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Uploaded: Monday, April 23, 2012, 2:32 PM
Shop Talk: Asian street food, drive-thru Starbucks
Also, when it comes to Philz coffee -- there's an app for that
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by Daryl Savage
Palo Alto Weekly Staff
Photo
 | ASIAN STREET FOOD ON CAL AVE
Will Pacio was an unlikely candidate for a chef. He had just graduated from Stanford with a pre-med degree, but wanted to try cooking.
"I knocked on the back door of The Left Bank in Menlo Park and asked if I could work there for free. They said yes. So I did six months of shucking oysters, slicing onions and plating desserts," Pacio said.
He was hooked. Pacio enrolled in culinary school, worked at several restaurants, and nearly two years ago opened Spice Kit in San Francisco. The success of the Asian street-food eatery led Pacio back to Palo Alto. His second Spice Kit restaurant is set to open at 340 S. California Ave. in early June in the former site of Culture Organic Frozen Yogurt.
"I love Palo Alto. I have a lot of history here and I'm glad to be back," he said.
The 25-seat restaurant, which will specialize in organic, locally grown produce, will offer hand-held street-food items.
"We want to introduce people to more traditional Asian tastes, and we've looked for foods that translate well into American flavors," Pacio said.
The restaurant will be open daily for lunch and dinner and will also serve Asian beer.
Spice Kit is the second eatery in Palo Alto to offer Asian street food. Asian Box, which opened earlier this year in Town & Country Village, focuses on flavor and fresh, gluten-free ingredients with fast execution.
Inspired by street stalls throughout Asia, CEO Frank Klein said, "I love Asian cuisine but have always found it challenging to find places offering fresh and authentic menus, especially in the fast-casual sector."
STARBUCKS TO OPEN DRIVE-THROUGH
It's a first for Palo Alto: a drive-through Starbucks. The coffee company is poised to open its seventh outpost in the city in the former location of Jack-in-the-Box at 3885 El Camino Real.
Scheduled to be completed this summer, the store will use the existing space that was previously devoted to Jumbo Jacks and curly fries.
"We look forward to opening this location ... and anticipate it will add approximately 20 new jobs to the community," a Starbucks spokesperson said.
Of the six other stores in Palo Alto, one is located three blocks south at 4131 El Camino Real. An employee at that location said, "We were told there wouldn't be any competition between the two stores because the new one is a drive-through and will attract a different kind of customer that comes in here," she said.
NEW APP FOR SHORTER LINES
For those not wanting to wait for the new drive-through — and not wanting to wait at all for coffee — there's a new app. Now in use at the wildly successful Philz Coffee, it eliminates standing in lines that sometimes snake out the door. Company CEO Jacob Jaber had been looking to cut down on wait times, and the app allows customers to place their orders before they arrive at Philz.
Users of Tapviva enter their coffee order on their phone, and that order transmits to a screen at Philz.
"So our baristas don't have to answer the phone and people don't have to wait in line. When we fill the order, we put it on the table, we write the customer's name on the cup, they come in and pick it up. That's it. It's meant for people in a hurry," Jaber said.
Tapviva is available at the downtown Palo Alto Philz, 101 Forest Ave. Jaber hopes it will soon be accessible at the midtown location at 3191 Middlefield Road.
Heard a rumor about your favorite store or business moving out, or in, down the block or across town? Daryl Savage will check it out. Email shoptalk@paweekly.com.
Related article:
• Shop Talk: Boutique hotel coming to downtown (April 6, 2012)Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by Joe Smith, a resident of the Barron Park neighborhood, on Apr 24, 2012 at 10:46 am There's actually no such thing as a pre-med degree from Stanford. Please check your facts.
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Posted by Arch Conservative, a resident of Menlo Park, on Apr 24, 2012 at 11:06 am Any degree from Stanford can be a "Pre Med".
I have known students with a Civil Engineering BS degree go on to med school, and become MDs.
"Pre Med" does have a nice "truthiness" about it though. And today's journalists are not keen on digging deeply for all the facts.
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Posted by Adobe, a resident of the Adobe-Meadows neighborhood, on Apr 24, 2012 at 11:21 am Maybe he meant that Pacio got an undergraduate degree and took all the required pre-med class in preparation for applying to med school. Why are all the posters here so frequently critical of the people reporting for the Weekly? I think we're lucky to have a good local publication like this, and I appreciate the efforts of journalists like Daryl who enlighten us about what's going on in our town. Give these guys a break!!
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Posted by Joe, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Apr 24, 2012 at 11:31 am A savage response is to be expected, given the author.
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Posted by RogueTrader, a resident of the Greenmeadow neighborhood, on Apr 24, 2012 at 12:30 pm This is a great column. Thanks Daryl!
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Posted by Topaz, a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on Apr 24, 2012 at 12:52 pm Am I the only one here who thinks it's outrageous that Palo Alto has 7 Starbucks??!!
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Posted by Hmmm, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Apr 24, 2012 at 1:20 pm Topaz - I'm right w/you re Starbucks.
