Category: Dine Burlingame

  • City Sales Tax Leaders

    While we wait with bated breath for the Council vote to be finalized (probably next Tuesday, Nov. 12th), here are the Top 25 sales tax revenue generators in town (in alpha order) for Q2:

    Apple, Bayshore Shell (love their car wash!), Benihana (had a good meal there this year), Chevron, Color Copy, Elephant Bar, Fiat, Garratt Callahan, the Hyatt, Hyundai, Il Fornaio (always a good choice), Kern's, Marriott (had a great two day business meeting there last month), Mike Harvey Acura and Honda, Payless Car Rental, Putnam (x4 dealerships), Rector, Safeway, Technical Instrument, Walgreens and WW Grainger.

    Overall we were up 8.3% year-over-year in Q2 and Autos and Transportation continue to be the Golden Goose.

  • Il Piccolo Finally Makes Breakfast and Lunch

    Some of the you real locals know how much hassle Dave Armanino went through to open the space next to the original Il Piccolo.  As I understand it, the city's hands were pretty much tied by excessive regulation from the state.  If you are reading any real news (i.e. something other than the SF Comicle and SJ Mercury News), you know that Sac is basically anti-business at this point.

    Well, perseverance pays.  I saw this sign over the weekend that indicates breakfast and lunch will finally be served starting on Friday, Oct. 4th.  Kudos to Dave.  I hope we can continue our discussion about a locally-oriented wine happy hour once you get this phase running smoothly.  This isn't the best photo, but you get the point.

    Il Pic breakfast and lunch

  • Off the Grid Arrives

    Food trucks have been one of the hottest topics on the Voice in the past. This post about the Curry Up Now truck from 2009 had 92 comments.  I think the arrival of Off the Grid will be less controversial because of where it is.  The city announced

    Please note that Off
    the Grid is launching their weekly food event in Burlingame starting Thursday,
    September 26, from 5 to 9 pm at the Broadway Caltrain Station, Carmelita Ave.
    at California Drive.  This event will add to the diversity of food and
    dining options in Burlingame. The location is a CalTrain parking lot and did
    not require any approvals from the City. 

    So tomorrow kicks off a trend that has been growing for a couple of years now.  I may stop by just to see if this Blendid dessert truck that I spotted in front of the Post Office last weekend makes a return visit.

    Blendid dessert truck

    Update: From all appearances, OTG was a huge success on its first night in B'game.  Even with the Niners on Thursday night football, the place was packed from early on to well past 7pm when I got there.  Lots of locals were chowing down including some foodies I know, and including Ricardo Ortiz and Russ Cohen–no sight of the other 5 Council challengers, but we sort of expected that, right?  Two candidates are well connected with the community–the other 5–not so much.

    The KoJa Korean-Japanese fusion truck was doing a great biz.  I went with Peruvian wraps that were also good.  Here's a photo of the buzz

    Off the Grid1

  • Crawling the Ave.

    I'm not sure about the name "Dishcrawl" but I like the idea as described in this Daily Journal article

    Fans of food and good company can find both on the menu of a local venture bringing those core values to Burlingame next month.

    San Jose-based Dishcrawl has been running food adventures for three-and-a-half years throughout the Bay Area. On Sept. 11, it makes another stop on the Peninsula. (meaning in B'game)

    Each guest pays $45 for the two-and-a-half hour experience which lets them sample fare at multiple venues in a given area. Forty-eight hours prior to the event, attendees are informed of the first stop. Three restaurants follow, with the last including a dessert.

    It's sort of like the school fundraising events that go to a few houses for a "progressive meal".  Why not?  Especially now the Ave is a bit challenged for foot traffic.  The company site is here.

  • Beatles in B’game

    There were plenty of familiar faces out last night listening to "Nigel & Clive" doing their British Invasion – Beatles tribute in Parking Lot J next to the tot lot.  It was my first time seeing the band, but regulars were impressed with the new guitar player.  While it was not well-publicized (according to a bunch of people who stumbled on the show) and the drive-way next to the stage should probably have been shut down, a lot of fun was had by all.  The consensus was that if the music started a little later (than 6pm) this could be a really good draw for downtown–probably better than the free parking plan under consideration Monday night by the Council–for getting people into the stores and restaurants.  Here's the band and one fan who knew all the songs.

    Nigel and Clive2
    Dancer

  • Roti R.I.P.

    I would never have thought that our ever-changing dining scene would have meant the demise of Roti.  But here it is and they haven't had time to update their website yet!  I tried to go for lunch today and it is buttoned-up tight ;-(

    Roti closed

  • Burlingame Lion.

    Actually, it's lion meat on sale in Burlingame.

    http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/peninsula&id=9107970

  • Anson B’game’s Grandson Visits

    I was talking to a prominent realtor in town yesterday who mentioned that Anson Burlingame's grandson Anson III was here over the weekend to check on some property that the family still owns from the original land grant.  The realtor said Anson III was quite surprised by a number of things in town since he had not been here before.

    First, he was astounded that there was no statue of his grandfather Anson.  He figured with all the wealth that has gravitated to Burlingame someone would have seen fit to put up a nice statue.  He was pleased to see the Burlingame Ave. train station in such good shape and being used for such a good purpose as a historical museum.

    Anson III was also dismayed to see that after all his grandfather had done to build relations with China, the only Chinese restaurant on the Avenue was Panda Express!  He was hoping for something more upscale and refused to count Mingalaba or Narin–and rightfully so.  He was pleased to see all of the fine homes that had been built on his family's rancho, but worried that they were slightly overgrown for the modest lot sizes that his grandfather had advocated as being the basis of a strong community.  Other than those thoughts, Anson III was pleased with how the city looked and hopes to return soon.

    He provided this photo of his grandfather in case anyone was interested in working on a statue in his honor.

    Anson Burlingame repaired

  • What makes Burlingame Burlingame?

    SAMS 2009

    Rino.sml copy

    I think Burlingame's charm is what makes it so great. Sure, it's the quaint neighborhoods and the architecture and the trees, but it's the people that contribute the most to that charm. Some ofthose people are local businesspeople. Case in point are Rino Betti and June Williams. They own and run Sam's Italian Sandwiches, opened 41 years ago yesterday. But lately it's been rough going. Very rough. Many more new franchise competitors than ever before, the cost of capital improvements when they moved from their original location, the rise in the cost of goods and rent.

    They need help. Oh sure, you can stop in more often and grab the best sandwich this side of San Francisco, but they need more than that right now. Please consider logging onto www.savesams.com and hitting the donation button. Do it now and help save a Burlingame institution. Don't let another Mom and Pop disappear.

  • Making It at The Melt?

    I'm fascinated by the old Towle's location that went from the old time coffee shop-style restaurant to a very successful seafood place to a Burger Joint and now The Melt focused on grilled cheese.  I happened by on Thursday night around 8:15pm and it looked just like the Burger Joint used to look.  After weaving my way through a packed house at Mediterranean Kebob last night around 7:15pm, The Melt had all of one table with customers.  The dining competition on the Avenue isn't going to get any easier in the coming months as The Plant and Delfina arrive!

    Melt empty

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