There's a somewhat pricey taqueria in the San Pedro Square market in downtown SJ. I think it's called Loteria Taco. It's not the typical taqueria menu. It's a little more upscale than that. I've only been there one time, but what I had was good and what I saw looked worth trying. I'll go there again.

Along similar lines is Zona Rosa on The Alameda, also in SJ, not too far from the airport. It's a restaurant, not a taqueria, and it's more high end. The food is good, not great, lacks a little character for what it costs.

Tu Mero Mole off of Union a little north of 85 in South San Jose is more of a hole in the wall Mexican place, but a couple of cuts above most. Good food, good prices. Been there a bunch of times. I think they're owned by someone in the family of the owners of the aforementioned Andale.

I had it a few nights ago at the Liberty Cafe for the first time in a long time. Still delicious, lots of gravy.

We bring our kids wherever we feel like going and have never had any problems to speak of. We don't do the really high priced spots, but they've been welcome and comfortable most everywhere. Great that you're bringing them with you.

I haven't been to Absinthe, so I can't comment, but from the outside, I could see where the tone might not be ideal for kids.

What about Bar Tartine, at least if you go as early as possible, as soon as they open? That's an easy ambience for kids. That whole neighborhood (around 18th and Valencia) is full of restaurants of various sorts. A stroll up and down Valencia is nice for the family, given the restaurants, cafes, shops, etc. There's an eclectic toy store that's related to and near a place with a similarly eclectic mix of items from nature, including taxidermy. I can't think of the name, but it's easy to find just walking by. Our kids get pretty absorbed there. Be careful if you venture to Mission St. with the kids, though. It's a little rougher around the edges.

There's hope at the high end pizza places if you get there when they open, if that's of any appeal. They're well chronicled and debated here.

Weather permitting, you could go to one of the food truck locations. It's not like going to the most appealing restaurants, but it can be fun and if the right places are in the rotation, you can eat fairly well. There's a place with trucks on 11th St. just to the north of 101. There are a bunch of trucks and a covered eating area. If all else fails, it's a consideration, at least.

Did you check Cotogna? It can be very hard to get in there, but early offers a bit of hope.

Any other kinds of food that interests you? That might help to come up with some ideas.

tjinsf's impressions pretty much echo the experience we had. The veggie tartine was really delicious. We had the mousse cake with the same bang for the buck reaction as tjinsf did about the custard.

Both the cafe and the neighboring store had the pleasant, casual, contemporary/industrial vibe that's so omnipresent these days. That's a nice thing, though it tends to make me nostalgic for the days when you didn't have to pay executive prices for bohemian ambience.

It's an interesting counter to the style of their Ferry Building location.

I expect we'll be back, though it would be more of a certainty at a slightly lower price point.

Unless things have changed in recent months, the Tu Mero Mole in San Jose is notably better than the one in Sunnyvale, even though the owners are the same. It's not a can't miss, but prices are reasonable, food is distinctive, tortillas are freshly made and, plain appearances aside, it's better than most Mexican food in this area, close to the only one we make a point of going to for anything other than a nearby taqueria.

While we have nowhere near the options for Mexican food in the bay area that can be found in Chicago or LA, there are a few worthwhile things here and there. In San Jose, the newish Zona Rosa is a small, kind of upscale place that had very good food the one time I went there. There are other decent things scattered about, mainly in the lower price ranges. Just keep your expectations in line.

Coupa Cafe is Venezuelan, not Argentine. The neighboring and simple Cafe Maxine has good crepes complete with buckwheat flour and French fillings.

I'd echo the thoughts on Oren's in all respects.

I don't know Korean food real well, but Tofu House in Palo Alto is a popular and decent place. I think they're open for lunch. You can definitely do better, but you'd have to go to Sunnyvale or Santa Clara.

You'll do way better for your money with Italian food in NY (or SF) than in Palo Alto.

Ephesus is OK, but not any kind of a must. NY must have places of this sort by the dozens. Their weekends only white bean and lamb soup, though, is terrific. Castro St. in general is more quantity than quality. As mentioned earlier, Nami Nami is very good. Steakout has good grass fed beef burgers, brisket sandwiches and is a popular biergarten. Whether that's something you'd come 3000 miles for, though, is another story.

If you want Vietnamese, you could spend weeks exploring the scene in San Jose.

Sunnyvale is good for Indian food, including south Indian as you've requested. I second mdg's mention of Taste Buds, though their menu is mostly northern. The gongura stuff is great, sort of sorrel flavors if you haven't tried them. I like Madura, as well. Chaat Paradise is very close to me, but I've never been there, though I keep meaning to go. I'll check it out soon. Sakoon used to be my favorite upscale Indian spot, but the last couple of times I was disappointed. It's been awhile, though. Amber India is strong. What about the fusion Amber spot at University and High in Palo Alto? I had a good lunch there soon after it opened, but haven't been back, yet.

