It’s “Best of” Season in the local newspaper world, with the publication last month of the Metro’s Best of Silicon Valley list and the beginning this week of balloting in the “Best of Willow Glen” version compiled by the WG Resident.

The Metro list is an interesting glimpse into how the rest of Silicon Valley sees us … through the local merchants that help define our neighborhood. Here are the WG businesses that made Metro’s “Best of Silicon Valley.” Metro published the top-three in each category, so the actual ranking is shown here in parentheses:

Best of Food & Sustenance

• Taiwan Restaurant — Best Chinese (#1) … Lincoln Avenue in Downtown WG
• Sushi Kazoo — Best Japanese (#1) and Best Sushi (#1) … Multiple South Bay locations, including one inside WG’s Garden Theater
• Tlaquepaque — Best Mexican (#2) … Multiple WG locations, including Lincoln & Curtner, Willow Street
• El Rancho — Best Taqueria (#3) … 1401 Almaden Road (at Alma) … close enough to WG
• Bill’s Cafe — Best Breakfast (#2) … Willow Street near Lincoln, although the Rosegarden location is probably pretty good, too.
• Aqui Cal-Mex — Best Patio (#3) and Best Margarita (#3) … Original location is on Lincoln Avenue in Downtown WG
• Pizza My Heart — Best Pizza (#3) … Lincoln Avenue near Minnesota, and everywhere else too.
• Mojo Burger — Best Burger (#1) again … Bird Avenue at Minnesota/Alma
• Dick’s Bakery — Best Bakery (#1) … Meridian Avenue at Hamilton
• Flour Flower — Best Desserts (#2) 896 Willow Street, near Bird
• Willow Glen Frozen Yogurt — Best Ice Cream (#3) … corner of Lincoln and Willow in Downtown WG
• La Villa — Best Deli/Sandwich Shop (#1) … Lincoln Avenue Downtown
• Cardinal Lounge — Best Late-Night Eats (#1) … Meridian Avenue at Hillsdale

Best of Shopping & Services

• Willow Glen Bicycles — Best Bicycle Shop (#1) … Willow Street at Lincoln Avenue
• Scott’s Super Video — Best Video/DVD Rental (#1) Willow Street at Bird Avenue
• Hjinx Comics — Best Comics Store (#1) … Lincoln Avenue at Malone Road
• Alchemy Hair Studio — Best Hair Salon (#3) … Metro says they have “multiple locations” without mentioning that both of them are on Lincoln Avenue, one at Broadway and the other close to Minnesota
• Peninsula Beauty — Best Beauty Supply (#2) Lincoln Avenue downtown
• Grapevine — Best Wine Shop (#2) Lincoln Avenue near Minnesota
• Willow Glen Dentistry — Best Dentist (#3) … on Lincoln Avenue attached to Bank of America
• Willow Glen Hardware — Best “Home Depot Alternative” (#3) aka ACE Hardware, on Lincoln at Curtner
• Fleurish — Best Gift Store (#1) … loving their newish location on Lincoln Avenue in Downtown WG
• Domus — Best Kitchen/Cooking Store (#1) and Best Gift Store (#3) … Technically awarded to the Los Gatos location, but now also located on Lincoln at Minnesota
• Hicklebees — Best Local Bookstore (#2) … Lincoln Avenue near Willow Glen Books
• Willow Glen Books — Best Local Bookstore (#3) … Lincoln Avenue near Hicklebees

Hicklebees and WG Books are still battling each other in the same category for Metro. Other, more sensible publications long ago separated these two combatants.

Best of Love & Romance

• Mann’s Jewelers — Best Jewelry Store (#2) … Lincoln Avenue

Whew! we just made it in to his category … no thanks to Dan Mokma.

Interestingly, there were several whole categories where WG went completely unrepresented, including Arts & Culture and Fashion, the latter of which was devoted entirely to worshiping to Santana Row, despite the presence of several quality retailers in WG. Whatever.

And while Aqui’s Best Margarita shows up in the Music & Nightlife list, but that was probably thanks to their other locations where there is actual nightlife.

With what might just be the fanciest Pancake Breakfast invitation ever created, Assemblymember Jim Beall has invited all of us to attend a free community pancake breakfast this weekend:

Free Community Pancake Breakfast

Saturday, September 20, 2008
8:30 pm to 10:30 pm
Campbell Community Center

Come enjoy a complimentary pancake breakfast with you neighbors and discuss legislative and community issues.

