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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Whether they know it or not, these dives have achieved a certain distinction amongst their patrons that is difficult
to explain or replicate. It only happens when the food takes precidence over the need to make that extra buck, to give
the diner a good meal, with little pretence, at a fair price. We strongly suggest you give these establishments a try.
Savor the experience for it won't be long before some real estate baron or chain-based restauranteur recognizes a good thing and
crushes the flower by trying to save it.
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Kip's
2439 Durant Ave Berkeley
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| Two floors, right on Durant Avenue, a block off campus. Upstairs is the best place to escape the purple-spike hair-tattoo types on the Avenue and watch sports dammit. There is usually a full cadre of characters at the bar or in the big media room towards the back. The tables in the front are for those who actually come to eat and drink. Full menu but featuring pizza and beer. Go at night to get served by some very nice Berkeley co-eds. Downstairs (just finishing up a remodel) is more of a pizza and burger joint. Best flame-burned burgers in the area. Watch for grungies.
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Top Dog
2534 Durant Avenue Berkeley
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Best grilled dogs in the bay area! You stand in line, often out the door to "bark" your order to rude surly cooks. A dozen or so different varieties including bockwurst, kielbasa, New York, German, Italian or the "house dog" - Top Dog. All grilled on the spot for your snarfing pleasure, placed into tactically pleasing buns with heaps of sauerkraut and a couple of non-gourmet mustards awaiting your selection at the very messy condiment bar. While waiting, be sure to partake of the Libertarian propaganda all over the walls or watch the B&W TV with 'Stolen from Top Dog' scrawled on the side. Stanfurd - eat this!!!
P.S. Five other locations in Berkeley and Oakland including Northside.
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Shalimar SF
532 Jones Street San Francisco
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| Brought here by a friend who represented this as the best Indian restaurant in the Bay Area. It's in a pretty rough part of the Tenderloin so you get to meet all kinds here. Go up to the counter, grab a menu and order from there. All sorts of great classic northern indian and pakistani food and drinks. Everything we had was great - lamb, beef, chicken tandoori all complemented well by a wonderful rice dish and some of the best naan around. Very inexpensive. No beer here although they let you bring your own in if you like. One other location in the city and one in Fremont. They're opening soon in Santa Clara as well.
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Bite of Wyoming
2227 Alum Rock Avenue San Jose Downtown
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| The Bite of Wyoming has that classic diner feel with a bunch of extras that will have us coming back. It's located in a small strip mall in fairly tough neighborhood but once you step through the door (with the requisite burglar bars), you'll feel like you've been transported 1000 miles east. They serve breakfast all day including biscuits and gravy and hot coffee served in thick, unbreakable mugs. They feature buffalo patties and buffalo steaks ('all the taste of beef but half the calories'), real eggs (not those egg mixes you see most places) and every dish comes with a small plastic tumbler of really great green hot sauce. The decor is pure concrete blockhouse style with pictures of the plains, lots of farm implements and stuffed buffalo heads, plus a man-eating jackalope or two. Pickup trucks encouraged to park in the back. 10% discount for seniors. Extra dive points all round!
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Falafel's Drive-In
2301 Stevens Creek Blvd San Jose Downtown
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| Only after a LOT of reader reviews did we manage to trundle down to the Mecca (pun intended) of Middle Eastern fare for Santa Clara County. Nice sunny day, HUGE (50 person) line in front of a '50s style take out joint that has probably seen two or three incarnations. Very impressive efficiency. They carved thru the line and delivered every order (including condiments and water) within 10 minutes, all with a smile. Inside and outside covered dining. Falafels are the specialty (fried balls of chickpeas served with salad in a pita - sounds weird but totally tasty all spiced up). Otherwise, try a Koubby (ground meat in a pastry) or some Baklava for desert. We're told the shakes are awesome but can vouch for the lemonade which was good and fresh. Hamburgers, burritos, tacos, hotdogs and corndogs for the culturally unadventurous. An institution.
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Henry's Hi-Life
N River St and West Saint John St San Jose Downtown
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| Henry's is part of the oldest neighborhood in San Jose. This area has been flooded out several times this century (look for the high water mark about 6 feet up) and was threatened to be shut down by the Army Corps of Engineers. Public outcry resulted in right-over-might and the Guadalupe Park plans were redrawn to save Henry's from extinction. So until the next big rain, head on over an enjoy great smoke cooked steaks, links, chicken and the like. Door is on the corner, walk through the bar into the back rooms - dark and smoky like a good BBQ place should be. Helpful service with just enough surliness to force the rookies to become indoctrinated quickly.
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Nick's Pizza
E Santa Clara Street and N 10th Street San Jose Downtown
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| Nick has a sign out front that proclaims "Best Pizza in Town". We can't argue, particularly if you like thin crust with lots of cheese. A classic Italian dive with checkered tablecloths, empty bottles of chianti holding plastic flowers, circa 1985 posters on the walls advertising the coming of the transit mall, great variety of homemade Italian dishes and Nick. Nick has lived in most parts of the world but has spent the last 10 or more running this great place. The garlic bread is outstanding. Good selection of beers, including microbrews (the first place we tried Oregon Nut Brown Ale). Prices are very reasonable. We know of at least one VP at a major Silicon Valley Corporation who had his department's Xmas party there. There are rumors that he plans to return.
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Sonia's Kitchen
S 8th Street and E Williams Street San Jose Downtown
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Sonya's is a barely converted gas station with a small inside ordering counter and picnic tables out front. You pull up and park where the gas pumps used to be, go in the side door into a REALLY small room and order up. If you want beer, you need to walk across the street to the liquor store who will put it properly into a #2 bag (60% recycled paper) and haul it back to the half dozen outside picnic tables to wash down the world's best Cheesesteaks. The cooks are "Elpie" and "Raymond". Elpie does a much better job so ask for her. The Medium Combo with provolone cheese is our personal favorite. They also claim to have burgers - we ask why? These chesesteaks are soooo good, they were able to chase away an Amato's Cheesesteak chain that set up shop across the street. Sonia's is only open 'til 5 so get there early for the take home dinner specials. In the interest of fairness in the media, here's a conflicting review: A reader writes, "I tried Sonia's based on your review. I couldn't disagree more with you regarding the quality of her sandwiches. This was perhaps the worst cheesesteak that I have ever had (and I've had many both here and in Philly and Jersy). The meat quality was very low with lots of gristle and fat. This is not what a cheesesteak should be. After two bites I tossed the whole thing in the trash, thoroughly grossed out". OK.
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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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Neto Sausage Company
3499 The Alameda Santa Clara
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A sausage company, turned portugese deli, turned BBQ mecca. Twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Fridays, Neto's (pronounced NET-O, not NEAT-O) pulls a gas grill outside, some picnic tables and awnings into a small parking lot and throws a neighborhood feast. Go to the grill, tell the cook what you want - or just point. Linguica, Italian sausage, steaks and chicken were cooking the day we were there but the menu varies. During lent, they have fish. When it's ready, the cook hands you your meat in a foil tray. You go inside hand over the tray and tell the random counter person what you want on it (everyone says 'everything') and pick some chips (comes with it) and they mark it all down on your brown paper lunch bag. Then, you pick a drink from the case in the back, wait around until it's done and they'll call your name, pay for it and find a place to sit and dine. Lots of people standing around trying to figure out the system but it seems to work once you're used to it. Bikers, next to students, next to construction guys but thankfully no one in ties. Really, really good!!! They day we were there, there was a radio station promo across the street with free food. No one was the least bit interested.
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