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Author: Seth

Domenico adds Osteria

Domenico adds Osteria

Domenico Winery, the O.G. of San Carlos wineries (having been around for two decades), just opened The Osteria in its newly renovated tasting room. The room is a beautiful space and is now a destination for both wine tasting and Italian food. Domenico had already established itself as both a first class winery and a favorite party/event venue in the Bay Area. The Osteria menu includes cicchetti (small dishes), salads, pizzas, panini, cheese and meat plates, and dessert selections. Having…

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City of Good Eating with the Dog

City of Good Eating with the Dog

It’s amazing to note that over half of San Carlos’ eating and drinking establishments have an outdoor area where one can bring the dog (there are also a few wineries where dogs are welcome inside). As San Carlos is a very dog friendly town and walking down Laurel Street with the pooch is a basically a city ritual, it’s natural that most restaurants will welcome diners bringing their four-legged friends. Of course, a good experience with your dog depends on…

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San Carlos Wine Trail

San Carlos Wine Trail

For a while now, San Carlans were able to brag that for a town of only 30,000 residents, it boasted both a brewery (Devil’s Canyon) and a winery (Domenico), both of which are excellent. Well, success breeds success, and now the City of Good Living (and Eating) is the home of no less than three breweries and five wineries. So, although a trip to California’s wine country is always fun, one can avoid the 75 mile drive and follow the…

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Getting Your Spice On

Getting Your Spice On

Although we still miss Vic’s, it’s remarkable to note that its successor at 1125 San Carlos Avenue, Red Hot Chilli Pepper, has become a mainstay of downtown with an almost decade tenure in the City of Good Eating. As its name implies, this restaurant is all about the spice, with a large menu with decent prices all served in a good sized space. The restaurant describes itself as “Indo-Chinese” or “Indo-Asian,” which are culinarily vague terms. Historically and politically, “Indochina”…

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Putting its Stamp on San Carlos

Putting its Stamp on San Carlos

The newest entry on Laurel Street, Stamp Bar & Grill, only opened a few weeks ago, but it is has had a strong start judging by the fairly consistent crowds both inside and outside (and, at least as of this writing, has gotten some good buzz on Yelp). In a city filled with its share of Italian, Mexican, Mediterranean, Japanese, and all other kinds of cuisine, Stamp is clearly looking for a different niche. It’s hard to categorize the cuisine…

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Gracie’s Closing 6/22

Gracie’s Closing 6/22

Gracie’s Delectables, a small but well-regarded corner deli and catering spot, has a sign in its window saying that it will closing on June 22. It was one of the little secret gems in the city that many didn’t even know existed (on the southwest corner of Laurel and Arroyo) even though it been there for over a decade. Many San Carlans raved about their roasted turkey sandwiches with fresh sliced turkey. No word on why they are closing or…

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Chola replaces Dosachaat

Chola replaces Dosachaat

The location at 601 Old County Road (right behind the San Carlos train station) has seen a bit of turnover of late. By our count, we now have the fourth restaurant in about as many years (and three just in this past year). This time, the newcomer is Chola Chettinad, a Southern Indian restaurant which replaces another Indian restaurant, Dosachaat Cafe (which, in turn, had replaced Kamaksi’s Kitchen less than a year ago). Chola Chettinad is a Southern Indian spot that…

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Stamp and Nick to 700 Block

Stamp and Nick to 700 Block

Laurel Street strollers will have seen two new “coming soon” signs along the 700 block of Laurel Street. The former Asya site at 773 Laurel finally has a definitive sign in the window announcing that the Stamp Bay & Grill is coming soon. It doesn’t appear to be a chain, so more information is needed on what kind of cuisine it will serve — will it be more like a Sneakers or Maverick Jack’s, or more like a Cask or…

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CLOSED – Asya

CLOSED – Asya

As many may have seen, Asya (773 Laurel Street) has closed. Brown packing paper has covered the windows. The only clue as to what happened was a change of ownership notification in the window (which is no longer there) which implied that the new ownership was opening either a wine bar or gastropub (not that San Carlos doesn’t have enough places to drink!) Although we only ate at Asya twice, I must admit I wasn’t a big fan of the…

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Noelani’s Island Grill

Noelani’s Island Grill

Aloha! Not many small towns have a Hawaiian restaurant, but it’s just par for the course in San Carlos. This instantiation of our cuisine diversity is Noelani’s Island Grill, located on Laurel Street just north of Brittan Avenue. Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday-Saturday as well as Sunday brunch, Noelani’s is a trip to the islands with great tasting food in a casual, fun atmosphere. The restaurant has a few distinct spaces — an outside lounge area (with a few tables)…

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