Special: San Jose

San Jose, California's third largest city with nearly one million residents, is not exactly known as a food power. In fact, this gleaming city to the South is better associated as being San Francisco's younger brother, formed around one year after the iconic metropolis to the North took shape. Complete with a height limited skyline and a knack for the unimpressive, San Jose has nothing to gawk at on the surface aside from a perennial Stanley Cup disappointment. But underneath all those layers of excess mingling with poverty, a site seen in many South Bay neighborhoods, there is a budding and booming food scene unlike many on Earth. While I will not invest in San Jose as a food city of present, it has the potential to become one of the nations top stops for a bite to eat.

From the shining facade of the new San Pedro Square Market to the growing contingent of gourmet carts and trucks, this city is exploding; finally catching up to those so far ahead (S.F. and L.A., to name a few). New restaurants are popping up every day, and some already have the first hints of becoming world-renowned establishments. Pizza Bocca Lupo and Bibo's NY Pizza have bolstered the Italian side of the city, while Korean sensations Omogari and MoGo BBQ are sweeping up hundreds of new, returning customers.

Also, San Jose and Santa Clara have taken the food truck boom to heart, unleashing a flood of excellent eateries on wheels, many of which participate in the city's rallies. SJ Eats, Word on the StreEats, and Moveable Feast are just a few of the big-name festivals found here. Some of these rallies have between ten and thirty trucks serving cuisines from Vietnamese to Cajun fusion. Also, San Jose's first sushi truck, (yes, you read right) We Sushi, just hit the streets, adding an element of the Far East never before seen on South Bay asphalt.

They are few and far between, but there are some gems in this concrete jungle. From institutions such as Henry's World Famous H-Life and Original Joe's to newbies like We Sushi and Pizza Bocca Lupo, this city proves it has the range and quality to compete with the juggernauts of California cuisine. San Jose is coming into it's own, just much more slowly than some residents might like. But, really, it already is fairly unique. This place is one where all cultures can combine and mingle on our plates, and where else can you say that but the Bay Area?