Vive Sol

Locations: Palo Alto and Mountain View, CA

Food: Mexican/Comida Poblana

Close to: Lucie Stern Theatre (Palo Alto), Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts (Mountain View)

South Bay mainstay Vive Sol has been bringing delicious, authentic Mexican food to California for several decades now. The restaurant departs from the apparent binary of either takeout or experimental nouveau cuisine to serve upscale, old-fashioned meals that delight and satisfy.

Vive Sol’s menu is specifically Comida Poblana, food from a south-central region in Mexico known as Puebla, a stop for traders from both Asia and Europe. This gave the area a fascinating and varied set of traditional dishes. Visitors to Vive Sol will find that many of the items on the menu are substantially different from the Mexican-American blend offered by many other restaurants, offering their own flavor experience.

The restaurant’s specialty is the enchilada, and there is a great variety of enchiladas to choose from. The most popular item is the Enchiladas Al Sol ($13.95), a combination of one enchilada covered in creamy cheese sauce and another in sweet-spicy mole. My personal favorite is the Enchiladas Verdes ($13.95), which employ a tangy green tomatillo sauce. Most of these dishes come with a hearty amount of seasoned rice and beans, and you can choose your own protein, including a vegetarian cheese enchilada.

Vive Sol also offers the “De La Plaza Mayor” plate, a selection of two items from a menu for $13, alongside rice and beans. If you want to try a few items without breaking your stomach or wallet, this is an excellent choice; one of the options is an Enchilada Verde and is highly recommended. The other three depend on your taste: Whether you want a mild quesadilla or a chile relleno is up to you.

There are two locations, “Vive Sol” on El Camino near Mountain View and “Palo Alto Sol” in Palo Alto’s California Avenue shopping district. Each has their benefits and disadvantages: The Mountain View location is harder to access but is beautiful and has lots of seating, while the Palo Alto location is surrounded by parking but may have a large number of small children in the evenings. Which one you choose depends on your circumstances, but both of them offer an unparalleled Comida Poblana dining experience.

Izaka-Ya

Location: San Jose, CA

Food: Japanese

Close to: City Lights Theatre, Tabard Theatre Company, Santa Clara University, San Jose State

California has a happy excess of Japanese restaurants, all of them putting their own unique spins on a diverse and delicious cuisine. Izaka-Ya, located on San Jose’s First Street and sharing a building with a steakhouse and a dim sum restaurant, crafts excellent sushi combinations alongside Japanese street food favorites that are difficult to find in the States.

The menu is large, and it can be slightly intimidating to a newcomer; fortunately, the small portion sizes allow a diner to make a substantial meal out of a few dishes. For appetizers, consider ordering an onigiri, a rice ball with various fillings. My personal favorite is the ume onigiri ($5.75), filled with tart plum jam. It may be hard to find on the lengthy seafood menu, but don’t overlook the takoyaki ($4.75), crisp octopus dumplings covered in flavorful sauce.

As for the entrée, there are a variety of combination bento boxes available, many of them coming with a selection of fresh sushi rolls. For sashimi enthusiasts, the tuna sashimi bento box ($14.75) provides tuna that is perfectly chewy and bursting with flavor. However, the best entrées at Izaka-ya are the okonomiyaki ($10.75-$13.75). This is a savory pancake made with cabbage and covered with sauce, often described as "Japanese pizza." Izaka-Ya's are creamy, flavorful, and incredibly filling, and a variety of add-ons are available, including pork belly, octopus, and okra. There are only a handful of Bay Area restaurants that serve okonomiyaki, so make sure to try it on at least one occasion.

If you find yourself with room for dessert, the best choice is the rich banana tempura ($3.75), though those seeking lighter fare my be interested in ice cream or even a fresh orange to close out their experience. Izaka-ya also has a decent selection of beer, schochu, and plum wine, as could be expected from a restaurant modeled on urban Japanese drinking establishments.

Izaka-Ya is one of the best Japanese restaurants in the South Bay, with good prices, great menu variety, and a warm and friendly atmosphere. It's also close to the convention center and several theatres

Psycho Donuts

Location: Campbell and San Jose, CA

Food: Donuts

Close To: City Lights, Tabard Theatre, ComedySportz, Camera 3 Cinemas (San Jose)

Veteran donut eaters may find that the selection in chain bakeries tends towards standard, even boring at times. And while those who tend towards chocolate or plain jelly donuts will find satisfcation at traditional establishment, crazier donut aficionados desire a little more excitement in their pastry. For those people, Psycho Donuts–featuring a wacky B-movie theme both in its atmosphere and in its donut selection–is there to fit the bill.

Both Psycho Donuts locations feature a wide array of donuts, ranging in size, shape, and oddity. I have sampled a number of them over the two-and-a-half years I have been going to the San Jose Psycho, and here are some of the highlights:

• Key Lime: The first donut I had here, the vegan Key Lime, combines a tangy flavor with a satisfying solidity. It is so dense and chewy, it’s almost a scone.


• Strawberry Fields: A square donut topped with strawbery icing, freeze-dried strawberries, and with a single stick of strawberry Pocky laid across the hole.


• Cereal Killer: Marshmallow frosting (not “marshmallow-flavored” frosting–actual marshmallow frosting) covered with Cap’n Crunch. Extremely sweet, but the range of textures stops the flavor from being overpowering.


• This One/That One: Named after the chef’s frustration at customers not ordering donuts by name, these simple old-fashioned vanilla and chocolate donuts, respectively, are some of the best in the store, showing that Psycho Donuts knows how to do the basics as much as it knows how to show off.

Psycho Donuts also does dozens of seasonal promotions, with some donuts only available for a few days. My personal favorite is only available in the San Jose store on Memorial Day Weekend as part of a cross-promotion with local anime convention FanimeCon: The Psycho Takoyaki is eight ginger-flavored donut holes topped with caramel, lemongrass bavarian, coconut, and toasted pistachio.

Psycho Donuts’ unique selection and rotating menu makes it a great place to go to again and again. Donuts are baked in batches of four to six flavors at a time, meaning that what you want may not always be available in the case, but there is usually enough of a selection to make you indecisive. The San Jose venue also contains a movie theater and the popular improv team ComedySportz–why not make it an evening?