(Caveat: I *think* I got the attributions right, but don't yell at the wrong person on my account...) B. A. wrote: > > Someone wrote: > > > I would like to find more interesting restaurants in Sunnyvale, as I > > live here. Other than Murphy (see below), "interesting" restaurants in Sunnyvale are scarce. The first two that come to mind are Thai Spoons, on ECR near the Blockbuster Video close to Mary, and a Chinese place whose name escapes me... I haven't been to Thai Spoons in some time, but they used to make a rock cod in a special sauce that's tasty and unique. As one of Sunnyvale's two Thai restaurants (the other being Thai Basil on Murphy; I've been there only once, for lunch, and so can't really judge it), it's something to look into. I'm ashamed that I can't remember the name of the Chinese restaurant I'm thinking of -- the owner, George Zee, was a wonderful host to the Cherry Chase Elementary School Video Club when I helped them do a series, "Pacific Rim Flavors," a couple of years ago. The club interviewed restaurants from Thailand (Thai Spoons, in fact), Vietnam (Pho Quyen, at Bernardo and ECR), and George's restaurant, in the same shopping center as the Safeway on Bernardo between Heatherstone and El Camino. The kids asked them questions about the culture, geography, climate and history of the countries, and talked about how the food reflected this. It was one of the most fun projects I've been involved with in years of doing fun projects with schools. George's place is one of those unassuming neighborhood Chinese restaurants, with a twist at least when we visited them: the chef was then new, had just arrived from Hong Kong, and was putting some very interesting dishes on the menu -- scallops and pears was my favorite. A quick review of places we eat at regularly in Sunnyvale is pretty heavily weighted toward the kids -- burger chains that sponsor school fund-raisers, for example, or Papa Murphy's take-and-bake (which doesn't really count as a restaurant). There's Tacos Jalapa, on ECR just at Sunnyvale Avenue (in the same corner as Trader Joe's, Big 5 and Aaron Bros. for reference). We love it, but then I may have the only two gringa kids in the world who love lengua tacos. The food here is *way* cheap ($1 for a fresh taco), and very tasty; I like their al pastor best, but the lengua and carne asada are good too. Very limited menu, three or four tables, and -- how do I say this nicely? -- if your exposure to Mexican restaurants is of the "run for the border" variety, or somewhere else where the food has been sanitized for your protection, you may not like it. If however you think it's a feature that the only people in the place who are speaking English are likely to be me and my family, stop by and say hello, in whatever language you prefer. And on that note, the Sunnyvale School District says that 53 native languages are spoken in the homes of children who attend school here, which makes it more baffling that apart from the places I've mentioned, plus one or two pho places and We Be Sushi, the restaurants in general could largely be described as middle-class suburban family chains. My suspicion is that the people who come from the 52 linguistic backgrounds that are *not* English must eat at home, where they know they'll get fresh paneer, or really crispy chicharrones, or whatever it is that they grew up with. Fortunately, we've got a few decent ethnic markets in town; we're fond of Tarver's, at Mary & Fremont (next to the Lucky supermarket and behind Walgreen's), to pick one place, and the owner is always glad to give suggestions about interesting combinations of spices, ingredients, and recipes. But it's not a place to take a handful of visiting relatives to eat out... > > Murphy Street is all of 1 block long and contains a few decent > > restaurants. Is that *it*? > > I'm afraid so. To his credit, at least he cared about bringing more > interesting restaurants to Sunnyvale. The other clowns didn't know the > difference between fois gras and corn beef hash. I always feel a little swelling of pride when I walk down Murphy Avenue. When I started reviewing restaurants in 1988, it was a dump -- it had a seedy reputation, the "best" restaurant on the block was Honduras (notable for fair chile verde and a huge stuffed sailfish on the wall), and was dying. So every time I wrote up a new place that opened there, I'd stick in a few words about how much *possibility* Murphy Avenue had, given the old buildings and charming basic layout, to turn into a one-block miniature version of Castro Street or University Avenue, but with a Sunnyvale flavor. Obviously I wasn't the only one, but it's nice to think I helped. :-) --Scott Fisher
San Francisco Bay Area, CA
new and interesting restaurants in Sunnyvale?
Bill wrote (in part): >or into Mountain View for El Calderon (South American food; >located in a tiny strip mall on Calderon Ave)... El Salvadoran, actually (just as an information point for those who care, not to pick Bill's [hypothetical] nits). Best pupusas in MV (snicker where appropriate), and some of the best curtido I've had ever, including almost a month in El Salvador. Rage away, meg
Scott F. wrote: Someone wrote: } > } > > I would like to find more interesting restaurants in Sunnyvale, as I } > > live here. } } Other than Murphy (see below), "interesting" restaurants in Sunnyvale } are scarce. <snip> I'm not sure if I'd call the selection scarce, but I suppose it depends on your definition of "interesting". If all you want to do is avoid chains, there are dozens of mom-n-pop restaurants serving varieties of Mexican, Asian, and Indian food. Unfortunately, many of them have food that's mediocre to good and service that's mediocre at best. If you like Italian food, you should visit Pezella's, on Camino just west of Mary. The food is great, the ambience is nice, and the service is very good. Most entrees are $10-15. If you like pizza, don't waste your time on places like the Hut or Round Table. Visit Giovanni's, in a strip mall off Lawrence just north of 101, or Vito's, half a block off Lawrence on Reed. Both serve up good NY-style pizza and subs in a neighborhood pizzeria atmosphere. Some of my friends like Pizza Chicago, although I personally don't. There's one in Sunnyvale about a block west of Lawrence, behind the Fish Market. There's a place on Camino just west of Pastoria, called Kabul. I forget whether it's Afghani or Ethiopian, but it's darn good. Most entrees are close to $15. For Mexican, try Casa Lupe #2 on Bernardo about 1/2 block south of Camino. I personally think the prices are too high for the quality and quantity they serve, but I know people who rave about the place. I do at least consider the quality better than that of most of the hole-in-the-wall type taquerias. For Mexican, I usually sneak "across the border" into Santa Clara for La Paloma (my current favorite Mexican restaurant in SV/SC/MV) or into Mountain View for El Calderon (South American food; located in a tiny strip mall on Calderon Ave) or Fiesta del Mar (on Shoreline near 101).