The choice is yours: Pick from a selection of cuisines at these new food halls
If we don’t count Local Kitchens and CloudKitchens, food halls are few and far between along the Peninsula. In San Jose, San Pedro Square Market has been around since 2011 and SoFA Market opened in 2014. The Ferry Building has been a bustling food hall in San Francisco for over two decades, and even IKEA opened a food hall in the city earlier this year.
But on Monday, two new food halls will debut along the Peninsula. The Hangar, located in South City, is a massive food hall that feels like something out of the Google campus with collaborative working spaces, conference rooms and even a gym. Kurated Kitchens in Sunnyvale feels like a cozy cafe, filled with floral decor, pastel chairs and hand-painted murals.
I visited both food halls to learn about the inspiration behind them, their respective culinary programs and how these new concepts intend to build community.
Stay tasty,
Adrienne
Curated cuisine: New Peninsula food hall concepts span the globe
Two new food halls are opening along the Peninsula on Sept. 30. The Hangar serves a mishmash of cuisines in a massive aviation-focused, modern industrial building in South San Francisco, while Kurated Kitchens offers a variety of Asian concepts – including some from former Peninsula eateries – in a Sunnyvale cafe decked out in pastel colors and floral murals.
A new Santa Clara social food hub, a Redwood City Indian restaurant debuts and a plastic bag ban
- Clara’s Junction, an all-ages, pet-friendly social gathering hub, is opening Thursday near Levi’s Stadium.
- Varam Indian Cuisine has opened at the former location of Redwood City’s Dragon Theatre, serving dosas, biryani and more.
- Moonwake Coffee Roasters recently paused selling its coffee out of a Cybertruck at the West Coast Farmers Market to soft open its brick and mortar in San Jose on Friday.
- Oct. 1 is World Sake Day! Sushi Roku at Stanford Shopping Center is celebrating with 50% off all sake all day long.
- Eataly Silicon Valley is hosting a Street Food Fest Oct. 5 from 2-6 p.m. Expect pop-ups from local vendors, including Nirvana Soul and Babo Boba, live music, a balloon artist, a pasta-making station and more.
- No more plastic bags at California grocery stores – Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new law, effective in 2026, that closes a loophole allowing grocery stores to continue offering high-density polyethylene plastic bags.
Blue Jasmine cocktail at Nola
It’s a rare occurrence for me to go back to a bar specifically for one of its cocktails – usually it’s the ambiance that pulls me in for a second go-around. But in the case of Nola in downtown Palo Alto, I’d say even if the ambiance was lacking (which it definitely is not), I’d go back just for the Blue Jasmine.
This baby blue boozy blended beverage (say that five times fast!) is served in a glass chalice and garnished simply with a pineapple slice. The flavor of this drink is unlike any other cocktail I’ve had before. Made with gin, pineapple, blue curacao, mint, jasmine syrup, ginger, citrus and coconut, it evokes a tropical paradise without being overly sweet or syrupy. There’s a lot of flavors going on in this drink, but surprisingly it all pairs together perfectly, with no single flavor overpowering the others. And priced at $13 (where other cocktails in downtown Palo Alto can be $20), it’s absolutely a steal.
Located in the historic Pedro de Lemos House, Nola is a New Orleans-themed restaurant and bar bumping upbeat pop music throughout its two floors. At the center of its open air courtyard is a fountain laden with colorful Mardi Gras bead necklaces, and the walls are decorated with art that transports you to New Orleans.
Nola, 535 Ramona St., Palo Alto; 650-328-2722, Instagram: @nolapaloalto. Open Tuesday to Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Make yourself at home: Tal Palo brings Mexican food and wares to Los Altos
Chilaquiles and molletes star on the menu at the new downtown shop and eatery that makes patrons feel as if they’re dining in the owners’ house
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