The invitation seems to suggest there will be fancy linen napkins, silver cutlery, flower vases, and some incredibly fluffy pancakes! WGx isn’t exactly counting on real maple syrup imported from Canada … but you can’t really go wrong with free pancakes, right?

Most of Willow Glen is officially inside Assembly District 24, so you can all enjoy the breakfast if you don’t mind some early-morning politics mixed in.

Well, if you still haven’t found a reason to visit Elva’s Coffee Stop (website by WGx), maybe this is your big chance. WG’s best Community-Involved Business is at it again this week, collecting coffee donations for troops stationed overseas.

Elva’s Operation Coffee & Cookies drive ends Sunday! Don’t miss out!

Elva and her crew have begun grinding coffee for the bags, with the lion share of the project set to wrap-up this weekend. The response has been so great, that Elva is worried her coffee grinders will conk out … thus the early start!

In an ironic development first “uncovered” by WGx, well-intentioned citizens across WG have been turned into criminals! … Either that or they are avoiding suspicion by canceling “Produce Exchanges” that had been planned between neighbors.

The growing – and suddenly illegal – trend of swapping backyard-grown fruits and and vegetables seemed like a good idea at the time, but is now under fire from the Santa Clara County Department of Agriculture: “Home gardeners within the quarantine zone are not allowed to move fresh produce or plants from their properties.” The non-fermented vegetable prohibition is the result of a quarantine in place to protect commercial farms from the Light Brown Apple Moth.

Just to make things more confusing, not all of the vegetable swapping options are verboten. Community gardens and school life labs are exempt from the sharing ban. Kevin O’Day from the County explains, via the WGNA eList:

… I think what may be a source of confusion on this topic are the provisions for those with plots at school or community gardens. These sites operate under a compliance agreement, are trapped and they receive a regulatory inspection on a 30-day cycle. Because of these safeguards, harvested produce is allowed to move freely out from the community gardens within the quarantine zone. This protocol is similar to that used for commercial growers with fields within the regulated area.

Thus, tonight’s exchange planned on Settle Avenue has been canceled.

And now the once-great idea will whither on the vine, along with some really great tasting tomatoes.

Oops. Nevermind?

WGx — in the form of guest columnist Holly Barr — was the first to report on an emerging neighborhood Produce Exchange concept recently started in the Rosegarden Neighborhood. In its August 1 edition (not yet online), the WG Resident adds to the excitement with a front page picture and inside feature on the clever — and friendly — idea.

And in today’s SJ Mercury News, the County Health Department throws cold water on the whole thing.

It turns out that WG is inside the quarantine area for the light brown apple moth, which means you’re not supposed to take your produce off of your property.

But before you load up that basket of fresh-picked tomatoes, peppers and zucchini, and before you cut a bouquet of flowers to take to your mom, check out the latest version of the county’s light brown apple moth quarantine map. Lines have recently been redrawn to include even more of Santa Clara County in an effort to curb the spread of this relatively new and voracious pest.

County agriculture officials are reminding home gardeners who live inside the quarantine area that plants and produce grown inside the zone may not be removed from the property. Yes, even to share with someone next door or across the street.

But WGx is pretty sure the swapping of your neighborhood garden bounty is a genie that is too far out of the bottle to be put back in. A separate story in today’s Merc also highlights the joys of a local Filipino produce exchange

And for you vegetable-growing scofflaws out there, the next RG Produce Exchange is scheduled for August 4.

Bring your running shoes, in case you have to leave quickly with your ill-gotten goods.

Realtor Holly Barr continues her ongoing WGx column with a twist this time around. During a quiet week for the home tour, she instead brings word of a Produce Exchange hosted by neighbors in the Rosegarden area:

Highlights of July 17, 2008 Willow Glen Realtor Tour

Tricky to find a theme this week. I did see a lot of unusual homes.

Just for the record if your third bedroom does not have a closet it is not a bedroom. Also, if your third bedroom is in a separate structure, like a garage, appraisers state that it is technically not a 3 bedroom house. I recommend you put a clear description of where that bedroom is.

