When I’m going out to eat, I love Thai food. I love the spicy stir-fries, red and green curries, and the noodle dishes. When I’m with my vegetarian girlfriend we love all the options without meat. Thai restaurants also tend to notch up the decor and service compared to other restaurants in the same price range. And downtown San Jose is developing a serious concentration of Thai restaurants, with at least three new places opening up downtown and nearby over the last year or two.

Sa-By Thai (346 E. William St.) I decided to do this post after eating at Sa-By for the first time in a year or more. Sa-By is kind of a student hangout, but since I was there last they have cleaned up considerably. They removed a loud and annoying karaoke machine, and brightened up the dining area. The servers now wear Sa-By polo shirts instead of whatever they wore to class that day. The food here is light and spicy, with some interesting choices on the menu. And the prices are still low compared to the other restaurants I’ll include here.

Thepthai (23 N. Market St.) and House of Siam (151 S. Second St.) are probably the two longest-established Thai restaurants in downtown. Once in the last year I tried Thepthai, and it was fine. But, I rarely eat at either of these because they don’t have as many vegetarian choices as other nearby Thai restaurants.

Hanuman Thai Cuisine (1 E. San Fernando St.) is a relative newcomer to downtown, opening maybe a year ago. On my first visit I found the food fresh, spicy, and flavorful. On later visits, the recipes seemed to have changed. I guess they are (or were) still experimenting with the menu. Given the relatively high prices, I haven’t been back in the last few months to see if they’ve settled on flavors I’d really enjoy.

Tee Nee Thai (1423 The Alameda) is also relatively new, and probably the priciest of these restaurants (but still tending to $20 or less per person). The food is excellent, but the highlight for me is their extensive list of Belgian trappist beers, which go amazingly well with spicy Thai dishes. Be prepared to wait for a table if you show up on Friday or Saturday night with no reservation.

Blue Mango (635 Coleman Ave.) I haven’t been yet to this new outlet of a perpetual “Best of” winner from West San Jose. I have been to the Stevens Creek location many times, and its a great lunch place, though the menu is fairly narrow at dinner time. Probably all that “Best of” hype raised expectations a little too high, because Yelp! reviews for the new site are not super enthusiastic.

Did I miss your favorite spot for Thai near downtown? Got an opinion about one of these places? Let us know in the comments!

As mentioned by Bill Cosby

Someone was always singing the praises of Calvin’S, so I suggested stopping there to pick up lunch. We found this little hole in the wall, at 1411 The Alameda, amazing.

As soon as we stepped through the door our eyes filled with things foreign to San Jose. We saw sodas with strange names like Birch Beer. Even stranger for ‘This is Sharks Territory’ was being confronted with reference to the Philadelphia Flyers! All was forgiven as the aroma of Calvin’S found our noses.

The menu is not the same old, same old local fare. We ordered Cheesesteak Sandmiches (not misspelled) and a soda to go. As we paid the bill the owner, Jonne Aleeson, showed off his cell phone pic of Mayor Chuck Reed.

We rushed home unwrapped our Sandmiches, split the Birch Beer, and began to sing praises.

Calvin’S - menu, map, hours, etc.

Photos

This Tuesday Jack in the Box is giving away two free tacos at participating locations. Check date(s) below.

The tacos are absolutely free, as in no purchase necessary.

All you will need is the coupon available here.

Jack in the Box
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
12:00 am to 11:59 pm

Mondays from July 13 through August 3 2009, participating McDonald’s restaurants will hand out a free sample size of Iced Mocha (7 oz.) or Hot Mocha (8 oz.) between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm. Limit one free sample per person, per visit, while supplies last.

Each drink is made with freshly ground espresso beans, real milk, rich chocolate syrup, and fresh whipped cream. The beverages are fully customizable, available with whole or non-fat milk, with or without whipped cream, and with fewer or additional shots of espresso or pumps of chocolate syrup.

McDonald’s Mocha Mondays
Various Locations

Mondays, July 13 through August 3, 2009
7:00 am through 7:00 pm

July 11 (7-11) is free Slurpee Day at 7 Eleven convenience stores to celebrate the store’s birthday. You will receive a free 7.11 oz Slurpee.