I'd imagine there's plenty of Ethiopian food in NY, but San Jose has some good places. Walia is my personal favorite and a place we go regularly.

The cheese department's selection, staff and even the prices are really good. This is a major upgrade to the local culinary scene, particularly given the miserable cheese options that existed anywhere in the south bay before now.

The rest of the store is a mixed bag, plenty of strong things, but mostly not quite up to the standards set by the cheese folks. Which isn't to say that there aren't plenty of things to make a trip there worthwhile.

Tu Mero Mole is worthwhile, the SJ location mote than Sunnyvale, but it's not Yucatecan.

Yes, it is that good. We ate there recently because my daughter wanted the noodles after we happened to walk by a night or two earlier. We had no idea that it was what it is. The noodles are the best Thai noodles I've eaten. Incredible texture. I wish there were more Thai places like this with ingredients of this quality and variation from the Thai restaurant norms. These are the best surprises -- the unexpected in unlikely places.

East Ender doesn't seem to get so much attention, but we had a terrific lunch there. They have a good, varied menu with lots of local ingredients. The execution is as good as the menu. They have a nice selection of veggies to go along with the rest of the menu, something I always like. I'd eat here again very happily.

Good place. Pizza, salad and the rapini and sausage appetizers were all really nice.

The crust, at least the night we went, was just a little bready, something I don't normally like, but the distinctive flavor and texture made up for it. It's a multigrain dough, darker than that of most pizza. That's a plus for me. Among the flours is a high gluten one, which is what gave it that hint of breadiness, I think. I'd love to try this pizza without that flour in the mix.

To pick nits, though, I wouldn't classify this as Neapolitan, even with the 900 degree oven. The crust isn't thin enough; the multigrain blend differs from the straight 00 flour; it doesn't have that sort of soft and soggy consistency toward the middle. I never saw or heard the word Neapolitan in the restaurant or on the website. I don't really think that's what they're trying to do, which doesn't compromise the quality in any way.

But whatever. It doesn't really matter. What matters is the food and the food here is worthwhile.

The Cupertino Whole Foods is very big, bigger than any of the others, AFAIK, in the general area, though not so big as the flagship store. They might have a wider selection than Los Altos.

For some reason, lots of WFs, at least around here, don't stock organic peanuts with the rest of the bulk items. You have to get them out of the machines that dispense fresh peanut butter. When I need to do that, I always get someone who works there to help so as not to give the impression of desanitizing the peanuts.

It's a pretty good store, but, yes, quite expensive. The local Whole Foods have brought a lot to the area given the dearth of certain things down this way, foodwise, but I feel bad for a store like this that's probably taken a pretty serious beating as a result. I'm impressed that they've managed to keep things going given the lack of crowds in the store. I hope they can keep it going.

Was anyone there in the more distant past? I probably never went there before ten years ago? What was it like then? It maintains a mildly hippieish vibe, a good thing since it's something distinctly missing from the area.

After a number of years in Mountain View in the wake of many more in SF, I look forward to trips to SF just because I know I'll get to go to Rainbow, both for the pleasure of being there and to stock up on all sorts of things I'm not likely to find in the south bay. It's a good excuse to make the trip up to those spots fairly regularly. I wish we had places like that in Mountain View and environs, but that's just not what it's like here.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Miki's turns out to be. It could be a great addition.

How's Mountain View after living in Austin?

Walia remains my favorite for Ethiopian in San Jose. I go there frequently, once every few weeks, on average. It's minutes from the airport. I'm pretty sure they're still open on Mondays. Call to make sure.

One thing that's changed there is that the injera is no longer made from 100% teff. It's a barley/teff blend, a little heavier on the barley, I think. It's good, but not as good as the straight teff stuff. And they still stay away from the bloating self rise that lots of other spots use. In their defense, I don't know that any of the other local spots do pure teff injera either. If you give them a couple days notice and pay a little extra, they'll make it with straight teff.

Their pastrami is milder flavored than just about any I've eaten, at least any worthy of note. Because of that, I keep adding mustard to it, looking for that pastrami zing. But its melt in your mouth tenderness (at least most of the time) does make it particularly distinctive. I like it quite a bit, even if it falls short in certain ways.

I can buy that.

What good does it do to wash them once you've peeled off a couple of outer layers? Given the tightness of a lot of the sprouts, how much water gets into and out of them well enough to carry away any dirt, pesticides (more often than not, I buy organic ones at farmers markets) or creatures out? I'm not being snide, I'm really wondering this. I used to wash, usually still do rinse in a bowl of water after peeling outer layers, but sometimes, find this to be a formality more than anything else.

