If you haven’t had the chance to visit the San Pedro Square Bistro and Wine Bar, you are missing out on one of the best restaurant experiences I have had in San Jose in a long time. Because of it’s proximity to many downtown offices (it is on Almaden Ave., across the street from the CBRE building), I am sure it does a nice lunch business. However, it also has many different things going for it as a dinner spot.
First of all, the ambiance is very inviting. With tons of lit candles, low lighting and less than ten tables indoors, it is intimate and comfortable. The menu is small and I think our group ordered just about every small plate they had on their menu, including mushroom crostini, mini-burgers, calamari and scallops over mashed potatoes. The food was absolutely 100 percent delicious. How many times are you completely satisfied with every single dish you order? Each dish was better than the last.
To wash down the food, you can order wine by the bottle, the glass, or in flights. I chose a flight called “Summer Love” with three different kinds of white wine, including a rosé, a white wine blend, and an Argentinean wine that is the only wine served with ice and lemon. It was fun to try something new for a change. It turned what could have been a regular meal into a sampling of great food and a wine tasting.
Though I was full from trying all the small plates, a few people ordered entrees such as the filet mignon and the Cornish hen. One diner remarked that the hen was “unbelievable” and he couldn’t believe that they only charged $12 for the meal. (That is less than it costs an adult to go ice skating at our downtown ice rink!) He wasn’t complaining. He said he would pay twice that much; it was that good. To top it off, we ordered three deserts to share, the chocolate cake, the crème brulee and the vanilla gelato, which were all gobbled up quicker than late-night pizza at a college party. None of us were dissatisfied customers.
So is this meant to be an advertisement or a food review? Not quite. It’s just so seldom that we see small business owners who put out a product like they do at the San Pedro Square Bistro and Wine Bar. This is the type of classy establishment that we want to succeed here in our city and if I have to give a plug for them, I am more than happy to do it. Go try the food and the wine, and see how dining in San Jose can be done right. Then tell a few friends. I promise that you won’t regret it.
How can you have a discussion including wine and not talk about today’s shocking news in the Mercury? To our dismay we learn that Mayor Reed drinks WHITE ZINFANDEL! Can there be a bigger blot on the reputation of our city? Can anything be done to repair the damage? We may have lost the silly safest city ranking, but now we can qualify for the safest silly city award.
White Zinfandel? Will the horrors never stop? Can it get any worse (except for the deficit, pot holes, etc.)?
Who is willing to rise up and fight this embarrassment to our fine city? Are we going to sit back and take this or speak out? What other terrible surprises are in store for this Administration—he puts an ice-cube in his wine? I don’t know if I can bear to pick up the Merc anymore for fear of reading some other depressing news about our city leaders.
Let’s be strong during this dark time in San Jose. We must say NO to politicians to drink White Zinfandel. It’s the only right thing to do.
Is this what you mean by Inside San Jose? Another promotion for a business at San Pedro Square? I wonder who benefits financially from this free advertisement. Hmm, could it be the “insider” who started this blog? I thought this site was to provide inside information on San Jose that we couldn’t read elsewhere.
In general, one glass of red wine per day is good for your cardiovascular system. You can purchase one 1.5 liter bottle of Carlo Rossi Burgundy at Long’s or Safeway for between 4 and 5 dollars. There are 4 liter bottles for between 7 and 8 dollars. Consult with your physician first before starting any exercise or nutrition plan.
Why don’t the SJ Inside bloggers make a formal invitation to the Mayor and meet him at Joseph George and give him the wine 101 presentation that he so desperately needs?
For those who use fake names, we can provide masks so they can continue to throw stones without consequence.
Just an idea.
#1- You weren’t the only one “stunned” by the article in today’s paper on the Mayor’s dinning habits. I guess, in a small way, it was enjoyable to know our Mayor and his wife are still in love and make time to reconnect, given their very busy schedules. I’d rather have a Mayor who is a bit on the bland side, rather than one who’s up to no good.
Paula Reed is a wonderful woman who has a very difficult job. I would have very much enjoyed reading an article about her and her profession. She is the opposite of her husband, and balances his shortcomings beautifully. They do really love and respect one another, and that in its self is a beautiful thing to read about these days.
As to your column today SG, it was a bit lacking in what I’ve come to expect from you. May be you could do a column on some of the exciting things Comedy Sports is doing, like their New Years Eve package. I’m going! $20.00 covers popcorn, soda, and buffet, while counting down the midnight hour!
I have to admit that sometimes this blog helps me understand and feel good about my career choice in high tech. I’m not sure I could accurately use the word ‘crostini’ in a sentence without implied sarcasm.
#1
The Mercury article also quoted the mayor as liking the cheap stuff.
Personally, I prefer inexpensive wine.
Don’t all Republicans drink White Zin?
#8- Chuck is a Democrat, not a Republican.
Republicans drink Kentucky Bourbon and smoke cigars….Democrats drink white wine and smoke doobie.
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/gen/CigarAficionado5.jpg
S.G.
Thanks for the tip!
