East Bay/San Jose
Travelled up to the bay area to catch a college football game. Being on a roadtrip, I opted to drive as long as possible on Interstate 5 and checked into the Hampton Inn Livermore. The location off the 580 and being reasonably priced made this Hampton an ideal location for such a short trip. The rooms were spacious and the parking was plentiful. The hotel is maintained well and the continental breakfast was your typical Hampton breakfast selection.
After spending the day in Berkeley, had dinner at The Front Porch. Featured on Diners, Dives, & Drive Ins, I tried out the restaurant's offerings. I enjoyed the jalapeno bacon deviled eggs with my shrimp and grits entrée. I was not a fan of the biscuits or mac n cheese. The other entrees, fried chicken and burger, were ok but not worth the price. I've had better fried chicken especially for $18. I assume that San Franciscans don't really know true southern food if the raves on Yelp is any indication.
With Mitchell's Ice Cream across the street, I opted to bow out of the dessert offerings at the restaurant. Another popular creamery in SF, I wanted to see if I would find it appealing. I enjoyed my two scoops of vanilla custard and spumoni. It was a tasty treat but nothing I would go out of my way for if I was in SF.
Afterwards, checked into the Hilton Santa Clara. I haven't been in Santa Clara since last year and forget how large rooms can be in the area. The Hilton is located next to a theme park as well as major corporate tech companies. I was given a handicapped room but it didn't feel very different except the bathroom was bigger than I'm used to seeing. The Executive Lounge was also nicely laid out for a US location. I didn't have any evening drinks but I did like that there was a coffee machine and a fridge of drinks available. There were even some snacks (granola bars and such). It also helped that the hotel doesn't charge for parking which is a hit and miss in the San Jose area.
Hit the road the next day after getting some breakfast in the executive lounge. The breakfast selection was good for a continental breakfast. On the way out of San Jose, made a pit stop at Sweet Cup. There is a large Vietnamese community in San Jose and I wanted to try out the dessert options. Most of the offerings are a fusion of contemporary Asian tastes and Filipino products with options like halo halo and bibingkas. It was good but it doesn't beat my favorite Thach Che Hien Khanh in Westminster, California.
Around the midpoint of the trip, stopped in at Madonna Inn. I was told that the bakery in the Inn was popular with the locals. Although the hostess was not very pleasant, I did order a slice of champagne cake and black forest cake to go. Unlike most American bakeries, the cakes were spongelike and the frosting had a whipped texture. In many ways, it reminded me of Asian bakery style cakes. I liked it but not enough to stop if I was driving past. For $8, the cake slice was fairly large - think of the Claimjumper motherlode chocolate cake size.
After getting cake, grabbed lunch at Rancho Nipomo BBQ. The Santa Maria fries are insane and totally addicting. The baby back ribs (wet) were tender and juicy. Not too saucy nor sweet, just right. The pulled pork sandwich was ok but others liked it. The tri tip sandwich was also good. Overall an excellent meal in this hidden gem.
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| Hampton Inn Livermore |
With Mitchell's Ice Cream across the street, I opted to bow out of the dessert offerings at the restaurant. Another popular creamery in SF, I wanted to see if I would find it appealing. I enjoyed my two scoops of vanilla custard and spumoni. It was a tasty treat but nothing I would go out of my way for if I was in SF.
Afterwards, checked into the Hilton Santa Clara. I haven't been in Santa Clara since last year and forget how large rooms can be in the area. The Hilton is located next to a theme park as well as major corporate tech companies. I was given a handicapped room but it didn't feel very different except the bathroom was bigger than I'm used to seeing. The Executive Lounge was also nicely laid out for a US location. I didn't have any evening drinks but I did like that there was a coffee machine and a fridge of drinks available. There were even some snacks (granola bars and such). It also helped that the hotel doesn't charge for parking which is a hit and miss in the San Jose area.
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| Hilton Santa Clara |
Around the midpoint of the trip, stopped in at Madonna Inn. I was told that the bakery in the Inn was popular with the locals. Although the hostess was not very pleasant, I did order a slice of champagne cake and black forest cake to go. Unlike most American bakeries, the cakes were spongelike and the frosting had a whipped texture. In many ways, it reminded me of Asian bakery style cakes. I liked it but not enough to stop if I was driving past. For $8, the cake slice was fairly large - think of the Claimjumper motherlode chocolate cake size.
After getting cake, grabbed lunch at Rancho Nipomo BBQ. The Santa Maria fries are insane and totally addicting. The baby back ribs (wet) were tender and juicy. Not too saucy nor sweet, just right. The pulled pork sandwich was ok but others liked it. The tri tip sandwich was also good. Overall an excellent meal in this hidden gem.
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