My buddy suggested beers at MFBC in Saratoga. I wasn't very familiar with the area, but was up for…read moresomething new. It was a drive from our normal haunts and I hoped it was decent. Well, hope springs eternal as the saying goes. Upon entering the brewery felt like it was something else. The space was open with many tables to play board games and lounge chairs to have brew and chat. It seemed like a very laid back joint. I had the Pretty Purple Porter and it was so good I had a second pint. The temperature was warm that afternoon and an ice-cold pint was just what I wanted. Anyway, it feels like the place is still growing into its own, but getting there. I'd definitely go back. And now, the pics.

We were walking around Saratoga Village waiting for a 5pm dinner reservation, when we saw…read moreManyFriends Brewing. So we walked in and sat down at the bar. The owner gave me a taste of the Imperial Chocolate Stout, which was outstanding - sweet, strong and chocolatey. So as not to spoil my dinner, I ordered a 5oz glass. Very few Brewpubs offer small quantities, so I was very impressed with that. Our fellow drinkers at the bar were very interesting to talk to, having just separately bought a Growler Werks pressurized growler. One of them was a travel photographer like me. Altogether a very pleasant experience. I highly recommend the Imperial Chocolate Stout - very reminiscent of Prairie Artisan Ales' Prairie BOMB!, but local to the South Bay Area.

It actually gets better every year by means of the participants and quality of food and wine. This…read moreyear was just as fun as last though considering the company of my friends. We all pile into an Uber, head to downtown Mt. View City Hall square and check ourselves in. From there, we preambulate down Castro street tasting with our goody bags. First stop, grab a bite and a taste of wine. Then get your card stamped. If there's no food, there's at least wine. That would pertain to participants like the spa and bookstore. Once you have the required 10 stamps, you can keep going or turn your card in for a drawing to win something like a gift certificate to a restaurant. It's a cute, fun activity to participate in during the week with your significant other, friends or family after work. There's a great turn out every year and jovial vibes. They served more food this year. So we didn't head to dinner afterwards. See you there next year!

My +1 and I had a great time attending Taste of Mountain View 2026, thanks to Yelp Peninsula and…read moreMountain View Chamber of Commerce! (Shout out to our fantastic Peninsula CM Paolo for obliging when I asked if anyone dropped out of the event and to Marisol for getting us signed up without issue. This year, tons of great restaurants and businesses participated! As someone who visits Castro street a good 2-3x a week, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a whole bunch of new places I've never stopped in before! Our overlooked gem of this year was Mediterranean Grill House, which offered some great tea and Turkish delight, and I definitely want to stop by here again for some good coffee and treats! Who knew it was tucked away on the far end of Castro street?? Top food samples came from St Stephen's Green (I had no idea they had Irish stew here!) Eureka (cheese balls were delish) and generous slices of pizza from Blue Line, one of my favorite deep dish spots! All of the business owners and event staff working each booth / winery / restaurant were super friendly, and it was overall such a great vibe walking up and down the block, wine in hand, as the sun set over balmy 70 degree weather. A perfect night thanks to MTV and Yelp- thank you again so much and I'm definitely telling everyone I know to sign up for this event next year!

Great summer food option at Great America! We were very lucky that we got to come here when our day…read moreunder the sun with rollercoasters and the water park coincided with Taste of Orleans. Since everything here looked way more delicious than the regular food park (and we confirmed they're much better!), here's my review of each offering. We paid to get a badge with little tabs that you rip off for each dish that you take. They're small bites, and the nice thing is that between the 3 of us, we got to share and sample each dish. These were what they offered at each lettered station: A) Chicken & Sausage Gumbo over rice A) Cajun Brownie B) Crawfish Fritters with Creole dipping sauce B) Muffuletta Slider C) Fried Oyster Po' Boy C) Boudin Sausage with Peppers D) Creole Shrimp and Crab Cheesecake D) Crawfish Boil E) Blackened Chicken Pizza E) Peach Cobbler F) Beignets F) Praline Bread Pudding These were some standouts: 1) Boudin Sausage with peppers--this was the first one I ate, soooooo good! It consisted of sausage stuffed with rice and peppers. Wish there was more sausage. 2) Cajun brownie--it looked like an ordinary though tasty brownie. Once you bite into it, you realize there's a spicy kick! 3) Crawfish Fritters with Creole dipping sauce--fritters were small, and they give you waaayyyy too much sauce, more than you need. 4) Muffuletta sliders--I took a bite, sliders aren't my thing 5) Fried Oyster Po'Boy--not a whole lot of oysters, to be honest. I would have liked more of them. 6) Gumbo--nice and hearty 7) Creole shrimp and crab cheesecake--one of my faves! It's a savory cheesecake, very unique! Save the creole sauce from the crawfish fritters (if you get them), because the dipping sauce goes so well with this cheesecake! 8) Blackened chicken pizza--mmm, good pizza! It was funny to receive this and marvel over how much better than looked compared to the basic pizzas that were being served to those getting standard food 9) Peach Cobbler--it was fantastic to see my boyfriend enjoying this. So nice and sweet! 10) Beignets--sweet, with an explosion of powdered sugar everywhere. I looked like a cocaine addict Great America should definitely do more of these food events!

