I'm all about supporting the locals, and one of our most popular local chefs is opening a new place.
From the Merc,
"RESTAURANT HAPPENINGS: Nick Difu, the popular local chef who used to man the burners at Cafe Marcella, the Wine Cellar and 180 Restaurant, all in Los Gatos, is finally opening a restaurant of his own in - where else? - Los Gatos.
Nick's on Main will take over the old Matter of Taste spot at 35 E. Main St. in March. The tiny eatery will feature Difu's signature brand of bistro cooking."
Difu came in second place in the "best chef" category in the Metro's Best of Silicon Valley reader survey last year
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Thursday, January 31, 2008
The Morning Crowd
I don't do 5 a.m. Maybe I see this ungodly hour of the morning on the rare occasion when I have not yet made it into bed, but really, it's not my time of day.
That being said, in my ongoing attempt to explore Los Gatos during all hours of the day, I found myself jogging on University early Friday morning. And you know what? LG is busy this time of day! Apparently, if you are part of the fitness crowd, this is the hour to see and be seen. Joggers, power walkers, AM bootcamp people, aspiring yogis, you name it they're out there.
I get it though. The streets are much less crowded - you're really only competing with delivery drivers and garbage trucks for space, you don't need to worry about the stroller set and the window shoppers. And the near freezing temperatures make it much easier to work up a sweat without feeling like you are working up a sweat.
Everyone is really nice this time of day. The bootcampers were a ton of fun. Most of them were laughing, singing and gossiping as they worked through exercises with crazy names like banana, superman and elbow macaroni.
I don't know that I have been converted into an early morning runner, but it was a good experience. If nothing else, I have been set upon a new task - finding the newspaper guy. Apparently he cruises around in his Mustang convertible with his dog and he is one of those people that really knows LG.
Monday, January 28, 2008
A Brief History Lesson
I have heard more stories about downtown LG than I can remember. As with most good folk tales, I have a hard time distinguishing the blurred line between fact and rumor. Some of my favorites...
The Pet Rock Guy: Spend more than 10 minutes inside Carry Nation's and someone will mention that it is owned by the guy that invented the pet rock. I've never really doubted this but I have wondered how this came to be. It turns out that Gary Dahl was able to make a million dollars selling pebbles for four bucks a pop in 1975. Call him a snake oil salesman or Silicon Valley's first real entrepreneur, but that was a feat of advertising genius that may never be matched.
Old Town Theater: Once upon a time, when Old Town Theater was still actually a theater and not a Borders, I actually participated in a few productions there. Word around backstage was that the older mezzanine level of the theater was haunted. Now, I mostly blew this off thinking that it was a ploy by the staff to keep us kids out of what was probably a somewhat unsafe area, but it turns out that other people have heard this too.
Trevese Restaurant aka the Chart House aka the big house on North Santa Cruz: Regardless of how great the food, Los Gatos natives all know that whatever occupies 115 N. Santa Cruz Ave. is destined to fail because the place used to be a mortuary. Now do businesses fail at this location because it is haunted, or because the thought of having a romantic dinner in a mortuary creeps people out? Who knows.
The Pet Rock Guy: Spend more than 10 minutes inside Carry Nation's and someone will mention that it is owned by the guy that invented the pet rock. I've never really doubted this but I have wondered how this came to be. It turns out that Gary Dahl was able to make a million dollars selling pebbles for four bucks a pop in 1975. Call him a snake oil salesman or Silicon Valley's first real entrepreneur, but that was a feat of advertising genius that may never be matched.
Old Town Theater: Once upon a time, when Old Town Theater was still actually a theater and not a Borders, I actually participated in a few productions there. Word around backstage was that the older mezzanine level of the theater was haunted. Now, I mostly blew this off thinking that it was a ploy by the staff to keep us kids out of what was probably a somewhat unsafe area, but it turns out that other people have heard this too.
Trevese Restaurant aka the Chart House aka the big house on North Santa Cruz: Regardless of how great the food, Los Gatos natives all know that whatever occupies 115 N. Santa Cruz Ave. is destined to fail because the place used to be a mortuary. Now do businesses fail at this location because it is haunted, or because the thought of having a romantic dinner in a mortuary creeps people out? Who knows.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
My Los Gatos
Like it or not, my life has revolved around downtown Los Gatos for the better part of the past 15 years.
Before I could drive, it was one of the few places my parents would let me roam on my own. Jazz on the Plazz is one of my favorite summertime activities. Since I have turned 21, it continues to be home to several of my favorite bars. I have worked as a waitress in a downtown restaurant for the past four years. But in spite of all of this, I have never really felt like part of the Los Gatos crowd.
All of my time in Los Gatos has left me wondering, who is Los Gatos? Is it the "desperate housewives" in their designer workout gear? Or is it the fashionably delinquent teenagers that troll the streets on Friday nights? Is the real Los Gatos the Saturday night bar crawlers or the Sunday morning farmers' market crowd? I'm not sure that there is one good answer to this question, but I'd like to try to find out what about Los Gatos keeps us all coming back.
Before I could drive, it was one of the few places my parents would let me roam on my own. Jazz on the Plazz is one of my favorite summertime activities. Since I have turned 21, it continues to be home to several of my favorite bars. I have worked as a waitress in a downtown restaurant for the past four years. But in spite of all of this, I have never really felt like part of the Los Gatos crowd.
All of my time in Los Gatos has left me wondering, who is Los Gatos? Is it the "desperate housewives" in their designer workout gear? Or is it the fashionably delinquent teenagers that troll the streets on Friday nights? Is the real Los Gatos the Saturday night bar crawlers or the Sunday morning farmers' market crowd? I'm not sure that there is one good answer to this question, but I'd like to try to find out what about Los Gatos keeps us all coming back.
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