As Hollister, Morgan Hill and Gilroy continue to grow, so will
the need for new places to meet the demands of varying tastes.
Gilroy’s J.R. Brewski’s on Santa Teresa Boulevard just north of
First Street opened its doors in December and has been packed every
Friday and Saturday night, usually with a 90-minute wait ever
since, said owner Jeff Parsons.
As Hollister, Morgan Hill and Gilroy continue to grow, so will the need for new places to meet the demands of varying tastes.
Gilroy’s J.R. Brewski’s on Santa Teresa Boulevard just north of First Street opened its doors in December and has been packed every Friday and Saturday night, usually with a 90-minute wait ever since, said owner Jeff Parsons.
The lunch and dinner establishment is a steak and seafood restaurant that has 51 beers and 90 wines available. Parsons said he wanted people to feel like they’re “really not in Gilroy.”
“I think we brought a little more of a modern, upscale feel to the area,” he said. “It’s a wonderful hangout.”
Parsons has owned three small businesses, but has always loved restaurants. He wanted to create a relaxing atmosphere and “bring a little of Los Gatos and Saratoga to the area.”
The menu includes pork chops, veal, sautéed prawns, sea bass, mahi mahi, chicken dishes and lots of salads. All meat is from the Midwest and corn-fed, Parsons said.
Matxain Extea at 206 Fourth St. in San Juan Bautista also opened in December. The eatery specializes in Basque cuisine. Basque is a region on the Bay of Biscay in Spain and France.
Matxain Extea emphasizes family-style dining. Items on the menu include lamb, paella, frog legs and beef steak.
“A lot of people love the lamb,” owner Veronica Pirl said.
Basque cooking uses different spices, Pirl said. Pirl’s parents owned a Basque restaurant in Mexico, so she wanted to open one when she moved to San Juan with her husband.
“We love the small, cute town,” she said. “We wanted to do something different. There weren’t many options (for eating). I wanted to share my family recipes.”
Matxain Extea is open for lunch and dinner Wednesday through Sunday.
Besides the different type of cooking, Pirl said the restaurant is distinct because of its family-style atmosphere.
“You feel like you’re in your own house,” she said. “We’re very friendly. It makes a difference.”
Unlike most other restaurants, Trail Dust BBQ Joint is only open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday – but for a good reason.
The Morgan Hill establishment cooks its barbecue on two open pits utilizing the slow cooking process. It can take anywhere between six and eight hours to barbecue a rack of ribs, said manager Franz Ingram.
“It’s very labor intensive,” Ingram said. “You can’t get the food or barbecue to taste as good when you rush it. It just tastes different.”
Trail Dust at 16490 Monterey Road just south of the Post Office opens at 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, so a cook must start the pits at 10 a.m. Because of the lengthy process, Ingram and staff have to guess what to cook. There have been several times when they have sold out of certain dishes, Ingram said.
The menu includes tri-tip, chicken, St. Louis pork ribs and prime rib eye.
“We’re unique because we have a variety of things,” Ingram said. “We have a nice wine list and everything’s homemade.”
The ribs are the most popular item, and Ingram said he has a customer who comes in every week for the same thing.
The Tres Pinos Inn is attractive to many people because it’s so far out of town.
The restaurant focuses on pasta, seafood and steaks. Filet mignon is what it’s most known for, said General Manager Mitch Bakich.
“We never have a bad menu here,” he sad.
The Tres Pinos Inn offers fine dining without a dress code, he said.
Many people like the Inn’s atmosphere, Bakich said, and stop while on a Sunday drive or while visiting Pinnacles National Monument.
There are even those who come to eat there from the San Francisco area. They stay the night, Bakich said. Since the Inn doesn’t advertise out of the area, Bakich attributes the interest to word of mouth.
Whether it’s Mexican, barbecue or Italian, there are several places to meet any eater’s desires.