The Taste Of Orleans Festival premiered at California's Great America for the first time this year…read moreand I must say that I was very impressed. This seems to be the new thing with various amusement parks having food and wine festivals and I think it's a great idea because it allows the guests to try different foods and beverages outside of the normal amusement park fare. The festival took place in the Orleans Square section of the park and this are was really brought to life with various New Orleans style decorations, the huge Taste Of Orleans billboard/postcard and of course the zydeco music blasting throughout the area. This festival was held for two week on weekends only from 12-10. They had various creole/cajun food items that were available during this festival such as shrimp po'boys, Muffulettas, beignets, Crawfish Étouffée and so on. You could purchase the items seperately or purchase the tasting card. The tasting card listed 6 items to sample for $25 they included the beignets, creole meatballs, bourbon grilled chicken wings, Crawfish Étouffée, chicken and andouille gumbo and red beans & rice. I tried everything on the tasting card except the red beans & rice and I must say that I was really impressed with the food. The portion size was very generous and 2 people could probably split the tasting card and get full. The bourbon grilled chicken wings were really good they had a sweet and spicy flavor and were cooked to perfection. The creole meatballs came with three huge meatballs that were tender and not overcooked and topped with this unique sweet sauce (probably my favorite item). The crawfish etouffee was very good, it was my first time trying it and I was not disappointed. It was very spicy and full of flavor and served over rice. The gumbo I was skeptical to try because I don't eat gumbo, actually haven't had it in over 10 years but it was pretty good it had nice chunks of chicken and spicy andouille sausage but I wish it was served with rice or at least a piece of french bread. And lastly the beignets, these I was not too impressed with because I felt they were too heavy and tasted too much like a donut. I've had real beignets and while these were a step in the right direction they didn't really make the mark for me. I wanted to try the special bananas foster funnel cake but was too full. They also had a beer & wine tasting room and you could purchase a tasting card for that as well and from what I was told the pourings were very generous as well. Aside from the food there was lots to see and lots of entertainment throughout the area. There were two stages where a couple different bands played the traditional Zydeco music and they were good bands might I add. It really added to the festival and it was nice to see everyone dancing and enjoying themselves. There were about 6-7 artists making chalk art and it was amazing, they endured that heat and messed up concrete to draw this lovely artwork. Then every hour or so there was another band and singer that had the little second line thing going on, they would come from the middle of the park playing music all the way to Orleans Place. All of the staff working the festival had their nice Mardi Gras colors and outfits on, the girls on stilts were a hit with everybody. They would be dancing and throwing beads to the crowds of people while the band played. Then to end the night after the festival they had Cajun themed fireworks, these were by far the best fireworks I've ever seen at Great America although they were a bit on the short side. I see they have taken a page out of Disneyland's book because this was just amazing, when it starts all of the lights go out and the Zydeco music starts playing but the fireworks are timed to the music. They had fireworks and fire shooting from the buildings and everything. They really outdid themselves and I was very impressed. I absolutely loved the festival and was told that it will be back next year but bigger and better and I think it's definitely work checking out!

Shout out to Kyle for catering to our party and taking care of our order quickly and had great…read morecustomer service !!

Atmosphere inside is good and would be great for parties and to hang out with friends. That being…read moresaid, there was like no oil on the lane, and the entire bowling area was tight so it was awkward for me to walk up and throw my ball. I think this place would be great if you just want to hang out, but definitely not if you're trying to get a good game in.

My first time at this annual local festival was a blast. The atmosphere was incredibly lively,…read morefilled with authentic German music and dancing. The ticketing system kept things efficient, even if you're constantly grabbing more. The system includes trading tickets for hearty plates of sausage, sauerkraut, potato salad, and massive steins of beer. The food was a highlight, especially the massive, perfectly salted pretzel paired with salami, cheese, and tangy mustard. For dessert, the warm apple turnover with vanilla ice cream was the perfect finish. I even stepped out of my comfort zone to try sauerkraut for the first time, and it was a great experience. The event was well-organized, featuring proper restrooms rather than standard porta-potties and a strong security presence that made the environment feel safe and relaxed. It's wonderful that our city hosts this every year, and I'm already looking forward to going back.

Awesome band, love the internationals! The beer stein was huge and authentic German beer good. The…read morefood was authentically good. Dancing fun!

What an amazing venue made even more terrific by the wonderful Mountain Winery Team. A special…read moreshoutout and thanks to Loretta and Kent for their hospitality! Looking forward to the next event.

This was our first time here. We came to see the comedian Jeff Dunham perform. The whole property…read moreis quite vast. It's nice and warm out in the late afternoon, but can get cold and windy once the sun goes down. They have two restaurants and a concession stand for food and drinks. For performance nights they open up a few bars. There are some spectacular views from different part of the property. I love that there are different areas to lounge and enjoy your food and drinks. The service is friendly and informative. If you're there for a performance you should arrive early for the best parking spots. Also be aware there are several steep inclines and declines on the property. If you have any issues with walking it might be a challenge as some areas are uneven. But they do offer golf cart rides to and from the parking lot to the main plaza as well as to the amphitheater. You just need to ask an employee nearby. There are no bad seats in the amphitheater from what I could tell. The sound is amazing, but can get loud for those sensitive to loud music. I would love to go back and see more performances at that venue and maybe try one of their restaurants.

Wide variety of musical entertainment, people dancing, good vibes, shops open and the weather…read morehappened to be perfect.

Ever wonder what must be on your calendar for fun in the SF Bay Area?…read more You must mark your calendar for Los Altos First Fridays!! I must credit my friend Niki for letting me know about this special event to look forward to monthly and gem of an event in the SF Bay Area. Downtown Los Altos has become such a nice to walk, get groceries, your passport renewed at the library, visit the post office, stroll, have a meeting or meal and drinks with mom or friends and even meet old high school classmates for a reunion. It's really become a very nice place to be overall on the peninsula and to add to all this goodness, every first Friday Los Altos transforms into a really beautiful community where people are friendly and happy enjoying a different live music band on every corner or so and making new friends, sometimes there is a shop to check out and some food and drink to enjoy too.

Great wine! I'm no expert, but know enough to enjoy good quality. Thank you Tropicana Cellars!read more

Delicious wine! Loved the Sonoma Syrah I tasted at The Ephemeral of the Eternal. Highly recommend!read more