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!

You know how you drive past a small restaurant a billion times and yet never go in, despite feeling rather curious about it? That’s basically how my boyfriend and I have been for the past year or so as we drive past Sushi Coast on 4th St. in San Jose. Well we finally decided to give it a try and I gotta say, it wasn’t that bad.

Now by no means am I a sushi expert and I’m not that daring to boot. We tried some the same kind of rolls we like at other places and they were all quite tasty.

• Dragon Roll (Shrimp, Crab, Eel & Avocado)
• California Roll
• Sunny California Roll (Deep-fried California Roll)
• Lion Queen Roll (Crab, Avocado, Broiled Jumbo Scallops)
• Shrimp Tempura Roll

The rolls are rather large and you get quite a few pieces (6-10 for the ones mentioned above) – we were quite stuffed and had to bring home a good portion of them. The service was great — but we went around 7 o’clock on a Tuesday and there were not a lot of customers. Decor was typical, however they had a slew of wooden boats I wanted to take a photo of but there were a few people in the way. Maybe next time!

We also checked reviews online, like the reviews at Yelp – 3.5 stars. My philosophy is if there are a considerable about of positive reviews it’s worth trying out for yourself.

Looking back at my old post here about sushi, a reader named Eric pointed out Sushi Coast in the comments! And it only took me almost two years to try the place out.. ah well!

Our busy take-out lifestyle has helped childhood obesity become epidemic, and I was shocked to hear the recent American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation that cholesterol-fighting drugs be given to some young children. Luckily, DooF (food spelled backwards) the new PBS program that is all about helping kids to make healthier food choices will begin airing in 2009.

DooF-a-Palooza 2008:
Help raise funds for DooF while having family fun – A DooF-a-Palooza admission ticket includes hands-on activities, games, food, music, free stuff, and a silent auction for the adults.

The place to be with the kids this Saturday: Purchase Tickets and Information

Google Headquarters
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View
Saturday, July 12, 2008
11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.