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!

I am passionate about my film collection. I love them all, from ‘Bad Day at Black Rock‘ to ‘Harold and Maude‘, from ‘The Vanishing‘ to ‘The Last of Shelia‘, from ‘Tampopo‘ to ‘A Certain Smile’, and even my precious copy of the 1950 TV cartoon, ‘Crusader Rabbit‘.

‘Play Time’ (1967) is not yet in my collection, though I have been advised that the 70 mm version is best viewed big screen in the cinema. Thanks to Team San Jose and the Stanford Theater Foundation, ‘Play Time’, is showing in San Jose tonight.

See you there!
The California Theatre
345 South First Street, downtown San Jose.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
7:00 PM
Tickets: $5 (at the door only)

Rotten Tomatoes

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

Back in January of 2008 I put up a post on a then new consignment shop called Tozeero located at 1040 Park Ave. Now there is a new kid on the block. Joanne Perez has opened a cool shop of her own called Time Zone Vintage just across the street at 1045 Park Ave.

Perez has put together a vendor block sale featuring vintage collectibles.

Saturday, June 27th
10 AM to 3 PM
1045 and 1040 Park Ave.

I.O.U.S.A. Poster

On Monday evening, District 6 councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio is presenting a movie screening in the San Jose City Council chambers. The film, I.O.U.S.A., is a documentary meant to explain the US national debt, and what it means to future generations. The film has received favorable reviews from, for example, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times.

I.O.U.S.A. was produced by a nonpartisan organization called the Concord Coalition, which advocates fiscal discipline in government. It was founded by a democratic and a republican senator in 1992, and its board of directors includes former Secretary of Treasury Robert Rubin, and former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Paul Volcker.

When: Monday, May 4, 7:00 – 9:00 pm.

Where: City council chambers, 200 E. Santa Clara St.

Cost: Free, R.S.V.P. requested to pierluigi.oliverio@sanjoseca.gov

…if you live in San Jose, that is. As reported by various local news agencies, the state Department of Finance just released a new official estimate (PDF) placing the population of San Jose at 1,006,892, as of January 1.

Explore and learn more about California’s environment, history, art and people at The Oakland Museum of California free second Sundays.

The museum has permanent Art, History, and Natural Sciences Galleries along with special exhibits. Note that the Art and History Galleries are currently under renovation and will reopen in 2010.

Currently through August 23 is the exhibition Future of Sequoias: Sustaining Parklands in the 21st Century featuring photographs by Jeff Jones and prose by retired National Park Interpretative Ranger William C. Tweed. The exhibition includes 40 color prints by Mr. Jones.

The museum is open for the free second Sundays 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

April 12, 2009
May 10, 2009
June 14, 2009
July 12, 2009
August 9, 2009

Oakland Museum of California
1000 Oak Street
Oakland, 94607

Directions & Parking here.

510-238-2200

Special free second Sunday events -

April 12, June 14, and August 9
1:00 pm

Tour of the Building and Gardens: Members of the museum’s Council on Architecture lead tours of the building and grounds, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Kevin Roche and renowned landscape architect Dan Kiley. Meet by the Admissions Desk on the second level.

May 10
1:00 pm

Meet the Museum: Join a docent for an inside look at the museum’s past, present, and exciting future.

June 14
2:00 pm

The African Presence in Mexico: Join a museum docent and learn more about the exhibition.

July 12
1:00 pm

Meet the Museum: Join a docent for an inside look at the museum’s past, present, and exciting future.

July 12
2:00 pm

Join Curator of Art Karen Tsujimoto in a tour of the exhibition Squeak Carnwath: Painting Is No Ordinary Object.

Check out The Tech Museum of Innovation’s Free Second Sundays here.

San Jose Metblogs has been hanging out on Twitter for some time and thought it about time we mention that. We would be honored if you stopped by and clicked Follow.

Twitter (Typing What I’m Thinking To Everyone Reading) enables you to send short messages, up to 140 characters to your friends or “followers.” Twitter is designed to work on a mobile phone as well as on a computer. It is a free service; however, you may incur charges from your wireless service.

Along with following us on Twitter you will also find us on FriendFeed, Identi.ca, and of course, Facebook.