Lunchtime Dives
of Silicon Valley
Your
Source for the
South Bay Dive Experience
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So Many Dives, So Little Time -- Divemaster
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Most of this area was nothing but orchards as little as 10 years
ago. Now the 'golden triangle' boasts many of the most boring and
ugliest buildings ever created, and few divesin between.
Alviso is a great place to look for dives.ÊLocated at the extreme
South end of the Bay, this poor community (annexed by San Jose in
the 1970s) used to have quite a collection of local, mostly
mexican, dives. Some succumbed to the big flood in 1983. Others
just mismanaged themselves out of existence.
Check out the industrial areas around Old Oakland Road and Junction.
From there, head south on 13th street -- a major dive haven!
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B.C.C.E.
Old Oakland Road at Charles Street San Jose North
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Formerly Bethesda Community Church Enterprises. You can't help noticing if you've passed this place. A converted gas station with a trailer out front and a couple of 55 gallon drum BBQ ""pits"" off to one side. Starting at 10AM, I'm sure the fire dept gets a couple of calls a day cuz there is SMOKE, SMOKE, and more SMOKE. The drill is as follows: First, no beer so you have stop off at one of the local markets for a carry-out. Go fetch at the nearby Kwik Stop or the market at 13th and Hedding (they have homemade burritos and Menudo is playing on weekends). Next, you go inside the office, passing the very fashionable women's clothing that they have displayed on a consignment plan and get a ticket for the food of your choice. Then you go back outside, pass the BBQ pits and hand the ticket to a man in the trailer who eventually gets around to handing you a nice styrofoam carton with a $6 lunch special featuring 1 hot link, 1 piece of Chicken and 1 Rib, baked beans and white bread in a baggie (otherwise it's not real BBQ). Don't forget an order of peach cobbler. Sit down at one of the half dozen plastic Home Depot tables and PIG OUT. The only restaurant we know with a pager: Phone: 408/280-4224.
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Chez Sovan
923 Oakland Road San Jose North
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| If you've never had Cambodian food before check this place out. TOTALLY delicious!!! A true dive in every sense of the word. Weird location, funky decor (lots of Cambodian deities line the walls) and best of all, really good food. Been there many, many times and never a bad dish. Only open 11-2. Guy in charge is Brian. His family is cooking in the back. Start of with the soup (shrimp and/or chicken), fried catfish with tomato sauce, shish kabobs, shrimp salad are all favorites. Everything prepared to order, fresh and delicious. Highly recommended! P.S. There is another Chez Sovan on S. Bascom in Campbell, expanded menu (including an awesome desert) but - too nice to be a dive.
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Fourth Street Bowl
1441 N 4th Street San Jose North
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| There's something about a bowling alley that makes for a great dive. Since several of them including the McKee Bowl, Alma Bowl and Fiesta Lanes have gone by the wayside, the indisputable King Pin (get it?) of alley food is 4th Street Bowl. A large Coffee Shop and a bar that serves meals. The Coffee shop has a formica counter, plastic fabric-like seats and molded plastic booths. They'll throw a menu at you that may be held together by duct tape, but don't be fooled, this is a clean and efficient operation. Wide variety of coffee shop fare including burgers, chicken, ribs, fish - all with mashed potatoes or fries and includes soup and salad plus a frozen vegetable dish (ours was succotash). No silicon valley types here. Open for breakfast lunch and dinner. Don't forget to show up Thursdays for Karaoke Night!
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Hunan Taste
998 N 4th Street San Jose North
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| Located in a non-descript area north of Japantown in San Jose, Hunan Taste has been recommended many times by a number of readers. A recent visit proved worth the trip. A wider variety of chinese dishes than are found at most area spots, including cold noodles, "famous" salads and tofu dishes. Menu marks several items as 'hot' but they really aren't unless you ask to spice things up. Service is 'right there' friendly. Unfortunately, the place is just a little too clean to get a full 4 dive rating. Cool dive super market across the street. A reader says, "...it fits all the requirements of a true dive, and has great food. It is a favorite of our office. Get there a little early, since it does end up with a line out front most days. All the tables say reserved...as if they take reservations!"
