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!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NB: This is not a paid post, nor did the proprietors ask me to do a review.
My kids attended Casa Maria
Montessori (sadly, now closed) and St. Mary's Elementary School,
both in Los Gatos. Many, many times I took them from school to the
also-now-closed Good Earth Restaurant on North Santa Cruz Avenue to
enjoy hot cocoa and oversized cinnamon buns. It's been years since
that cheerful restaurant closed its doors, and my kids have not had
a place in which to feast upon huge, locally baked cinnamon rolls
since then.
Until now.
Thanks to Google Alerts, I see most articles and blog posts
that come out with anything about our fair town (including some
stupid stuff I could miss that actually has nothing to do
with the town of Los Gatos). Recently the San Jose Mercury News did a piece on
The Los Gatos Cafe Uptown
and it mentioned the restaurant's yummy
cinnamon buns.
The Handy teens, aged 18 and 16, had this to say about the rolls
after feasting on them last weekend:
"I'm not sure if I was just hungry or they were incredibly good,
but with every bite I just kept wondering if there was a way to get
more into my mouth, it was so good...."
and
"It is really, really good when you eat it with the cinnamon
butter..."
The Good Earth is gone, but the happy sentiments
aroused by their much loved cinnamon buns are definitely
back. It's a mouthful of nostalgia.
I'm sure that all of the food at "uptown" is good. I absolutely
love the original Los Gatos Cafe in downtown. I rather suspect that
the "uptown" branch will bcome my favorite of the two as it has the
great food but without the lines and crowds that I avoid
at all costs.
But wherever you go, do order (or take home) a cinnamon bun.
(This is not a paid blog post, and in fact the owners of this
restaurant do not know that this blog post was going to be
written.)
The Los Gatos Town Council has given permission for Viva Restaurant, an upscale eatery at Los Gatos Boulevard and Blossom Hill Road (near Whole Foods in the Cornerstone Shopping Center), permission to expand into the space formerly occupied by High Tech Burrito, according to the Los Gatos Observer.
Viva is one of the only restaurants outside of the downtown area which offers great food, fabulous wine selection and live entertainment - and it is one of my favorite places to enjoy a meal out - with or without the musicians. It's also an excellent place to throw a private party, as one wing can become either one large separate room, or two smaller rooms. If you want to contact them or visit, the address is 15970 Los Gatos Blvd., and the telephone is 408-356-4902 or email info@vivalosgatos.com . Enjoy!
Looking for a burrito replacement for High Tech Burrito? My suggestion is to give Una Mas a try (and order the Foghead Burrito - yum!). It's all of a half mile away, at the corner of Los Gatos Boulevard and Los Gatos-Almaden Road (near Nob Hill Grocery and 31 Flavors Ice Cream). Their address is 15724 Los Gatos Blvd, and tel is (408) 358-8680.
Unmistakeably Los Gatos, the intersection of College and Main has both recognizeable design elements, such as the two-story "cats" which are the town's signature images, and also classic older architecture blended with new construction in a tasteful manner. The latter is a hallmark of the town's high value on character and history.
The Penthouse Apartments is the view to your left, with the two story image of Leo and Leona, the cat sculptures which are synonomous with Los Gatos itself. This four story building is the gateway of St. Joseph's Hill, home to beautiful houses, an entrance to a hiking park and open space preserve (St. Joseph's Hill Open Space Preserve), The Holy Names Sister's convent, retreat center and retirement home, and also, accross the street and up a long driveway, Sacred Heart, the California Jesuit's (Society of Jesus') headquarters & retirement home (and one time novitiate, founded in 1888) and the wonderful Testarossa Vineyards Tasting Room, located on Jesuit land.
Just as there's a lot going on "up the hill", there's a lot going on at this intersection too! (It is a three-way stop sign intersection and I must advise you to be very careful of cyclists - sometimes they are not as careful of all the activity as we might want them to be and I have seen many near-accidents here.) We have a saying in Los Gatos, which is that if you have cash, you won't starve: there are a lot of restaurants here. One of my favorites is Tapestry, which is across the street from the Penthouse Apartments on College Avenue. The food is an ecclectic mix of fresh California style cuisine. The servers are friendly and there's usually no trouble parking nearby, as they have a shared lot plus street parking.
In the same little quad as Tapestry is the ancient Soda Works Building, which now houses a cigar shop.
Right next to Tapestry lies a little sandwich shop that I tried twice recently and really love: Caffe Siena. It is Italian-style with many delicious imported specialty foods and great entrees. It's also a great place to people-watch! The building itself is newer but just outside lies a lovely old stone wall that begs to be photographed.
On the other side of Main is one of my favorite dinner spots, I Gatti (not pictured), which is Italian for "The Cats". If you are getting the impression that Los Gatos has a number of places with an Italian flair, you're right. But there are many other types of food too: Romanian, Thai, Viet Namese, Japanese, Mexican, American - and these are just the ones on the top of my head!
Testarossa Vineyards is a popular destination for people heading up the hill. It's quite scenic, starting with the long trek up the winding driveway, and then at the top there are beautiful valley views. The tasting room itself is extremely inviting - it's spacious, comfortable, and nicely laid out. But best of all, the wine is truly delicious and the folks who work there are both knowledgeable and friendly. There are no pretentious airs, just genuine helpfulness and useful information. I'm always proud to bring our out-of-town visitors to the old novitiate for a little tasting. It is a wonderful way to wrap up an afternoon of strolling and shopping - a calm oasis just steps from the business of this bustling town. And perhaps one of the reasons I like it so much is that like much of Los Gatos, it is a classic mix of things to do...and places simply to relax and be.
Photographs by Mary Pope-Handy,
Los Gatos & Silicon Valley (San Jose area) Residential Real Estate Specialist and
Realtor, CRS, ABR, SRES, ASP, CNHS, RECS, E-Pro,
Intero Real Estate Services, 518 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos, CA 95030 www.PopeHandy.com
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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.
.jpg)
Thanks to Google Alerts, I see most articles and blog posts
that come out with anything about our fair town (including some
stupid stuff I could miss that actually has nothing to do
with the town of Los Gatos). Recently the San Jose Mercury News did a piece on
The Los Gatos Cafe Uptown
and it mentioned the restaurant's yummy
cinnamon buns..jpg)
The Good Earth is gone, but the happy sentiments
aroused by their much loved cinnamon buns are definitely
back. It's a mouthful of nostalgia.
The Los Gatos Town Council has given permission for 
expand into the space formerly occupied by High Tech Burrito, according to 
telephone is 408-356-4902 or email 
.jpg)
.jpg)
In the same little quad as Tapestry is the ancient Soda Works Building, which now houses a cigar shop. 
It's also a great place to people-watch! The building itself is newer but just outside lies a lovely old stone wall that begs to be photographed. 
Testarossa Vineyards is a popular destination for people heading up the hill. It's quite scenic, starting with the long trek up the winding driveway, and then at the top there are beautiful valley views. The tasting room itself is extremely inviting - it's spacious, comfortable, and nicely laid out. But best of all, the wine is truly delicious and the folks who work there are both knowledgeable 
and friendly. There are no pretentious airs, just genuine helpfulness and useful information. I'm always proud to bring our out-of-town visitors to the old novitiate for a little tasting. It is a wonderful way to wrap up an afternoon of strolling and shopping - a calm oasis just steps from the business of this bustling town. And perhaps one of the reasons I like it so much is that like much of Los Gatos, it is a classic mix of things to do...and places simply to relax and be. 