“Flight Lounge” Takes Off in San Carlos.

“Flight” is the Theme.

Combining our nostalgia for air travel along with our passion for fine wines, the Flight Lounge in San Carlos has created an interesting twist on what you would expect in a traditional wine bar.  When he opened the Flight Lounge in mid-March of this year at 971 Laurel Street, general manager and San Carlos resident Taylor Brough wanted to recreate that unique sense you get in an upscale airport flight lounge — a place where you can immediately step away from the break-neck pace of the travel day, and relax with a great glass of wine (or beer).

The theme of air travel is pervasive at the Flight Lounge, from the pictures of circa-1930′s commercial airplanes that adorn the walls to the bar that’s actually shaped like an airplane wing.   And no airport lounge would be worth it’s salt without keeping you up to date on the latest in news and sports.  They have that based covered well with a number of high-definition flat-screen TV’s that show news and sports.

Wine Flights.

The flight theme doesn’t just stop with the decor.   On the wine menu, Brough has created a series of wine “flights”, which are basically samples of wines from a particular region of the world.  So if you order the South African flight, you’ll get three samples of wines that Brough hand-picked from South African vintners.  There are other wine flights that cover not only international destinations, but also wines that are made locally– even right here in San Carlos.    The idea is to mix relaxation with a little education and appreciation of wines from around the globe, and Brough has made an extra effort to feature wines that you may not find at other restaurants in the area.

Another interesting feature is that you can buy wines by the bottle at the Flight Lounge.  If you happen to take a fancy to a particular wine, or you simply don’t want to run down to Lucky’s at 11:30 at night, you can purchase a full bottle right there — and you get a 10% discount to boot.

Light Fare, Late Hours.

Much like its namesake, the Flight Lounge isn’t intended to be a full-service restaurant.  Their menu features light fare, with only one daily hot special along with other light fare like local cheeses and snacks.   But that makes for another interesting twist — not only is bringing your own food in allowed, it’s actually encouraged.   Getting take-out food delivered right to the Flight Lounge is a pretty normal occurrence, especially from their next-door neighbor Refuge!

Unlike many full service restaurants that close at 9:30-10:00 PM every night, the Flight Lounge stays open until 1:00 AM.  Clearly, the intent is to cater to adults who are looking to “get out” for the evening — consequently it’s only open to the 21-and over crowd.

Mid-Laurel Street Rebirth.

Rather than set up shop in the competitive (and pricey) northern section of Laurel Street, they decided to focus on the central section of Laurel – they now occupy the space where the old tropical fish store used to be at 971 Laurel Street, right next to Refuge.  As this part of Laurel Street continues to transform, this may turn out to be a very smart decision.  This stretch of Laurel is much closer to residents of White Oaks and Howard Park than is the northern stretch.  They already get a nice walk-in crowd from the residents at 1001 Laurel, and he sees the same thing happening with homeowners in the flatlands of San Carlos.   It offers a fun destination that’s only a short walk away.

Connect with Flight Lounge.

If you want to keep tabs on what’s happening at Flight Lounge, or what’s events are planned for the future, you can follow Flight Lounge on Twitter, or you can become of fan of their Facebook Page.   You can even check out their reviews on Yelp to see what others think about this unique place.

Lulu’s is Coming to San Carlos.

Authentic, Award Winning Mexican Cuisine.

Laurel Street will soon add another great restaurant to its impressive list of eating establishments.    Lulu’s, already an institution in Menlo Park and Palo Alto, has announced that they will open up their the third restaurant, Lulu’s on Laurel, in San Carlos sometime in early July.    Construction has already started on their new digs at 876 Laurel Street, putting them on the same block as Harmony Yogurt, Bianchini’s, and Starbucks.