Any suggestions on good places to buy fresh fish in the South Bay, particularly around Mountain View or Sunnyvale, even Palo Alto? I'd like an alternative to Whole Foods, preferably less pricey, but with attention to freshness, relative lack of toxicity, sustainability, etc.

How's the fish at Nijiya Market?

Anyplace in Milpitas with dim sum worthy of comparison to the better SF/Millbrae spots?

There is some indoor seating, but it's limited, maybe a few tables right in the restaurant. At least that's how it was the last time I was there, maybe a month or six weeks ago. Maybe as things evolve in the complex, there will be more indoor seating available.

This is a good pizzeria, easily has the best pizza I've tried south of SF and Oakland.

El Molino Central is terrific. Make sure to try it while you're up there.

I like the attention they give to vegetable sides here. We had a few of them recently and loved them all. I wish more restaurants did this. I'd come here just to eat that.

My single lunch at Milo + Olive was so idyllic that it's hard to imagine overstating its charms. They seem to hit every note in all the ways maudies5 mentions. I don't live in LA, but will be at M+O at least once the next time I'm in town, more if I'm around long enough to take advantage.

Welcome to the area, eh27713. I've never been in Durham or the triangle area, but it's been on my radar lately as a place to check out. I'm hoping to do that at some point over the next year. I'm curious about what it's like to live there.

If you'll have a car, your options will broaden a lot. If there are particular cuisines you want to try, see if you can figure whether a given one is better saved for SF. I'd strongly recommend doing that for the Cal/Italian style spots. Very strongly. They're a weak point in the South Bay; even the few options in or near Palo Alto pale by comparison to lots of choices in San Francisco.

To avoid going on at ever greater length, I'll limit my ramblings to thoughts about Palo Alto and further south:

Is there much Korean food in NC? If not, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara are loaded with it. The Tofu House on El Camino in Palo Alto is a fairly popular spot that won't be far from wherever you're staying. A little fancier is Jang Su Jang in Sunnyvale. Check the threads here for lots of discussion about many others.

Mexican food here tends to be disappointing, other than as lrealml points out, some (not all, by any means) of the taquerias. A sit down non-taqueria that's good is Tu Mero Mole in San Jose. You'll have to drive 20+ minutes, though. It's kind of a hole in the wall, nothing unforgettable, but it's worth a visit if you're so inclined. There's also the upscale Casa de Cobre in Saratoga. Check the many threads for San Francisco places. Primavera at the Ferry Building farmers market in SF on Saturdays has terrific food, but their menu, which was always small, is even smaller now, so there are only a few things to be ordered. Still, if you're at the market, and it's well worth a visit, make a point of trying it. Lots of your best bets for Mexican food are probably in the East Bay, which may be out of your geographical range for this trip.

The Chinese regional stuff is worthwhile, at least from the standpoint that you might not be able to get some of these things at home. Some of these places, distinctive as they may be, tend to be on the oily side. Just a FYI in case that's an issue for you. If you want dim sum, save it for when you're in SF.

For Indian, though I haven't been there for quite awhile now, I like Sakoon, too, even if it's not mainstream Indian food in some ways. That's a strength, not a weakness, though. Read the threads for lots of discussion here about other options, which vary by style, region and quality.

I've never been to Kaygetsu, a higher end Japanese place in Menlo Park, but people like it and it's about to shut down, if it hasn't already.

There's good Ethiopian food in San Jose, something I take advantage of often. I'd recommend the newish Walia. Cafe Rehoboth and Zeni are good, too, as probably are a few others. Zeni is sort of an institution if you want a more popular place, though I prefer the food at the other two.

What about Tamarine in Palo Alto? It's upscale Vietnamese. I've only been there once, for lunch, but it was good. The vast selection of places in San Jose are worth exploring.

Something really satisfying is Oren's Hummus Shop on University in Palo Alto. It's a new, Israeli hummus place with falafel and various vegetable sides, all made from good, fresh, mostly organic ingredients. It's the kind of place I could go to regularly and enjoy. If you like that kind of food, it's right in PA. In some ways, given the not so dazzling local food scene there, it's my current Palo Alto favorite in that it's a tasty, healthy, simple, home style meal that hits the spot. In that sense, if I were elsewhere, I'd probably miss it more than anywhere else in town in that it would be the hardest to replace with an equivalent, something I couldn't easily say about much else there, even if they're places I enjoy.

Again, as others recommend, search for specifics as much is discussed here. Or come back and ask about some particular cuisine or place.

Have a nice week. And if you have anything to say about living in Durham, I'm very much interested in reading/hearing it.

