Taco Del Mar
5353 Almaden Expwy, H-50, San Jose, CA 95118
Great burritos, good value, wonderful attitude. Posan Yang is the manager and this guy always makes you feel happy you are doing business here. You get your ticket punched for every burrito you buy there. Ten punches is a free burrito! Double punches on Monday. Great stuff! This place is becoming a favorite of Susie and mine. My "new scale" rating [Link] 89.
Technorati Tags: restaurant review, San Jose, ssloansjca
Tony Soprano's (Revisited)
87 E. San Fernando St., San Jose, CA 95113
I previously reviewed this restaurant [Link]. Since then I have gone there and been twice disappointed. I met one of the co-owner's, Terry Thompson, and he is a really nice guy. Today, though, Thompson was nowhere to be found and the service stank. The food was not nearly as good as the first times.
Revised Rating
Tony Soprano's is one new place that showed a lot of promise. But, it is not living up to that promise. My "new scale" rating [Link] 64.
Technorati Tags: restaurant review, San Jose State University, San Jose, ssloansjca
Palo Alto Creamery
Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto, CA
Yesterday my wife, her mother Fran and our dear friend Diane went to this place and ordered tea, cake and ice cream. This was an order that demanded no cooking yet they waited, and waited and complained and waited more. Finally they had to go as the time for our friends babysitter had run out. They cancelled the order, paid for the tea and, according to my wife, as they were leaving the order came. According to my wife the waiter got indignant Poor Customer service abounds! My wife said the food looked good. If you decide to try this place be sure to bring a book, a long book. My "new scale" rating [Link] 10.
Technorati Tags: restaurant review, Palo Alto Creamery, Palo Alto, Stanford Shopping Center, Stanford, ssloansjca
Taz Vineyards 2003 Fiddlestix Vineyard Pinot Noir
This is a real fruit bomb, a very big Pinot! But, it does not blow up on the palatte, it holds together well. This is yummy. My "new scale" rating [Link] 92..
Winemakers Comments
In blending this 2003 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir, we pulled together fruit from Santa Maria Valley and the Santa Rita Hills-two very different sites with contrasting signatures. The Fiddlestix Vineyard in Santa Rita gives dark fruits and brooding flavors, a concentrated and rich expression of Pinot Noir. The North CanyonVineyard in Santa Maria Valley delivers more delicate accents, with soft, pretty cinnamon and strawberry notes. When blended, you get a blackberry burst in the wine with cola spice and juicy jammy berry notes supported by a balancing act of tannins and structure. The resulting wine has breadth and an evenness we strive for with this tricky variety. -Natasha Boffman, Winemaker
Harvested September 2-18, 2003 Harvest Brix: 24.4-25.8 pH: 3.52 TA: 0.64g/100ml Alcohol 14.5% 100% Pinot Noir Clonal Selection: 115, 113, 667, 777, Pommard 4, Pommard 5.
Other Comments
A rich, intense burst of black cherry and juicy blackberry in the nose and mouth, this fleshy, intensely flavorful Pinot Noir is at once both lively and smooth as silk on the palate. This is a powerfully complex Pinot Noir that shows great structure and texture in its youth, and reflects why the Santa Rita Hills are so special for Pinot Noir.
And...
Ripe red cherries, hints of raspberry jam and a wee bit of herbs are washed over by a considerable wave of very sweet, vanilla-tinged oak in the nose. Not surprisingly, oak figures prominently in this wine's expressive flavors as well, but there are loads of sweet cherries at work once again, and the two themes of fruit and spice meld nicely together. There is just enough tannin to notice, but no more than the wine needs for a couple of years of comfortable keeping.(Connoisseurs Guide to California Wines)
Technorati Tags: Wine Reviews, Steve Sloan, Taz Vineyards, ssloansjca