Lulu’s prides themselves in providing fresh, authentic home-made Mexican food — a strategy that appears to be working well for them as they’ve won the Almanac’s Reader’s Choice Award for “Best Mexican Restaurant” two years running.  But here’s an interesting twist that many other restaurants on Laurel don’t offer– breakfast.  Lulu’s will be open daily at 8:00 AM and will serve breakfast for those who want a little kick to start their day.   The Huevos con Chorizo sounds really good right about now.

For more information on Lulu’s and a peek at their menu, visit their website … and keep your eyes open for their grand opening, which is targeted for July 1.

Hops, Shops, and a new Blog Poll.

The results from the latest White Oaks Blog poll are in, and suffice it say that San Carlans like dining out and being entertained.   The most popular answer to the poll question “What should go into the old Foodville location?“  was a brew-pub with live music.   This would certainly fit in well with the lively north-section of Laurel Street, and the that style of eating establishment would likely complement the other restaurants already running on north Laurel.

Second place was an excellent suggestion for an inexpensive family restaurant — Pluto’s was the example that was suggested, and this is a cool restaurant.  We’ve eaten at the one in Davis quite often, and it would be a good fit for San Carlos.  Regardless of the selection, the whole Foodville replacement discussion will likely be altered once the plans for the Wheeler Plaza Development become more clear.   If this development becomes a reality, the whole block around San Carlos Avenue and Laurel Street will look vastly different.

Here are the final results from the latest poll:

What should go into the “old” Foodville location?

• Brew Pub/Microbrewery with live music. (37%, 26 Votes)
• Inexpensive family restaurant (i.e. Pluto’s) (25%, 18 Votes)
• Specialty grocery store (i.e. Fresh and Easy) (15%, 11 Votes)
• Bicycle Shop. (8%, 6 Votes)
• Vietnamese Restaurant. (7%, 5 Votes)
• None of the above.  (6%, 4 Votes)
• Bookstore. (1%, 1 Vote)

The New Poll

Since Wheeler Plaza and the development of downtown San Carlos has been a common theme this week on the site, that will be the topic for the next poll.  So here’s the big question:

“Do you approve of the development that is being planned (Wheeler Plaza, Transit Village) for downtown San Carlos?”

Be sure to make your opinion known and vote on the poll!

Skinny Sippin’ Pitches in to Renovate Burton Park

You’ve probably seen all of the construction underway at Burton Park where the combined playgrounds used to be.  There are plans for a very cool playground which will feature all new play structures and a water play area — probably much like the very popular Stafford Park in Redwood City….only better.    Click here for more details on the project —>   Burton Park Renovation

The City of San Carlos is picking up much of the tab for the renovation, but not all of it.  The renovation has relied heavily on volunteer work, and donations from citizens and businesses to meet their funding goal.   Harmony Yogurt recently held a fundraiser and contributed a portion of their take to the cause.

This weekend and next, another prominent San Carlos business will step to the plate to help out.   Skinny Sippin, the original smoothie shop in San Carlos, will kick in 15% of their proceeds this weekend and next to the Burton Park Renovation plan.    This is a very cool thing for them to do — there are other MUCH bigger businesses who haven’t kicked in a dime, so BRAVO to Skinny Sippin’ for giving back to the community.

So, if you’re sticking around for the 4th, stop by Skinny Sippin’ and treat yourself.  You’ll be donating to a great cause, and helping out a great little smoothie shop!

San Carlos Downtown Business Spotlight: Speederia Pizzeria.

The Best Pizza in San Carlos?

Choosing a favorite pizza is about as personal and subjective as it gets.  Some folks like thick and cheesy with lots of dough, and some like thin, New York-style pies.   Toppings works for some, while others like just cheese.   I was raised on the thick-crust pizzas that have been a staple in the Bay Area since I lived here as a kid, but lately there have been numerous East-Coast pizzerias that have attempted to break into this market.

If you haven’t tried a great New York pizza, you’re in for a treat.  Far and away the best I’ve had is at Speederia Pizzeria, right here in San Carlos.  They have mastered the key element of the pie where the others have failed:  the crust.  It’s super-thin, and cooked to perfection.  The sauce is tasty, but not overpowering — just as it should be.  They offer a good variety of toppings, but keeping true to East Coast pies, you won’t find a pizza that’s buried in inches of the stuff.  Moderation works wonderfully here.

