Rose Garden Resident

Cover Story

Photograph by Vicki Thompson

Floral Appeal: The new owners of Las Cazuelas on Race Street have introduced flower gelatin bowls to the menu. This unique desert encloses cream flowers in a gelatin mold. The process, which is kept secret, takes about 15 minutes to inject each flower into the gelatin.

Race Street evolves into mini 'restaurant row'

Mexican, Cuban, fish make eclectic menu

By Mary Gottschalk

Within a short stroll of each other along Race Street are restaurants offering zarzuela de mariscos, barbecued swordfish and chile relleños.

While it's certainly not a traditional restaurant row, Race Street boasts an unusual mix of established eateries that have drawn diners from throughout Silicon Valley for many years.

Race Street Seafood Kitchen is one of the oldest, opening in 1969 as an adjunct to the venerable Race Street Fish & Poultry Market, established in 1947.

Initially it was called Mr. Chef's Fish and Chix, says Jim Riparbelli, president of Race Street Seafood Kitchen.

"Because we were in the same building as Race Street, they never called us Mr. Chef's. We were always Race Street, so we dropped Mr. Chef and expanded it to say Race Street Seafood Kitchen," Riparbelli says.

"At first it was fish and chips and fried chicken," he says. "Even though our chicken was very good, people never associated us with fried chicken. When they came in, all they wanted was seafood. Our sales were 90 percent seafood and 10 percent chicken.

"Now it's pretty much all seafood, although we do have a barbecued chicken breast sandwich and fried chicken tenders."

Riparbelli says the barbecued salmon is the No. 1 item.

"We barbecue over mesquite," Riparbelli says. "We started seven or eight years ago, and it's caught on well. A lot of people don't want to eat fried or they want variety. We offer tuna, swordfish, prawns, scallops, halibut, trout and catfish."

In terms of ambiance, Riparbelli doesn't mince words--"It's fast food. You have to place your order, pick it up and bring it to your table. You'll be disappointed if you expect table service."

Still, about 60 percent of the patrons at lunch and dinner do eat there, Riparbelli says.

Habana Cuba

On the opposite side of the street is Habana Cuba.

Owner Jennifer Cannella Echeverri says she bought the restaurant five years ago from founders Ciro and Edenia Calvo, who opened it in 1994.

Echeverri describes her cuisine as "Cuban with a Spanish influence, but it's not spicy."

The most popular menu items, she says, are the lechon a la Cubana--slow roasted pork; paella a la Valenciana--Cuban-style paella; and its signature zarzuela de mariscos--prawns, lobster, Chilean sea bass, clams and crab.

The menu includes seafood, chicken, pork, meat and vegetarian dishes.

The latest addition is fresh Cuban bread.

"I finally found a bakery to make it for us," says a pleased Echeverri, who has been searching for a source for some time.

"That means all of our sandwiches will be made with fresh Cuban bread," she says. "With dinner, complimentary Cuban bread will be served with our ajo, which is garlic and olive oil."

Echeverri's menu includes sodas imported from Colombia, Brazil, Cuba and Portugal as well as an extensive wine list of wines from Argentine, Chile, Spain and California.

Wine is a passion with Echeverri, who says her personal favorite is a cabernet sauvignon from Echeverria, Chile.

"It's very smooth and rich," she says. "I would like to introduce more Spanish wines to those who are unfamiliar with grapes such as carmenere, malbecs and riojas."

To accomplish this, Echeverri is opening a wine bar in the space adjacent to Habana Cuba, which had been a taqueria.

She's set Valentine's Day for the grand opening. In addition to the wines, there will be Cuban tapas for snacking, along with beer and mojitos.

"We don't have a waiting area for the restaurant, so the wine bar will also function as a waiting area," she says.

The wine bar seats 120, and this summer she plans to expand outdoors, adding another 40 seats.

For those unfamiliar with Habana Cuba, Echeverri says, "We're a family-oriented restaurant. We have a lot of regulars and locals and some out-of-towners. It's very festive, and we have live music on Friday nights. We're very personable and friendly. We try to make people feel like they're at home."

Las Cazuelas

Down Race Street, closer to The Alameda, is Las Cazuelas.

Longtime Silicon Valley residents and San Jose State University alumni remember it from its days on Second Street in downtown San Jose. That location closed after a 1991 fire.

Jose Velasco, who worked at the original Las Cazuelas many years ago, bought the offshoot at 55 Race St. two years ago.

Ongoing health problems caused Velasco to sell the restaurant in 2006 to Jamie Armas.

Since taking over at the end of November, Armas says he has found the most popular dishes to be chile relleños, fajitas and enchiladas.

Very popular, he says, are the five new seafood dishes he's added, including fajitas de camaron--a shrimp fajita.

Flower gelatin bowls are his latest creations.

They are molded gelatin creations with an edible "flower" sitting atop a layer of vanilla and enclosed in clear gelatin. The taste is sweet with a consistency similar to Jell-O.

The process is a secret he says, with each dish handmade and taking from 10 to 15 minutes to create. The flowers can be made in any color,and the finished bowls are $3.

It's proving popular, he says, selling up to 40 a day. Some customers order 10 to 20 at a time to serve at home.

Armas says he's got a lot of respect for Las Cazuelas' history.

"The restaurant has been in San Jose for more than 40 years. I like the food," he says, adding that he and his wife Graciela live nearby.

Armas plans to make two changes in the near future.

He wants to add a front patio with seating where area residents out walking their dogs can stop for a cup of coffee and breakfast.

Armas says dogs are already allowed in the large side patio, but he believes seating in front would be more appealing to walkers.

Additionally, he's thinking of opening up at 6 a.m. to attract commuters. He already has several breakfast items on the menu.

"There's a lot of traffic, and there's nothing for breakfast in the early morning on Race Street between The Alameda and San Carlos," he says.

Fernando Rodriguez, who works across the street at Health Connections, is a long-time patron of Las Cazuelas, stopping in once or more each week for coffee and a burrito.

"Customer service here is always good; they make you feel welcome," Rodriguez says.

Mexico Lindo

At the corner of Race Street and The Alameda sits Mexico Lindo, but many remember when the restaurant was called Angelo's.

Founder Angelo Lygizo opened his namesake eatery sometime in the 1950s. It was known for a menu of Greek, Italian and American food featuring steaks, veal, lamb and seafood.

Around 1993, he decided to remodel the restaurant and changed its name to the Arena Café Bar & Grill to capitalize on the opening of what is now the HP Pavilion.

Sometime in the late 1990s, the restaurant changed its name, menu and ownership.

Now Mexico Lindo, it is known for Mexican food, margaritas and karaoke.

Race Street Seafood Kitchen, 247 Race St., 408.287.6280. Open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays, closed Sundays.

Habana Cuba Restaurant, 238 Race St., 408.998.CUBA (2822). Open 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 5 to 9 p.m. Thursdays; 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays; 4 to 10 p.m. Saturdays; 4 to 9 p.m. Sundays; closed Mondays.

Las Cazuelas Restaurant, 56 Race St., 408.293.0115. Open 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Mexico Lindo, 11 Race St., 408.295.7765. Open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.