Valley people develop an appetite for ethnic food

While it's not big news that Silicon Valley dwellers love to eat, what is newsworthy is that the food they love to eat is changing.

The local palate is becoming more cosmopolitan as the valley population becomes more ethnically diverse and well-traveled.

Italian, Chinese and Mexican remain the most popular ethnic cuisine in the valley (and the rest of the country), but most residents have added more Latin and Asian choices to their menus, particularly Japanese, Thai, Caribbean and Middle Eastern.

Hard numbers are difficult to come by, but an examination of area guidebooks and phone books shows a definite increase in variety.

The same is indicated with a perusal of menus from self-described American/Californian restaurants such as the California Cafe in Los Gatos and A.P. Stumps in San Jose, as well as the finest corporate cafes such as those at Adobe Systems Inc. in San Jose and Mountain View-based SGI.

Most of them regularly feature Thai, Mediterranean, Indian and Cajun dishes or cooking techniques in addition to Mexican, Chinese, Italian and Japanese.

Obviously, as more people from any given country move to the area, the need for restaurants supplying native cuisine increases.

Puerto Rican native Elizabeth Holmes still longs for "real food from my island. Habana-Cuba in San Jose is the closest to Puerto Rican food I can find, [whereas] when I lived in New York, there were at least three actual PR restaurants," she said.

Ms. Holmes disagrees with those who suggest all Latin American foods are similar.

"Mexican food tends to be hot and spicy, whereas Puerto Rican food uses much milder seasonings, like adobo," she said.

Apparently one shortcoming among the valley's increasingly diverse restaurants is too few Caribbean eateries.

"There's a significant Haitian population in the valley, and only one good Caribbean restaurant here," said San Jose resident George Theodule.

It could be worse. "There weren't any a few years ago," said Mr. Theodule, a sales associate for Bishop Toyota in Gilroy. "My wife Elza is an excellent cook, and people are always telling her she should open a restaurant."

That's exactly how San Jose's Red Sea Ethiopian restaurant and many others began--families opening a restaurant and cooking to fill a gap.

The National Restaurant Association predicts cuisine nationwide will become even more diverse in the next decade.

As more people travel abroad for business and sample other fare, they seek out those same flavors upon returning home.

"I've eaten some of the best food ever in Thailand, Korea and throughout Southeast Asia," said machinist Bob Hazleton, formerly of Los Gatos and presently residing and working in Thailand. "Now when I come home to the states, I look for places that offer lychee and kim chee on the menu."

Author/s: Michelle Crowe

The Business Journal
Issue: March 31, 2000

Michelle Crowe is a Campbell-based freelance writer.

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