The Naglee Park Garage is the kind of neighborhood restaurant that you want located a short bike ride down the street from your house.  There is a small interior space with a few bar stools and some tables with the kitchen wide open and the grill right there.  In any case it is located very close to San Jose State University, hence the 7-11 right next door.  It was featured on Triple D’s, which is how we found out about it, but I’m not sure that it is a typical Triple D’s pick, it is maybe a bit on the hip divey side, so OK, it works for that.  You order your food and a beer (Allagash White – A traditional Belgian Wheat Beer on Draft) at the counter and can grab a seat inside or if it is nice enough you can sit out back at a picnic table in the beer garden.  The menu is not what you would expect from an order at the counter joint.  The fare includes interesting seasonal California foods such as salads including their classic Picnic Salad with beets, blue cheese, and bacon or a seasonal salad with apples, pears, endive, and goat cheese as well as tasty burgers and interesting main dishes (Ribs, Trout, Lamb Meatballs).  My choice for tastiness (and a great date night place to sit at the bar) is to split the burger and order a small salad and an interesting side … oh, as well as what I would consider the best item on the menu, their Chocolate Bread Pudding with whip cream and candied pecans (or vanilla too) for dessert.

I’ve been to Naglee Park Garage at least five times now and my friends from out of town dig it.  They do have breakfast (mmm… tri-tip hash), although I’ve never tried it and they also cater local backyard family-style events which sounds interesting and you can check that out on their website.