On a neighborhood update note I went to the first neighborhood produce exchange. Well, the neighborhood was Rose Garden, but we are all neighbors right? Anyway, gotta love the idea. Basically you bring some produce in 2 to 4 lbs. bags between 4:00 and 7:00 and Cass has a table in her front yard. You trade what you brought for a mixture of the items other people brought. I brought two bags of large nectarines, I walked away with a big zucchini, some apples, plums and lemons. All organic and fresh let me know if you want to exchange produce next month.

Here are some interesting numbers about this past week in Willow Glen’s real estate scene:

• 10 sales last two weeks in area 10 (Mostly 95125)
• 229 active listings in Willow Glen this week 7/17/08

210 active listings is the gold standard for a sign of a healthy market for this area. The fact that we are consistently in the 230-240 range indicates Willow Glen to be a stable market.

If you ever have any questions about what I put here, or would like to see me take a different approach with this weekly summary of the tour, please let me know!

That really didn’t take very long. Starbucks itself has announced that the store it opened in the Garden Theater barely two years ago will be closed as part of an announced “transformation” which will close 600 underperforming stores. The 1167 Lincoln Avenue address is included among the other stores to be closed.

And, no WillowGlenExtra is not really back from vacation. When Starbucks closes, it’s news … even in Europe!

It was another one of those quiet openings, but yet another Willow Glen merchant has added a Campbell extension. To be fair, the original Mojo Burger actually opened at Snell & Blossom Hill a few years ago, but the burger joint on the corner of Bird & Minnesota in WG has been eagerly adopted as one of our own.

And now they’ve got a third location at The Pruneyard. … and the airport will be #4 someday …

Who needs grocery stores when you live in Willow Glen?

If you are looking for fresh strawberries or cherries, you barely need to step out of your car. Sidewalk vendors and corner produce markets have opened up all across WG, including Pine/Bird, Pine/Cottle, Willow/Cherry, and many more mobile locations — including that rolling cart on Lincoln Avenue south of the WG Farmers Market on Saturdays.

And the Ravizza Farms family has opened the doors on their unofficial cherry stand from last year — the actual doors of a house along Minnesota, west of Hicks.

Technically, sidewalk vendors need permits to ply their wares. Earlier today, SJPD officers were closing down the regular berry/cherry vendor on the corner of Pine Avenue and Cottle. Two officers were carting away the fruit at about 2:00 pm today. Sellers on this corner get more attention than others, because motorists can really impede traffic if they don’t pull clear of the crowded intersection.

Of course, the sidewalk vendors are much more mobile and fleet when it comes to setting up shop in a new location. Maybe Fresh & Easy could learn a few things from them.

OK, so there’s a bit of a tomato scare going on across the country, due to a recent outbreak of salmonella poisoning:

The nationwide outbreak, caused by a relatively unusual bacterium called salmonella Saintpaul, has sickened at least 167 people. Twenty-three of those have been hospitalized.

But the source of the outbreak remains a mystery, and the complex nature of the advisory has created a great deal of uncertainty.

So far, tomatoes from California have not been implicated in any illnesses, but many local stores aren’t taking any chances. Grocery stores? Restaurants? … what if you want a fresh tomato on a sandwich right now!?

Quizno’s stores across Willow Glen have removed all fresh tomatoes from their counters.

Staff at the Subway Sandwich Shop at Meridian & Hamilton do not have tomatoes, and insist that other Subways don’t either. But staff answering the phone on Lincoln Avenue say they are offering tomatoes; the store on Bird Avenue (@ San Carlos) says that most Subways have had their tomatoes cleared through their local distributer.

The tomatoes at Mojo Burger (Bird & Minnesota) apparently have … um, good mojo … They’ve got lots of sliced tomatoes that you put on your gourmet hamburger.

But the aptly-named Tomato Thyme restaurants — still reeling from a recent fire at their Santa Teresa location — are not serving tomatoes tonight, either. But the chef hopes they’ll be back on the menu by the weekend. Maybe you can grab some of your own next door at Safeway, where plenty of hothouse and vine-ripened tomatoes were available earlier today.

All three of the Aqui Cal Mex restaurants have altered their menus to use only cooked tomatoes, avoiding the fruit (vegetable?) in their signature fresh dishes.

And you can forget Mio Vicino Aristo, too … they’re closed completely.

So, is it safe to eat tomatoes in WG? Just like we survived the Jamba Hep-A Boost health menace, there’s definitely some optimism.