Once again, the MERC allows its reporters to express their opinions and make value judgments about the mayor. Reporter Patrick May describes Reed as, “…stubbornly self-assured, somewhat aloof, and, yes, painfully boring.” Why are reporters allowed to publish comments such as these? AND, “Reed as mayor has sometimes been criticized for a lack of vision.” (Again, there is no citation behind this statement).
Reed is smart, confident, and comfortable with people. The fact that he doesn’t behave like a game show host, is to many in San Jose, refreshing. In terms of lacking vision…again, I think that this is an unfounded cheap shot. Reed was hired to stop the bleeding. He has promised to make San Jose a great city to live and work in…AND, he’s announced an ambitious (I believe too ambitious) long-term program to make San Jose on of the greenest cities in the country. (It’s not that Reed lacks vision…it’s that Reed lacks the vision that the MERC would have for him!)
Pete Campbell
p.s. I’m not a Reed apologist…I’m against him on a number of things, including the soccer entitlements giveaway!
I have endorsed many things outside of San Pedro Square. Please don’t try to find things that aren’t there Mr. Inside San Jose….you don’t see me endorsing businesses or restaurants that don’t deserve it. Why don’t you go there first before you talk out of your….
#11- Pete,
The Merc has been a gossip rag for a while now. The personal bias reflected in most of their stories is pretty sickening. True journalism has long since disappeared. Look at the garbage you see on the news on TV. They cut and paste everything to look and sound either bigger, or less important than it really is. Uck.
Chuck is far from boring, and has a deep abiding love for our City and its residents. He’s not perfect, I don’t agree with everything he does or says, but I do know one thing for certain; he does take everything into consideration when making decisions, and he does want public involvement in the City’s direction, and budget. He, unlike any other Mayor, (no offense Tom) has held more public meetings to involve all stakeholders in decision-making, and how taxpayer money is going to be spent. I’m proud of him for being a frugal Mayor; it is long over due if you ask me.
Regarding the mayor’s shopping and dining habits as elucidated by the Mercury News:
I found the story heartwarmingly human and it endeared me to the mayor, who sometimes appears unapproachable (apparently especially when on a mission in a supermarket).
I suspect that most folks in San Jose felt the same way. The Merc, in a welcome relief from its usual negativity, wittingly or not, did a puff piece on the mayor.
The mayor doesn’t need to apologize for drinking cheap wine, splurging on Cheerios, or otherwise evidencing banal (“boring”) behavior. The thing I found most endearing was the fact that he shops at the Berryessa Safeway, which has to be—now that the yucky Lucky’s downtown is departed—the most depressing major chain supermarket in the entire city. Downscale as it is, it’s in his ‘hood, so that’s where he shops.
Oh, and Pete Campbell (#11), please stop propagating the Mercury News’ myth about a “soccer entitlements giveaway.” Fortunately, boring as he may be, the mayor is smart enough to see through the naysaying. Let me reiterate for the umpteenth time: there’s no public subsidy, no new taxes, no loss of industrial land, and the city and its citizenry (even non-soccer fans) are going to come out way ahead on the soccer stadium proposal and related development at the former FMC site. And the evidence of this has been and is all out there in the open, in complete sunshine, within the public domain.
#9 – still, I’m never going to be able to look at our Mayor the same way now that I know he drinks White Zinfandel. He should be the Mayor of Gustine with those tastes. Only old ladies in bingo parlors drink WZ anymore…
@#3:
It’s the ethyl alcohol in the wine (and the ethanol) that gives you the positive cardiovascular effects, according to Charlie Bamforth, Professor of brewing sciences at UC Davis. You can get that with white wine, red wine, beer, gin, vodka, etc. 1-2 servings is optimal. Anything more and cirrhosis risks outweigh the cardio benefits.
San Jose used to have a councilmember who drank Opus One. Sadly, that man of truly refined taste was driven out of office.
From that day, I knew the city was destined for nowhere. A mayor who drinks white zin is only the confirmation.
I can’t believe this blog endorses the consumption of alcoholic beverages Downtown.
What a bunch of thugs.
I was so stoked when I saw this place was opening, and I was actually thinking about it today! Thanks so much for giving us the heads-up about it! We definitely need more places like this in San Jose.
“For those who use fake names, we can provide masks so they can continue to throw stones without consequence.” Well said, Jeffrey Dennison #4.
Anyhow, I was turned on to SPS Bistro by Glaziella @ Stumps. I’ve been there twice a week since, except for last week when I was visiting my Mom in SoCal. There is nothing quite like it downtown. The Cornish game hen is only $7.00 @ lunch, when I frequent the place. Nothing @ lunch is over $10.00, though that is sure to change as they gain market share.
With winter weather coming on, getting a seat will be difficult. The inside seats 35. The outside seats will remain empty in cold or wet weather. Today I saw at least 10 people arrive and leave due to lack of seating capacity.
Actually # 8, you have it backwards—Democrats drink white zin; Republicans have better palates.
#18—Mr. Gregory drank the most expensive stuff he got free. If he were given white zin, it would have gone down the hatch, too.
I was truly saddened, but hardly surpised, to read that Mr. Mayor drinks white zinfandel. Was Gavin Newsome all over him about that on KGO? On the other hand, Beringer’s largest selling wine is white zinfandel, dwarfing that of Sutter Home, who really put that KoolAid on the map.