7-Eleven, the first convenience store, originated in 1927 when a Southland Ice Company employee began selling bread, milk and eggs on an ice dock in a Dallas suburb. 7-Eleven is now a subsidiary of Seven & I Holdings Co. of Japan. The Slurpee was introduced in 1967.

This Friday, June 26 between 5:00 pm and 9:00 pm, Pinkberry is giving away a free small swirl of its two newest flavors, Coconut and Passionfruit.

That brings Pinkberry’s list of non-fat frozen yogurt to five, including the flavors: Original, Green Tea, and Pomegranat.

Pinkberry Santana Row
368 Santana Row #102
San Jose, 95128
408-557-8333

Happy Father’s Day!

Dads celebrate Father’s Day this Sunday June 21. Take dad out for a free frozen yogurt, a free burger (when you buy one), and then head on over to Vallejo for The Northern California Pirate Festival free or get very adventurous and visit one of 100 National Parks for free! Don’t tell dad this is all free, act like a big spender.

Weekend events are Saturday and Sunday June 20–21. Here is some info to get you started…

Free TCBY frozen yogurt cups and cones for dads on Father’s Day.

Free 1/3 burger at The Counter to all dads all day on Father’s Day. Offer is limited to one regular 1/3 Burger per father who brings in a paying family member/child and purchases a Burger of equal or greater value.

Yo Ho Yo Ho a Pirate’s Life for Me! Spend Father’s Day Weekend near Vallejo’s pirate-infested waters at The Northern California Pirate Festival; it is free!

Fee-Free Father’s Day Weekend at over 100 National Parks; including Yosemite, Lassen, Death Valley, Lava Beds, Sequoia, and Joshua Tree. Special activities planned at many of the parks. There will also be Fee-Free Weekends in July and August.

TCBY and The Counter locations

This Friday June 19 participating Orange Julius is offering its new 20 oz. Light Smoothies free with a downloadable coupon, redeemable all day.

The new real fruit smoothies come in three flavors: Strawberry Delight (strawberries, banana and tropic fruit juice blend), Berry-Pom Twilight (raspberries, blackberries and pomegranate juice blend) and Tropical Sunlight (mango, pineapple and tropic fruit juice blend); all three are blended with ice, non-fat milk and sweetened with Splenda.

Download coupon here (PDF).

For other days, there is a $1.00 off coupon good through October 31, 2009 here.

Orange Julius – Free Light Smoothie
Friday June 19, 2009
Call for store hours and participation:

Oakridge Mall
San Jose, 95123
408-225-8019

Westgate Shopping Center
San Jose, 95129
408-379-5330

New Park Mall
Newark, 94560
510-505-9424

Capitola Mall
Capitola, 95010
831-465-1001

Southland Mall
Hayward, 94545
510-732-5727

It was so nice to get away for the weekend. My husband and I spent Saturday night at the Colusa Casino. He put $20 into a 25¢ slot machine and won $259.00. Paid for the room and then some! I did quite well myself. In Jack’s Lounge we enjoyed good food and the music of Bobby Chitwood.

Back home today to the same old, same old blah stuff like laundry. But then there is that free Hot Dog on a Stick at Valley Fair.

June 15th   5 – 8 PM

Dine Downtown is a restaurant food festival that will take place in San Jose from June 3 – 13.  This is your chance to sample incredible food at some great prices by ordering from a prix-fixe menu available at each restaurant.  When I looked at the list I was surprised at how many fantastic eating establishments we have in downtown San Jose; there are 26 separate places participating in Dine Downtown!  There should be no complaining about a lack of places to eat downtown these days, and Dine Downtown is a great way for these restaurants to introduce themselves.

There are $20, $30 and $40 prix-fixe menus, with several restaurants offering a choice.  Each menu offers an appetizer, a main course and dessert.  If you ever wanted to try one of the upscale eateries downtown this is a great time to do so at a great price.  The event begins June 3 with $3-or-less sampler plates at the City Bites Kick Off Sampler Event.

Visit the website to see a complete list of participating restaurants, with links to the prix-fixe menus for each.  Then choose a couple hot summer nights to give up cooking in your kitchen and come downtown for a great dinner.  You can even make your reservations online.  26 restaurants, eleven days – Don’t miss out on this culinary extravaganza!