Sunday, February 13, 2011

Sundays in My City - Lunch at San Pedro Square Bistro and Wine Bar, San Jose, CA - February 13, 2011

Actually, I had lunch at the San Pedro Square Bistro and Wine Bar in San Jose
 this past Thursday.  My oldest son, Shawn, has worked for the professional tennis
tournaments in the Bay area for well over ten years, initially as a volunteer driver
for the players, gradully assuming more duties and, occasionally, geting paid. 
It's no secret that he prefers the ladies' tournaments but, for this past two weeks, he's
been working at the SAP Open, even taking his precious leave time from the Air
Force to do so.  This is a men's tournament.

At any rate, Shawn has never been known for doing things in a hurry.  He was 34 before
he finally got his electrical engineering degree from San Jose State.  I'll concede that
Air Force active duty did interfere for several years but he is a bit of a tortoise!  For
years, he had been telling me I should meet several women involved in volunteering
for the tennis program - "you'd really like them, Mom" - but he never did anything to
facilitate that.  One of these volunteers, a wonderful Dutch lady, who had resided
about 20 miles south of me the whole time I've lived in the Bay area, just moved to
North Carolina last year to be closer to her daugher and grandchildren.  She was back
in town this week to see friends and to volunteer for some shifts at the tennis tournament
"Better late than never," Shawn decided, and we finally had lunch.  Annelies was
absolutely wondrful - my kind of person - and I would so much have enjoyed ten years
of knowing her!

I drove the fifty miles to San Jose and we met at a restaurant, the San Pedro Bistro and
Wine Bar, a trendy spot that has been getting rave reviews.  It was so convenient, right
off  the freeway for me and a couple of minutes from the HP Pavilion where the tennis
tournament was taking place.  As soon as I got out of my van, I could smell wonderful
aromas of garlic and cooking which were most enticing.  Even though it was noon, on a
Thursday, it wasn't too crowded and, since the day was chilly, we opted not to enjoy
the outside seating.

Their menu was wonderful, very diverse, with the most expensive item about ten dollars.
The wine selection was excellent, with both domestic and international selections, many
of them by the glass, some reasonably priced at $7.   I only had one glass since I had an
hour's drive home and Annelies and Shawn only had water!  I had filet mignon cubes with
garlic fries and watercress salad - superb.  Shawn's 8 ounce Angus burger was so huge,
I was afraid he would dislocate his jaw trying to eat it.  He devoured it.  Annelies had
a wonderful seared ahi tuna salad which I tried and found delicious.

I really couldn't take pictures of the restaurant inside without violating people's
privacy.  I'll definitely be going back.  I just wish they had a branch in San Francisco!


I'm enjoying my wonderful Argentinian malbec while they drink water!


Watercress salad, scrumptious filet mignon steak cubes and the best
garlic fries I'e ever eaten


Annelies Geelen and me - instant friends!


Shawn's 8 ounce Angus burger


He could hardly close his mouth after eating this!


Annelies had this delicious seared ahi salad


I don't know why this is out of focus - I only had one glass of wine!

I am taking part in Sundays in My City!
Check out the site and join in the fun!


5 comments:

  1. Dear Carmen: This is precious! I'd love to chow down in Chinatown! Hey this place Rocks! Nice compnay too!

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  2. Looks like another great outing. That's some pile of comestibles.

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  3. You have a wonderful son who thinks so much for you. Lucky to have a son,like yours and mine. He lives with wife and my two grandsons in San Ramon. I am in Mysore, India, planning to move to Chennai. Wonder if you have ever been to our part of the world. I have occasion to visit yours, and my grandsons, once every other year.

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  4. Anonymous8:16 AM

    What a great day! You're making me hungry for a good lunch out :-)

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  5. I wonder if I have a nice glass of wine, if the last picture will come into focus for me? Good excuse for a glass of wine, I say.

    ReplyDelete