Los Gatos, California
Los Gatos real estate, neighborhoods, condos, houses, homes, market trends, history, events, lifestyle, parks, events, businesses, home, Mary Pope-Handy
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Jan. 25, 2009
 On Friday I enjoyed a late lunch with a real estate colleague and friend of mine at Willow Street Pizza in downtown Los Gatos. The food is always good but this time I had a bowl of clam chowder and it was the best I've had in years.
With New England Clam Chowder (the "white" one, as opposed to the red, Manhattan Clam Chowder), there are a lot of things that can go wrong. Sometimes the clams are gritty. Frequently the potatoes disintegrate and the whole soup becomes mushy and too thick. Perhaps most often, there's excessive cream or fat in the recipe and the chowder is unpleasantly oily.
The bowl of chowder I was served on Friday, though, was a very pleasant surprise. The potatoes and other vegetables were not overcooked. The soup was very tasty and not overly heavy. And if I'm not mistaken, there were small, delicious dumplings cooked into the recipe too. The combination was unbeatable as the look, texture and taste were all fantastic.
Willow Street does not have a "soup and salad" combination on the menu, but you can do what I did and order a half or side salad plus a bowl of soup and create your own combo. I ordered a Romaine Gorgonzola half salad with cranberries together with the bowl of soup and it was very filling. A side salad instead of half salad would have been plenty!
If you enjoy clam chowder, look for it at Willow Street (and other restaurants) on Fridays. Very few places will offer it on any other day of the week. (The reason for this tradition has to do with religion and demographics. Catholics, who constitute about 20% of the population here in Silicon Valley, used to be prohibited by their church from eating meat on Fridays so many "fish specials" used to be featured on that day. That religious rule was changed in the early 1960s after Vatican II, and today the "no meat on Friday" rule only applies during Lent. Even so, some continue to keep to the older, stricter standards.)
Willow Street does have good pizza, it's a kid-friendly restaurant, and the salads and soups are really quite delicious. Don't let the name "Willow Street Pizza" fool you: there's much more to the menu then just pizza. In fact, you can browse their menu online and see for yourself at http://www.willowstreet.com/LOS_GATOS/Los_Gatos.html
If you have a favorite, local place to enjoy a cup or bowl of clam chowder, please share it in the comments below!
Sep. 24, 2008
Categorized in: Los Gatos Events
The annual St. Mary's Country Fair, a popular Los Gatos event, is back for another fun weekend Oct 10th, 11th, and 12th! Located in downtown Los Gatos, on the edge of the Almond Grove District, the Country Fair appeals to people of all ages.
Here's a view from last year on Sunday morning:
What is the St. Mary's Country Fair all about? It's a fundraiser for the work of the parish and the school that draws the entire community. There are carnival rides, live music and dancing, arts & crafts, great food, activities for kids, and loads of fun for about 48 hours. There is NO ADMISSION CHARGE so drop by and see what looks good! The food is very reasonably priced and very tasty!
A few highlights for this year's fun Los Gatos carnival:
Friday Night - Live Music & Dancing - The Joe Sharino Band (no charge!)
Saturday 1pm - 3:30pm Talent Show
Saturday Night - Live Music - The Cheeseballs (7pm - 10pm and no entry fee or charge!)
Sunday 8:30am - 11am - Lions Club Pancake Breakfast
Sunday events usually include a petting zoo and a pony ride for the little tykes
Sunday 5pm - Car or Cash Raffle - only 550 ($100) tickets sold for a MB Cabriolet Smart Car or $18,000 cash
Extra tips:
Like a bargain? Visit the parish or school office prior to October 10, 2008 at 2pm and buy your Butler ride tickets at a substantial discount - and avoid the lines!
Much of the Almond Grove District of Los Gatos has permit parking only in the evenings. So don't park in the neighborhood! There are lots of public parking spaces between North Santa Cruz and University Avenues in Los Gatos, and they are no cost, so park there instead!
Mar. 12, 2008
 Saturday night, Jim and I enjoyed a "date night" out in Los Gatos. He'd been given a very nice gift certificate to Forbes Mill Steakhouse for a talk he gave on semiconductors some months ago, and finally we were able to enjoy it. This had been on my list of "want to try" restaurants so I was very excited about it.
The building itself is nothing like its prior incarnations as a short lived pizza parlor or the longstanding, much beloved (and still missed) Good Earth Restaurant. Elegant, tasteful and not imposing, the Forbes Mill ambiance is relaxed and upscale but without being the slightest bit pretentious.
From the moment we arrived until the time we left, the service was exceptional. Our waitress was friendly and helpful, she stopped by often enough without hovering. The bus boy, too, checked in on us just often enough. Water was refilled frequently, which we appreciated.
How about the menu? How was the food?
With no apologies, this is a steakhouse - and the menu is, of course, very heavy on red meat dishes. (I would tell a vegetarian not to bother - unless dropping by for dessert.) Before the main course, we had a little wine, some tasty salads and warm rolls. As I recall, they had three chardonnays by the glass - not a huge selection, but I was happy with the one I got. (I asked if they had Cinnabar Chardonnay, which is my favorite, but unfortunately it is not offered that way.) I ordered rack of lamb and Jim a kobe beef steak. Both were fantastic.