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San Jose Flea Market
1590 Berryessa Road San Jose North
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| The craziness of the weekend flea market settles down quite a bit on Wed, Thurs or Fridays - the days that the flea market is open during the week. On rainy days, there may be no food booths open but you can always hit the produce market for the widest variety of ethnic fruits and vegetables around. We went on a Friday and the one booth that was opened featured a pretty decent Grande Burrito, Menudo and Corn Dogs - all washed down with Bud draft. Dine at one of the red or green plastic tables or wander around for the best in: Mexican soccer team garb, cheap watches, tools on a budget, highly breakable toys, lugggage, blankets with tigers or the virgin Mary, socks, scary underwear, car stereos, L.A. Raiders wear, and sundries of all sorts. $1 for parking during the week - definitely worth a visit on a sunny weekend. Come on down before this turns into a BART station.
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Birrieria Jalisco
693 North 13th St San Jose North
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| This place is near the end of the "Restaurant Row" on 13th south of 101, you'll recognize it by the picture of the goat. It used to serve Nicaraguan food but has branched out to include authentic Mexican. The decor features spanish language beer posters with a few velvet paintings, the classic plastic flowers and year-round Christmas decorations for effect. You sit down at one of the 8 tables to fresh-roasty flavored chips with fresh spicy-hot salsa. We found the Chile Verde to be very good with generous portions. Watch out for the Sopitas as they are pricey. However, do check out the juke box. A reader adds, "Birrieria Jalisco once housed an adult book store. How could you not mention the goat stew, which is the especialidad de la casa (specialty of the house)?"
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La Arenita
904 Oakland Road San Jose North
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| From the outside, the building looks like a shanty-town shack. However, both the decor (cuckoo clocks, spanish Laurel and Hardy pictures and lots of ivy) as well as the food hold up the place pretty well. The machaca is one to try and the huevos con chorizo rated a thumbs up. Prices are reasonable. Not to be confused with the local bar - La Arena - that is continually in the news as a haven for drug dealing and other not-so-good things.
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Mike's Pizza, Bar & Grill
497 Reynolds Cir San Jose North
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| Located in an Industrial Park and catering to the local clientele of sheet metal workers and electricians, Mike's does a good job at taking care of everyone. Start off with the cheese fries with jalapeno's and onions (a must!!) The Pizza Combo piles pepperoni, canadian bacon, sausage, mushrooms, olives, onions, bell peppers and salami on top of home-made dough, yum! Sam Adams and other domestic beers on tap. We met Mike and slathered each other with mutual praise. This will be a three star dive with another 10 years of aging.
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Train Track Deli
1725 Rogers Avenue San Jose North
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Hmmm, Doors seem to have closed. No answer on the phone. Website is now a new address. Let us know what happened!
Former review: This place gets its namesake from the fact that you have to drive by and/or over seemingly dozens of tracks to get there. A good place for cheesesteaks and a pitcher of beer (or two). Covered patio. Full Bar. The place is a hangout for disti sales pukes - don't engage them in conversation if you can help it. Also -- Avoid the bikini whales. Somehow Train Tracks feels obligated to use the afternoons and early evenings as a place to stage lingerie sell offs featuring women who probably shouldn't be doing this for a living (if you know what we mean).
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King Egg Rolls
980 Lundy Avenue San Jose North
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| Definitely not a dive - King Egg Roll is a 'Chinese take out food factory' that cranks out 100s of 'to go' orders daily. They have a half dozen tables for those that wish to dine in but their real business is the line that forms at the door and continually streams through with people ordering egg rolls, BBQ pork ribs, fried rice and the like. Individual meals or in bulk. Average serving time looks to be under 30 seconds. A reader says, "Try out King Egg Rolls it is a strip mall and probably don't qualify as a dive (although the decor begs it), but 'dive'-like food." Another reader says, "If you want dim sum or Vietnamese spring rolls - go for lunch because by dinner time, they're sold out'.
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La Taqueria
15 S First Street San Jose North
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| Gone to dive heaven... A reader says, "Owned by former illegal alien who has a reputation for helping out people in need. A vastly superior version of Super Taqueria, and I think Super Taquiria is good. Unbelievable grilled carne asada tacos & burritos. Tremendous quesidillas. Tasty salsa verde in plastic squirt bottles on picnic bench style tables. Cheap!!! Closes at 7:00 pm. This place is must for you to try."
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T's Sports Bar
1984 Oakland Road San Jose North
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| Never survived losing the dancers.... An outpost in the industrial area on the San Jose / Milpitas border. T's has a small outdoor smoking patio and a kitchen serving basic lunch fare including burgers, dogs, burritos and occasional fried stuff. Full bar and table waitresses if you want to be served. Simple, not very fancy. Gives you time to hang out with construction workers. Formerly T's Cabaret, a local bikini bar. They got rid of the dancers, added some pool tables, opened the doors and cleaned it up (a bit).
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