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Tamarine Restaurant
546 University Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94301

Kaygetsu Restaurant
325 Sharon Park Dr Ste A2, Menlo Park, CA 94025

Sakoon
357 Castro Street, Mountain View, CA 94041

Casa de Cobre
14560 Big Basin Way, Saratoga, CA 95070

Tofu House
2788 Castro Valley Blvd, Castro Valley, CA 94546

Jang Su Jang
3561 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95051

Tu Mero Mole
2041 Woodard Rd, San Jose, CA 95124

Oren's Hummus Shop
261 University Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301

This place is a find. Tasty, healthy food for reasonable prices on University Ave. How about that. I like eating like this.

We had the beef kebab, which I actually didn't get to before it was all eaten. My wife thought it was a bit overcooked, though.

The rest was top notch. We had the hummus with fava beans (foul), the beans of which may not have been fava beans. Whatever it was, it was great, a generous portion, light and creamy with a great taste and texture balance with the beans and pureed hummus. BTW, the hummus is pureed, so if you prefer it with more of a food mill sort of texture, you won't find it here. I tend to like that texture, but this was so creamy that it more than made up for it.

I'm not a fries person, but the sweet potato fries were delicious and crispy on the outside without tasting that greasy. Same goes for the felafel. The sides of beets, Romanian eggplant and the Moroccan tomato dish (can't remember the name) were very good. Best of all of those dishes may have been the complimentary cabbage that we got when we sat down. The all you can eat pita bread didn't do much for me, but I'm not much of a pita bread fan or eater, so I didn't really care. I'd hope for a chewier bread that suits my tastes more, but that's outside the normal bounds of the cuisine, I think.

I didn't try the lemonade, but look forward to doing that. Tart won't bother me. On the contrary, I like it that way.

The downside was the almost hilariously bad service. It's not that anyone was rude, it's that there was barely any service at all. Tables didn't get cleaned, water and menus didn't appear in any reasonable time frame, the asked for and promised set of condiments (harissa, garlic oil and the like) never appeared at all. Nor did my requested refill of the cabbage that I was told would be coming.

Still, as one who likes this sort of food, both as middle eastern style dishes and clean, homemade, organic ingredient, not so starchy sustenance, it was a big hit. I'll be back soon.

Do post your findings.

Cafe Rehoboth replaced Zeni as my main Ethiopian spot in San Jose some years ago. I feel like they use better overall ingredients and no corn oil. I've almost certainly eaten more meals there than any other south bay restaurant the last few years.

There's a new place in San Jose at Bascom and San Carlos called Walia. Though it's at a seedy corner, it's pleasantly and brightly decorated, run by a welcoming and capable family who aims to make this work. It's moving into becoming a contender for the top spot for me. Among its virtues is that their injera is made mostly of teff and doesn't use the self rise leavening that lots of Ethiopian places do. So it tastes great and doesn't leave me feeling bloated, a matter of which they're conscious. Most of what I've tried there so far in a few visits has been very strong. Definitely check it out if you're a south bay denizen. They're happy to answer questions and tell you about what they're doing there.

I can sympathize with the poster in San Mateo who has to cover ground to eat Ethiopian. I wish there were some Ethiopian restaurants in places where there isn't an Ethiopian population. I feel like some of the places in Oakland and San Jose are hurt by their locations and the amount of competition, Rehoboth among them. Put a place like that into the quantity over quality morass that is Mountain View's Castro St. and I'm inclined to think they'd pack the place regularly. Easy for me to say, though. I might be wrong for one thing and the start up costs would be too high for another.

Jurevich has my favorite cherries, too. Firm and sweet/tart. I think the season is over, though.

I'm curious, too.

I don't buy it much, but the Claravale milk is really tasty. The first time I gave it to my daughter, I didn't tell her it was other than the Strauss milk she was used to drinking.

She immediately said it was the best tasting milk she'd had.

My second time around wasn't quite as dazzling as the first. I again ordered the aged version. My burger was slightly overcooked, though not enough to totally dry it out and make it gray. But this time, the flavor wasn't so startlingly lively. It was just another pretty good burger. And I'm not that into burgers that I'd come eat one like this every week.

I wonder if this isn't a function of what they're doing with the aged beef burgers. Grass fed meat tends to be a little erratic in its flavor and texture relative to the corn finished stuff to begin with. (That's fine with me, given the tradeoffs.) Plus, they're saying they're using far more parts of the cow than just chuck or whatever. So if on a given day, you get a mixture that has more chuck and sirloin and on another you get more rib eye and hangar, the experience will be quite a bit different.

I'll probably give it some time before my next visit, though my kids may get me back sooner. Knowing that there's a place other than home where I can feed them burgers with grass fed beef is comforting.