I'm excited about the new Asian, place, though. Plus, it's not downtown! It's great to have places that are accessible, affordable & local. Looking forward to checking it out.
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Posted by Kate, a resident of the Duveneck/St. Francis neighborhood, on Apr 24, 2012 at 5:16 pm Seven Starbucks? I can think of six off hand - all very, very busy.
1) Stanford Shopping Center, 2) University Avenue, 3) Midtown, 4) El Camino near
Arastratdero, 5) California Avenue, and 6) El Camino @Stanford Avenue. Where is #7? Would like to try it. I Starbucks can't go into Town and Country because allegedly Peet's has a no encroachment lease with Town & Country and rumored aso does Douce France.
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Posted by WilliamR, a resident of the Fairmeadow neighborhood, on Apr 24, 2012 at 5:50 pm @ Kate--
The article explains about Starbucks #7.
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Posted by Sharon, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Apr 24, 2012 at 6:23 pm
How come we do not have the great food trucks that you see on the street in LA and NYC?
It is the latest craze, delicious and good value.
The other starbucks is on El Camino in south PA-too many
We need a few Spanish and Portuguese restaurants in PA--no more Mexican or Chinese-please
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Posted by off da grid, a resident of the Greendell/Walnut Grove neighborhood, on Apr 24, 2012 at 6:32 pm "How come we do not have the great food trucks that you see on the street in LA and NYC?"
You need to get out more.
(but we already knew that)
PV has trucks on Thurs nights, you can take the train up SM for Off The Grid on Mondays ( a fun train ride, 8-10 trucks), etc.. a number of other events in nearby towns.
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Posted by Gail, a resident of the Southgate neighborhood, on Apr 24, 2012 at 6:36 pm The new Asian Box fast food eatery at Town and Country Village has an awful odor when you go into the establishment. Not very appealing.
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Posted by Hmmm, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Apr 24, 2012 at 7:49 pm Given that Palo Alto isn't the size of NYC proper or LA proper, how many food trucks can the city sustain, in addition to the current restaurants? There is a food truck "scene" at Embarcadero Eats. Sili Valley also has food trucks scattered around.
Portuguese food - do you really think there's a market for that here? There are a number of tapas places in the area, but it'd be nice to have some lower-cost ones.
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Posted by Food Truck Gathering in PA, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Apr 25, 2012 at 8:21 am To the previous poster: Did you mean Edgewood Eats? Web Link. Excellent gathering started by a local mom, Suzie Hwang, whose goal was to revive the dilapidated plaza area. Unlike the City of Palo Alto - Suzie's actions have produced results - and fast!
I agree that Palo Alto is lacking in affordable, authentic ethnic restaurants. This town is teeming with foodies, who need to travel far and wide to satisfy their palates. Even the Chinese food in Palo Alto is far from authentic - we go down to Cupertino (or Mountain View in a pinch) for Chinese grub. Unfortunately, red tape and cost is going to keep the really good and affordable eats from setting up shop here.
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Posted by Food Truck Gathering in PA, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Apr 25, 2012 at 8:24 am BTW - I am very excited that Spice Box is opening up on Cal Ave. Welcome to the neighborhood!
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Posted by Food Truck Gathering in PA, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Apr 25, 2012 at 8:25 am * Correction: Spice Kit
Wow.. I need my morning coffee.
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Posted by Chris, a resident of the University South neighborhood, on Apr 25, 2012 at 11:57 am What is Frank Klein doing at the old Rangoon location on Bryant? The new name is Altar?
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Posted by Hanna, a resident of the Meadow Park neighborhood, on Apr 25, 2012 at 12:21 pm PA ONLINE giving free ad space for Philz coffee, again? Tapviva to keep the Philz' employees happy, right?
OrderAhead has a lot more options for restaurants in Palo Alto.
TapViva has ONLY Philz in Palo Alto, who at PA ONLINE gets their free coffee from Philz?
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Posted by LOL, a resident of the Greenmeadow neighborhood, on Apr 25, 2012 at 12:29 pm ...and who here works for OrderAhead, Hanna? LOL
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Posted by Jaco P, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Apr 25, 2012 at 2:17 pm After drinking coffee from roasters that specialize in third wave coffee it's tough to drink Starbucks now. It just tastes like battery acid.
Fortunately Palo Alto has one third wave coffee shop called ZombieRunner near Cal Ave. Check it out if you want an alternative!
Web Link
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Posted by Hmmm, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Apr 25, 2012 at 6:20 pm Who would name a restaurant Altar? That's disturbing & unappetizing & over-foodie-ized.
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Posted by Hmmm, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Apr 25, 2012 at 8:31 pm Yes, thank you, Food Truck, I meant Edgewood Eats. Darn you auto correct!
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Posted by busy coffee drinker, a resident of the Palo Alto Hills neighborhood, on Apr 26, 2012 at 8:06 am Just wanted to mention that I'm happy about the drive through Starbucks coming this summer.
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