Hobee's Restaurant in North San Jose
After our early morning bike ride on the levees at Alviso, I really fancied a bowl of oatmeal and Hobee’s is the best place for that. The nearest Hobee’s to Alviso on the way home is at River Oaks Parkway. This branch is a bit off the beaten track but it happens to be within walking distance of where I work.
As it is Mother’s Day, we were expecting a few people around but hoped Hobee’s at River Oaks would be less crowded. It was just after 9 when we pulled into the car park but already it was crowded. Tom did manage to find a parking spot where the bikes on the back of the car didn’t impede anybody.
Inside it was full but, as the wait was only 10 minutes, we decided to put our names down. We found a shady spot on a bench outside while we waited. It seemed we were called in no time at all.
Inside Mother’s Day helium balloons decorated the place. Over the cash registers by the entrance though, was a banner which said ‘Happy Birthday’. That might reference the fact that Hobee’s is celebrating 25 years of being in business. On the tables, a handwritten sign in the plant pot said ‘HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!’ While we were looking through the menu, I was presented with a huge chocolate covered strawberry, decorated with a swirl of whipped cream and served on a small plate. It was delicious. Tom asked where his was and was told to come back on Father’s Day.
The Hobee’s menu always has specials on the front cover. Today’s specials all make reference to mother in some way. Tom chose Mother’s Special Salmon Omie served with coffee cake instead of hash browns. I, of course, went for the oatmeal.
This is one of the better Hobee’s – not that I have been to all of them. There are nine altogether and I’ve only been to five. I like the way this one is set out. There are no booths or seats up at a counter, just pine tables and chairs. Apart from the seasonal Mother’s Day decorations, the normal decor is big, bright prints of fruits and vegetable on the walls.
Hobee’s oatmeal is self serve from a bar. What I really like about their oatmeal are the sides to go on top. Today I was spoilt for choice with seven bowls to pick from. Beside the brown sugar, there were raisins, shredded coconut, cranberries, flaked almonds, mixed nut nibbles and walnut halves You can also help yourself to a piece of muffin. Sometimes it is small pieces of their famous coffee cake on offer. And, of course, you can visit the bar as often as you like.
Those are the good points but today I have three gripes. The oatmeal was very runny (but it tasted fine); the piece of muffin I had was stale and there was no milk. I did ask for milk and was promised someone would bring me some to the table. It never arrived but it was OK because there was milk on the table for coffee so I just used that.
I was a bit disappointed when I visited the restroom to find only one, very small picture of a couple of plums, on the wall. The restroom was very clean though with hot water and piped music playing softly in the background. There could, of course, have been the same music in the restaurant but due to the volume of noise out there it was impossible to hear.
We both enjoyed our breakfasts and we will come back to Hobee’s again and again.
May 17 2009 | Breakfast Log | No Comments »
This is the nearest place for breakfast to our home and we used to come here a lot but haven’t been for some time. Today, as we are just running errands in the area, we decided to pay them a visit.
Pete’s is large and a real diner with numerous red upholstered booths with comfy seats in all sizes, some of them curved. There are a few tables at the back though. At the counter there are 11 stools. Every time we have been here in the past there used to be the same guy sitting at the counter in the same place and he was there again today. At first I didn’t think it was him because he looked different. It may have been the red checkered shirt he was wearing today which hid his trademark suspenders.
There is very little decoration here as such. Certainly no pictures or photos. On the wall behind the counter are newspaper articles but from where I sat in a booth next to the window I couldn’t see what they were about. There were a few pots of dried Thanksgiving type of flowers plus one large dried flower arrangement sporting a smiling scarecrow.
I noticed there was oatmeal on the menu. It was there before and I’d never had it because I thought it was instant. I questioned the server today but is was a painful experience. How do you ask the question? I tried – ‘Does it come out of a packet?’ ‘Yes’, she said but then I thought that of course oatmeal comes out of a packet whether it is instant or not. ‘Is it cooked in a pan?’ Yes, was the answer. Good, maybe it is the real thing. ‘Is it cooked in a large pan early in the morning and kept on a very low heat?’ ‘No, it is made to order’. Um… not so good. It sounds instant to me but I thought I would give it a try ($3.50). Tom ordered Joe’s Special ($9.25).
As the food was served very quickly, I knew it was the quick cooked variety. It came in a large dish on a plate. At least there was plenty of it. On a separate plate were the brown sugar and raisins in small plastic pots with lids (two point against) and the milk in a stainless steel jug which looked like a small teapot with its lid and long spout (one point for). The taste of the oatmeal, I must admit, was pretty good.
Tom enjoyed his scramble. One thing you can say about Pete’s is the portions are generous. He particularly likes the hot sauce here – Pepper Plant made in nearby Gilroy. In his opinion it is better than Tabasco, which he says has a metallic taste.
Another uninspiring rest room without a trace of decoration at all. There is an ornamental concrete urn in the lobby outside but it is empty apart from a few bits of trash. The restroom is functional but the white wall tiles, the chrome grab bars and the top of the toilet brush holder could do with a wipe over. On the plus side the room smelt nice and the water was hot.
Shall we come here again? Yes, it’s a cozy place, the food is good and it’s convenient.
November 28 2008 | Breakfast Log | No Comments »
What do you do on a wet weekend? Well to cheer yourself up, you go out for breakfast.
We wanted to try somewhere different without travelling very far so Tom did a search on ‘breakfast in San Jose’ and our zip code. Southern Kitchen came up and it’s pretty close. We’d passed it many times on Monterey Highway but had dismissed it as a bit of a shack. A quick check on Yelp to see if there were any reviews and we were so surprised. Lots of rave reviews, so this place we must visit.
It was 9:30 when we set out on this rainy morning. The car park at the back was nearly full. That is a good sign to start with but also meant we would probably have a wait – the reviewers had warned as much. We were lucky though and were seated straight away, even though the place was packed.
It’s not very big but its well set out with 9 two seater booths, 8 four seater booths, two larger booths, several tables and chairs and 8 places at the counter.
We were shown to a two seater booth at the side, right under a hatch through to the kitchen. We could hear them working in the kitchen but it was a cheerful background sound. There was music playing but it was lost in the general hum of conversation around us.
The menu choice is vast and exciting. Now I usually have oatmeal but today my eyes strayed to the rest of the menu and was tempted. I succumbed to that temptation – afterall it was nearly 10 now so it was more of a brunch than a breakfast. Our friendly server took the order – Country Benedict for Tom (country sausage on top of English muffins, two poached eggs, topped with hollandaise sauce) at $8.95 and California Scramble for me (eggs, broccoli, mushrooms, Jack & Cheddar cheese, topped with hollandaise sauce) at $8.95. We both had hash browns (extra crispy for Tom) and I had wheat toast as well.
Time to look around at the decor. There was the usual amount of paintings, mostly of views and flowers. Other assorted objects were hung on the walls including a collection of old tools and bizarrely a thick white rope round the ceiling line.
The food arrived 15 minutes after placing our order. The portions were big and they were steaming hot. Tom nearly cleared his plate but I struggled to get through two thirds of mine. Take my word for it, the food is good and the hash browns were just as Tom liked.
The restroom though could only be described as grubby but functional, apart from the fact that the toilet paper had almost run out and there were no new supplies in sight. One good point in its favor is the water was nice and hot. Some decoration on the wall would have cheered the place up a bit.
We have found a new place to go for breakfast and we will certainly be back here again.
January 27 2008 | Breakfast Log | No Comments »