I'd never tasted kobe beef before but swaped forkfuls with my better half and could not believe how tender and flavorful his meat was. It wasn't just delicious, it was an experience! The vegetables and savory bread pudding were good too - but I'll remember the evening mostly for the meat.
Since we were lingering over a nice meal, we stayed on a bit longer to enjoy a dessert sampler and coffee too. That was a treat. I wish more restaurants would offer dessert samplers - they are fun and no matter what, you'll have to like some of the dishes, if not all of them! I particularly loved the cheesecake with the mango topping. Yum!
All in all, it was a very enjoyable evening with great food, service and ambiance. Would I go back? Well, I'd like to. But it's the kind of place where it's very easy to drop $100 per person (if not more) by the time the evening's over, and with our two kids almost in college, that kind of spending is not something we'll do often at this point in our lives. But it was sure good, from start to finish, and truthfully, I do not think it was too expensive for what you get.
The Verdict: Two thumbs up!
A word on the portions is in order. The serving sizes were generous, and I'd misread the menu and ordered side dishes of two more veggies, so we had a lot of extra food when it was over. I did ask for a "doggie bag". Our bus boy kindly took my plate away and returned with the food in a single box. Unfortunately, that meant that my creamed spinach, asparagus, green beans, carrots, bread pudding and 2 lamb chops were all mushed in together as a soggy mess. If I could suggest something to the good folks at Forbes Mill Steakhouse, it would be to not throw all the leftovers together in one big box, but perhaps to use the styrofoam containers which have sections in them instead.
And finally...do you know why the place is named Forbes Mill? It was around this first mill in town that the current town of Los Gatos grew up!
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NB: This is not a paid post, nor did the proprietors ask me to do a review.
Forbes Mill Steakhouse
206 N. Santa Cruz Avenue
Los Gatos, CA 95030
Tel 408 395-6434
http://www.ForbesMillSteakhouse.com
Jul. 18, 2007
_(2).jpg) In the land of urban, Silicon Valley sprawl, there is a plethora of chain stores. They all carry the same clothing as every other outlet belonging to the same brand.
My sixteen year old daughter wants nothing to do with that! A favorite shop of hers is Infiniti Boutique, located on West Main Street in Los Gatos (between University and North Santa Cruz Avenues). Recently we spent some time (and money) there, outfitting my youngest for an upcoming family wedding.
 The shop is owned and operated by a mother-daughter team with ecclectic taste that defies pigeon-holing. If there's a name for the style(s), I don't know what it is: contemporary, ecclectice, casual, comfortable, imported, distinctive. Whatever it is, it is not run-of-the-mill.
And neither is the service. Janet Hui, the daughter-owner of the shop and her associates spent a great deal of time with us as various alternatives were tried. Janet understood my daughter's explanation of what she liked (and didn't) and was able to piece together an outfit acceptable to both mother and daughter for this wedding. She and her salesgals were sensitve to cost and budget too.
 Friendly, caring, knowledgeable service at a unique botique that can appeal to a wide variety of clientele. We will be back!
Infiniti Boutique, 120 West Main Street, Los Gatos, CA 95030 Tel 408 399-7071
(This is not a paid endorsement of any kind and simply reflects this blogger's excellent experience.)
Apr. 21, 2007
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115 North Santa Cruz Avenue in Los Gatos is once again a "live" restaurant. The lovely old Queen Anne Victorian house has quite the history. First it was a residence, later a mortuary, and eventually a restaurant.
I grew up nearby and as a teen, I just could not imagine eating there. We used to joke about the refrigeration system! Eventually, a wedding reception for dear friends was held within those walls, and in my 30's I broke my vow to never eat in such a creepy place.
And I didn't even know it was haunted!
 There are many, many ghost stories surrounding the former Chart House. Some of them are even funny - like the ghost at the bar who likes to ring up huge tabs in the middle of the night - drinks they didn't even serve at the place! (Yes, a party ghost.)
When dining there one Christmas eve about 5 or 6 years ago, I asked a few of the people working there if they had any stories. I got an earful, but my children got a bit freaked out - and we found that later going to the basement to use the restroom became a hurdle of insurmountable heights. (I have now learned NOT to ask about ghosts in front of my kids, especially if the bathroom is in a particularly remote area. They are teens now but still don't appreciate Mom's hobby.)
Anyway, the Chart House did serve great food, and .jpg) there was no shortage of ambiance, but it just could not seem to make much of a profit, so after a decade or more, it closed. I do believe it's due to the locals knowing its history. The next tenant in was also a restaurant, and it was named Chart's. It did not have a very long run, however. It closed and once again the "for lease" sign went up.
I did a quick peek at Google on this spot earlier and discovered that a tourist did a U-Tube Video of the former Chart House between the last tenant and this one.
So a new chapter begins as the spot once again opens as a restaurant. I don't know what type of food is served there, but ... I'm dying to find out.
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