Dishcrawl: Willow Glen

Posted by Lauren

Last night I went on another Dishcrawl adventure! I previously helped with the Mountain View and Saratoga food tours, and was totally excited when they asked me to help staff the Willow Glen event.

Click for more info!

First stop: Soulnese Food Truck
On Twitter, Facebook, and all over the Bay Area!

Starting the night off with a bang! Soulnese is one of the totally hip, gourmet foodtrucks hitting the South Bay food scene. You might have driven past them on the roads of San Jose, Cupertino, or Palo Alto. Well, next time you see them (or if you follow on Twitter), S-T-O-P. The brainchild of four friends, Soulnese boasts an “Asian Soul Food” menu. Dishcrawlers sampled the Soulnese Garlic Fries with Tender Pork Strips - secret garlic sauce blend with tender fried pork strips on top of crispy fries, VEGGIE [fried?] RICE!, and the Mac N Roll - special 8 cheese blend mac and cheese, in eggroll form! Totally hunt these guys down, their food was soulmazing.

Second stop: The Grapevine: Wine Cheese and Tasting Bar
1389 Lincoln Avenue,San Jose, 95125

After four years traipsing up and down Lincoln Avenue as a student at Presentation High School, I passed by this place probably 112 times, never giving it a second glance. Now that I’m older, not wearing a plaid school-girl skirt, and can legally drink, I can easily say that Dishcrawl did a very good thing introducing me to The Grapevine. We tasted two wines, my favorite being the Toolbox 2007 Chardonnay from the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley. I filled up my plate with a variety of cheeses and merrily chatted with other Dishcrawlers. That’s the fun part, am I right? The back patio is totally cute, they have board games available for wine-driven shenanigans, and their food menu looked pretty impressive. Bookmarked!

Third stop: John’s of Willow Glen, formerly known as John’s Xlnt Foods
1238 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, CA

Established in the late 70s, John’s of Willow Glen certainly knows how to make terrific Greek, Italian, and “American” fare. From breakfast to dinner, they have you covered! Meat eaters in the group had chicken skewers, a phyllo cheese pocket, dolmade (grape leaf stuffed with beef + rice), warm pita bread, and tzatziki sauce. I opted for the vegetarian plate - tons of warm pita bread, heaping serving of rice + feta + tomatoes + spinach, side of roasted potatoes. Yum!

Fourth stop: Jen’s Cakes
1053 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, 95125

Made to order cakes (and more!) … check out her website for the full “about” story. Um, the cream puffs? FRICKIN AMAZING. I’ve loved cream puffs ever since my first Costco one at a high school dance team bonding event freshman year. They totally stole the show.

Question: If you could “dishcrawl” anywhere, where would it be? Keep in mind you have to be able to walk everywhere!

Foreign country? Well, based off of reviews written by close friends, I will go with either Mykonos or Stockholm (check out their blogs!!)

United States? Austin comes to mind… the mysterious “Triangle” Jordan writes about, Fort Collins, Portland :)

-Lauren