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Editor's Short List Best Car Detailing AJ's Car Detailing 702 Coleman Ave., San Jose 408.947.1111 A fast, friendly, capable and well-priced operation that keeps cars looking spiffy. Best Celebrity Chef Experience Wolfgang Puck's theme dinners at Spago Palo Alto 265 Lytton Ave., Palo Alto 650.833.1000. Seeing the master spot a missed course and whip up an impromptu appetizer, then run to the silverware caddy himself is worth the $75 price of admission. Themed décor and an innovative menu take these quarterly affairs over the top. Best Downtown Sandwich Shop Café Nono's 1 N First St., San Jose 408.288.6744 Spicy Middle East meets American classics. If only the world mixed it up this well. Served with San Jose-roasted Vigal Coffee. Best East Coast-Style Bagels Izzy's Bagels 477 California Ave., Palo Alto 650.329.0700 So good it put Noah's down the street out of business. And unlike Noah's, it remains kosher. Skip the espresso drinks, though. Best East Coast-Style Pizza Pizza My Heart 9 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos 408.395.8834 1396 Lincoln Ave., San Jose 408.279.4441 Thrown in the air the right way, the soft, thin crust demands that slices be folded to keep the ingredients from sliding off, which warms this Jersey boy's heart. Best Landscape Designer Cevan Forristt San Jose 408.297.8538 Zen Garden meets Indiana Jones. Sunset magazine award winner Cevan Forristt's creations turn backyards into works of art and fantasy escapes, incorporating innovative layouts with unusual materials, from rare bamboos to architectural salvage, granite chunks, broken pottery and shiny, colored high tech materials. This week's cover was shot at his house. Best Late Night Bites Asia Garden 304 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose 408.279.8764 Frankie Johnnie & Luigi Too 939 W El Camino Real, Mountain View 650.967.5384 In a valley where they roll up the sidewalks at 9:30 or 10pm, these places save the day (or night, actually) after an extra long day at the office, or during an evening on the town. Best Mojito La Bodeguita del Medio 463 California Ave., Palo Alto 650.326.7762 With a touch of bitters and a spear of crushed mint, this Cuban classic and recent Bay Area rival to the trendy Cosmopolitan goes down clean and easy. Best New Restaurant Spivacs 5635 Silver Creek Valley Road, San Jose 408.528.1203 Ensconced in an LA-style, palm-adorned Silver Creek shopping center is one of the area's great fine dining experiences, featuring a phenomenal wine list. Best New Fish Restaurant Hawg's Seafood Bar 150 S. Second St., San Jose 408.287.9955 Strong on basics, Hawg's selects and cooks its fish expertly, and serves it in time to make curtain at the Repertory Theater next door. Best Classic Fish Restaurant Steamers Grillhouse 31 University Ave., Los Gatos 408.395.2722 For more than two decades and now in its third incarnation, family-owned Steamers has consistently served great seafood to a loyal clientele. Avoid the bar on Thursdays... Best Place to Get Stoned U Save Rockery 589 E Gish Rd. San Jose 408.379.7770 When the landscape calls for fieldstone or flagstone or Mexican river rocks, U-Save pretty much has it all. Impress friends by hoisting a boulder of volcanic featherweight rock overhead. Best Reincarnated Restaurant Stratta 71 E. San Fernando St., San Jose 408 293-1121 With an upgraded bar and new menu, this pre-theater and business lunchspot has caught its second wind under new ownership. Best Rocks Star Evergreen Supply 2984 Monterey Hwy., San Jose 408.225.3224 Haul home a rented trailer of concrete for patios or fence posts or fill up a pickup bed with sand and paving stones for a new driveway. For serious gardening and building projects, it's a building supply yard at its gritty finest. Best Snakes and Reptiles Reptile Ranch 2628 Union Ave., San Jose 408.371.1570. We checked it out after the photo session for this issue's cover and found everything from Hogg Island boas and Burmese pythons to zebra geckos and chameleons, not to mention a very ugly bullfrog. Very cool. Best Wine Bar Wine Galleria 371 S. First St., San Jose 408.298.1386 Located in between Café Matisse and d.p. fong gallery, this arty SoFA district conversation spot fills glasses with a hearty selection of some mighty tasty vino. Best of Silicon Valley 2001 Table of Contents [ Silicon Valley | Metroactive Home | Archives ]