San Pedro Square Market

One my favorite places to go in San Jose is the San Pedro Square Market. I have been coming here since it first opened, in fact I was at the soft opening and the official opening. I have watched it grow and absolutely love what it has become. 

Several evenings there is entertainment, you can find the large chalkboard in the Perazzo building along one side of the market, there are tables, chairs and booths set up and this is where the musicians will be found. 

Sama Zama has a very good Caesar salad, nice crunchy whole romaine leaves with a very light dressing and big, thick anchovies! They will leave them off for those who don't care for them, but then why, oh why would you order a Caesar salad? 

I'm in the Perazzo Building enjoying my wonderful salad. What makes this so great is you can get food at any of the restaurants, or a bottle or glass of wine from the Vino Vino wine bar and bring it to any table! There is even a cocktail waitress wandering around for those who want to imbibe! 

Our all time favorite is Little Chef Counter. Usually David and I just sit at the small counter, and when they have french fries cooked in duck fat we always get an order. If you see that they are serving steak frites, don't miss it! 

Tonight we stopped by Vino Vino and picked up a bottle of Windy Oaks Winery Pinot Noir, then wandered outside between the buildings. The market is comprised of three distinct buildings, be sure to wander among them to discover everything! 


The lights and heaters were on, and big screen TV's right there for those who HAD to watch football!

We decided to try a new restaurant, called Phonomenal Noodle house, located in the Lusardi building. 

The fellow at the counter was very friendly, we chatted about the wine and he snapped a picture so he could buy some later. He recommended our two dishes, Shaking beef with red rice for me and Oxtail Pho for David. We paid and had a seat at one of the tables in the center. That's what makes the market so wonderful, we can wander and pick and choose from different restaurants, they are all neighbors and share tables, there are no boundaries. It becomes almost like a party, you wander where you want and enjoy it for a while, then move along to another location. 

They delivered our food to the table, the service was casual and friendly. My beef was wonderful, the flavor was amazing! The beef was very tender and the spice just perfect. I had to hold off from eating all of it so David could have some.

I am happy! Beef is one of my favorites, and to find beef that is extremely tender, while still having flavor is a treat. It was Filet Mignon.....

David said his Pho was perfect! He had just driven Cooper back up to school at Chico and had eaten a lot of heavy foods in the last two days. The Pho was comforting, and the flavors complex. The broth was delicate yet packed full of intense flavors, there were three large oxtails and plenty of fresh bean sprouts, basil and jalapeño to add in.

As we always do, we stopped at Pizza Bocca Luppo and picked up a pizza Margherita to go. Whether you decide to have a pizza here, or one to go, don't miss it!

You can park in the city parking garage across the street, and then have your parking validated, where else in San Jose can you do that! 

When summer comes the tables outside are great for sitting and people watching, and listening to music and enjoying the wonderful flavors of the restaurants. 

I was given $50 to spend at San Pedro Square Market. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

A Fit Population

Looks like I live in a very fit area! The Atlantic Journal ranked San Jose as the most healthy metropolitan area in the nation.

San Jose has a population of 958,789 people and is the largest city in the Bay Area, located roughly 50 miles south of San Francisco and 390 miles north of Los Angeles. San Jose is the third largest city in California, following Los Angeles and San Diego. It is the 10th largest city in the U.S. 

The warmest month of the year is July with an average maximum temperature of 84.30 degrees Fahrenheit, while the coldest month of the year is December with an average minimum temperature of 41.00 degrees Fahrenheit.

San José boasts an average of more than 300 sunny days per year, and has an annual average precipitation of 15.08 Inches. Rainfall is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. The wettest month of the year is January with an average rainfall of 3.03 Inches. 

This great weather and location make it a perfect place to be healthy. It is quite easy to enjoy outdoor activities when there are more than 300 sunny days a year!

The rankings were established based on obesity and smokers. San Jose's share of obesity is 19.1% and it's share of smokers is 9.8%. Thank goodness it is a rare occasion to have to deal with a smoker here!

They used the BMI (body mass index) to determine obesity. While I think this can be a great tool, it can also be very, very inaccurate as it doesn't account for muscle.  It can make someone think they are overweight when they may not be.

For instance, take a look at my picture above. I am 5' 3" and weigh 126.5 pounds (yes I have lost a bit more). When I calculate my BMI with their tool, it has me just at the very upper limit of normal weight, almost at overweight! 

ha ha ha ha ha

I am hardly overweight, I just have a lot of muscle!


Then, when I enter my competition weight of 118, it says I am in still in the normal range, although it is near the lower end. When I was at 118 pounds I was at 2.5% bodyfat, that it hardly even near "normal".

Here is the article if you would like to read the whole thing. 

And of course, the BMI calculator if you want to have a good laugh too!

Ramen, UFC and Dinner

 

Cooper and I went out to dinner, David had a meeting. We went to Ramen Halu , a great noodle place located in a strip mall, across from Garden City Restaurant on Saratoga Avenue. 

Halu has actually been written about by ramen lovers from all over the world! We start with Okara salad, a small plate of iceberg lettuce topped with a scoop of white curd, it is the by product of tofu making from San Jose Tofu. Mixed in is some edamame, soy sauce and garlic. It is delicious.

Cooper then has a bowl of Halu, their signature ramen with a deep, rich broth. I have tsukmen with whole wheat noodles. It is a plate of noodles, mushrooms, bamboo, green onions, spinach and a slice of pork, all artfully laid out next to a bowl of delicate broth. You put the ingredients you want into the broth and eat it with your chopsticks. I always skip the pork and sneak in my 4 ounces of cubed chicken to add instead.

Tonight Cooper was telling me about the upcoming  UFC 129 on April 30, Cooper's 17th birthday. It will be George St. Pierre vs Jake Shields.

Having dinner with your teenage son is fun and interesting. At that age, they are men and what do men like? (well besides that)- food and fighting.

Cooper knows all about GSP, heck I even know all about GSP. But I didn't know anything about the guy Shields that he is fighting, seems this will be his first UFC and he has gone straight to the top? Interesting, he must be good! I think we definitely need this one on pay per view!

One reason that Cooper is so into fighting is that he has been taking private kickboxing lessons every week for the last couple years from a former world champion, Jerome Turcan.

Who is Jerome?

Here we are at a party, my goal is to have arms as big as Jerome's soon! Here is a bit about him.

WHBA founder and CEO, Jerome Turcan, began his fighting career in 1983 in Avignon, France. Competing in kickboxing, savate, and boxing, he acquired two World Championships, K-1 Vice-Champion, European Champion, and seven French National Championship titles. He retired from professional competition in 2002 with a career record of 65-14-2, with 37 wins by knockout. He has trained 3 World Champions, 4 European Champions, and 14 French Champions. Jerome has promoted over a dozen events throughout France and Europe. He is currently instructing at the world renowned American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose California.

David was talking with Jerome on Tuesday, and David mentioned my broken rib. Jerome got a smile on his face "Kristy is injured? That means no diet! Come to dinner Sunday!" (He knows all about the diets and the competitions).

Jerome comes by and has wine with David, he's a fun guy.  Usually I am on a diet though, so he is looking forward to feeding me.

So, dinner it will be, maybe I can get a few fighting lessons in before-hand? I think my ribs will soon be fine, I am ready to come out fighting!