Dishcrawl Review

by Sarah Garcia

A bunch of strangers enter a new, hip lounge on a forgotten corner in downtown San Jose. I get my nametag, sign in and look for a place to set my jacket. Within seconds I’m greeted by a nice woman, and we’re talking about life and vacations, work and food. My husband grabs me a drink and after a few moments, the lounge is full of eager, hungry “crawlers.” We are about to “Dishcrawl”—a progressive dinner of sorts and one of the coolest dining opportunities in San Jose.

Dishcrawl Diva, Tracy Lee, officially welcomes us as the night kicks off at Myth Taverna and Lounge, a modern Greek restaurant that opened in July 2011. Greeted by Myth’s friendly staff, we file through a buffet line to get a healthy sampling of Greek appetizers: pita bread, chicken and kabobs. Forty five minutes pass and we get the signal to finish our food and move on to the next location. We’re bringing up the rear and enjoying our conversation with Dishcrawl team member Julie as our line of diners meanders from Myth to Peking House. A “hole in the wall” (meant in the positive way), the Peking House Chinese restaurant is one of those places that my husband and I can’t believe we never knew existed. Our hosts are a sweet husband and wife team, who treat us to a plate of house specialties and serenade us with karaoke songs in Spanish. In the strangest mash up of culture, I strike up conversations with my table-mates and discover that in this huge county, with all the people, businesses and jobs, my fellow crawler worked with my dad who recently retired from 30+ years at Lockheed.

From an unassuming, “off the beaten path” family spot to one of the newest restaurants in town, we walk over to Little Chef Counter at the San Pedro Square Market. I’m personally excited because I haven’t had a chance to taste any of their gourmet-casual food. We meet chef Robert Dasalla and restaurant co-owner, Steven Le, who serve us their version of a “surf and turf” sample platter: breaded short-ribs and mango prawns. This delicious feast left us with just enough room for the last stop: the Treatbot ice cream truck that has stopped across the street.

3 hours, 4 locations, 4 business cards, 1 satisfied customer, and countless new acquaintances later, the night was a mix of socializing and noshing around the block. The food was all delicious but the real treat was Tracy Lee’s Chinese karaoke duet – an added bonus I could never have predicted. All in all, my first Dishcrawl experience was even more fun than I was expecting. And, I was already expecting a lot!