usual by-the-shot choices and a list of more refined delights to match the ambiance, including high-end aged whiskeys, bourbons and ryes like 20-year-old Double Eagle at $400 an ounce.

“We reached to try to be creative,” co-owner George Lahlouh told San José Spotlight. “We aim to please and we aim to hopefully blow them away. It is a joy to see guests coming in here and leave saying, ‘Wow, that was crazy.’”

Contact Robert Eliason at robt@lostinthestars.com.

Editor’s Note: The Biz Beat is a series highlighting local small businesses and independent restaurants in Silicon Valley. Know a business you’d like to see featured? Let us know at info@sanjosespotlight.com.

The post The Biz Beat: Still O.G. — A San Jose DJ-driven bar with an Alter Ego appeared first on San José Spotlight.