Another genius move:  Speederia keeps a selection of all of their pizzas cooked at about 95% — that way, when you order a slice, they speed-heat it in an oven and within a minute you have a piping hot, fully cooked slice.  Who wants to spend half of their lunch hour waiting for pizza to be cooked?   Of course, they’ll cook up a custom pie to order, and the wait isn’t usually more than 20-25 minutes (if you stay away from peak take-out times.)

The formula appears to be working — the place is usually packed during lunch hours, especially on Wednesdays when the San Carlos School kids get out early and invade Laurel Street en masse.   Their lunch special is a hit –> two slices of any pizza and a fountain drink for $6.

Is there room for improvement?  Sure.  The place is very small, with very limited seating.  It could probably benefit from a good salad bar, and they don’t offer home delivery.  But if you don’t mind sitting outside on a nice sunny day in San Carlos and enjoying a great slice of pizza, you can’t beat this place.

Speederia is located at:
711 Laurel Street
San Carlos, CA 94070
(650) 591-9115

http://speederiapizzeria.com

Town Restaurant — Still the king of downtown San Carlos dining.

A few years back when San Carlos first started aggressively pursuing restaurants to spruce up its aging downtown, one of the first to step up the plate was A Tavola (the predecessor to what is now Town.) A Tavola quickly became the benchmark for all other restaurants that would follow. The owners wisely architected the dining experience to be hip enough to attract the younger, affluent and frequent diners (and nightclub crowd) — yet they still maintained a very family-friendly environment to cater to the booming population of young families that were settling in San Carlos.

Recently, when the owners decided (with some help from a serious kitchen fire) to remodel and change A Tavola, many of us held our breath. Why run the risk of ruining what was so extremely successful? Well, the owners wisely chose to stay close to their successful formula, while managing to actually improve on it. The end result is Town Restaurant, which still reigns supreme in the battle of downtown San Carlos restaurants.

Town specializes in steak, chops, seafood, and some other interesting home-spun dishes. Some of our favorites:

• Warm Napa Cabbage Salad: One of Town’s trademarks, and almost a meal unto itself. It’s rich, and if you like gorgonzola cheese, this is your heaven.
• BBQ Prawns: Probably my favorite appetizer on the menu. Served in a spicy sauce with sourdough bread, this treat definitely gets the taste buds ready for dinner.
• Filets: Another house specialty, they have of a great selection of filet mignon with a variety of glazes.. No matter which cut you choose, you can’t go wrong.
• Baby Back Ribs: When I used to travel to the Southwest US on business, finding good BBQ was about as tough as finding a cup of coffee on Laurel Street. Well, finding good ribs out here is a challenge (I’m not sure why) but Town has nailed this one. Their ribs are slow cooked, slathered in BBQ sauce, and verrrrrrry tender. This is a must on the menu.
• Warm Bread Pudding Dessert: It’s only about 20 million calories, but what the heck — you’ve already destroyed your diet at this point. This is French Toast on steroids. Melts in your mouth, but not off the hips.

If that’s not enough to convince you to go, maybe this will — Town is a locally owned business that gives VERY generously back to the community. It’s rare that you’ll see school fundraiser or a charity event in this city where Greg and Tony haven’t donated and prepared a ton of delicious food. That speaks volumes of the character of these guys, and their dedication to the San Carlos community.

Town offers a good kid’s menu, which is absolutely necessary to keep the families coming back. Service is usually excellent, and the prices are reasonable to moderately expensive. Here are some key links with more info:

Website —> Town Restaurant

What’s for Dinner? —> Town Dinner Menu.pdf

Reservations: —> Open Table

Town is located at 716 Laurel Street in San Carlos, and can be reached at 650-595-3003. Happy Dining!