Post up your recommendations.

LOL, I'm going to defer to justbaseball on this one, as I think he can give you a establishment by establishment run-down of the area

There are some good restaurants, including a PF Changs, at the Stanford Shopping Center, which is not far from the field (which your wife will like a lot, by the way).

No frito pies, though - at least that I have found....

bump for justbaseball

OK, sorry...just saw this.

Eating: Sundance Steak House (best around BY FAR, but be ready to spend...its where they take their recruits for dinner), Scotty's Seafood (another recruiting eatery). More casual - J&J's Deli on El Camino Real just south of campus has great sandwiches, Gordon-Biersch in downtown Palo Alto is a micro-brewery with good beer and good food, The Old Pro on El Camino south of campus is your basic sports bar/eatery and The Fish Market across the street from The Old Pro is great for seafood. Want ribs? MacArthur Park is the locals' favorite on University Ave. in Palo Alto. How about Italian? Go one town south to Mountain View (about 5 miles) on El Camino Real and enjoy Frankie, Johnnie's and Luigi's Too, but be ready to wait in a line...worth it though!

Hotels: Marriott Courtyard is right across the street (El Camino Real) from the campus as is the Sheraton Palo Alto right next door to the Marriott. There are many, many cheaper hotels in the area...all on El Camino Real.

As UKMB suggests, one of the nicest shopping malls in the country is the Stanford Mall...also on El Camino Real just north of campus. Virtually every high-end store you can think of is there...but better than that is the layout of the mall with its interior hallways being outdoors. Very pleasant.

And lastly, take a stroll in downtown Palo Alto, just east of campus on University Ave. Just about every kind of restaurant, shop and person can be found while strolling this area. Very, very nice...and entertaining.

justbaseball,

Thanks for such a great list of restaurants and hotels. I've written them down and will go with your recommendations.

Keller Dad ,itsrosy check out http://www.stanfordterraceinn.com/index.html nice little place we stayed at in 04

bmx05,

Thanks for the heads up on the hotel. Looked at their website, gave them a call and booked the reservation. Actually, room rate is less that Marriott Courtyard and Residence Inn, and looks like a great little place to hang my hat while in Palo Alto.

One more restaurant to add to JustBB's list, is one of my favorites in Palo Alto, Nola, located on Ramona Street,just off of University Ave.

Chapter 2:

Looking for family fun and/or sightseeing?

A MUST is downtown San Francisco...China Town, Fisherman's Wharf, Golden Gate Park are all great spots. Ride the cable cars to the stars. Great food throughout the city. Get your dessert at Ghiradelli Square Chocolate Factory. FANTASTIC!

Next on your list should be down south about 1.5 hours...Monterey/Carmel. One of the most beautiful small cities in the world, Carmel is the home of former mayor Clint Eastwood as well as Pebble Beach Golf Course. Take a drive on the 17-Mile-Drive (you have to pay) to see some of the most fabulous homes and views anywhere! Look for Observer44 cheering on one of his kids at a local ballpark. Absolutely, positively worth the drive.

Drive up or down the Pacific Coast Highway (Route 1) from there and be awed at nearly every turn. A stop in Santa Cruz and a day at the Beach Boardwalk is a lot of fun for younger siblings...its an amusement park right on the beach.

More into nature? Head north across the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin County. Lots of great hiking at Stinson Beach or Point Reyes.

Head another hour or so north to Napa Valley for some wine tasting. Better yet, head to Sonoma or Healdsburg for even better wine. My favorite? Clos Du Bois Winery near downtown Healdsburg or Korbel Champagne Cellars near Sonoma.

Still looking for something else? There's Great America...an amusement park south of Palo Alto in San Jose. As a last resort, you might find URKillingMeBlue around the Cal campus in Berkeley (about a 1 hour drive from Palo Alto).

But try to have fun watching your son play baseball in 80-degree, clear sky, sunny, not-humid weather at Sunken Diamond...the nicest baseball field in America!

How far of a drive is it from the Fisherman's Warf area to campus? My brother lives in SF, and I am debating driving or getting a hotel.

45 minutes.

quote:

45 minutes.

Justbb, forgot to tell them that is with the "rocket!"
Man if URKMB hangs at Nola's she probably is also a regular at Blue Chalk. Too racy for these old bones. Other places...in your spare time:
The Ferry building in SFO and the area from there along the Embarcadero to SBC/PacBell/ATT Park;
Fort Point/Fort Mason and walking the Golden Gate Bridge;
The ferry to and walking Angel Island in the Bay;
Taking the drive on Hwy 1 from Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz...just did that Tuesday. Spectacular views and places to stop and walk along the Ocean. The waves at Mavericks in Half Moon Bay. Not huge in July but pretty neat when then get to 40-50 feet.
Lombard St in SF, Coit Tower, Golden Gate Park and if you really have some energy and want some beautiful views, the hike up Windy Hill within 5 minutes of Stanford. Through the Redwoods, views of the entire Bay Area on a clear day. Can be breathtaking.
And finally, a brewski at the New Old Pro on Ramona. Might even find a coach or 3 there in the late night hours.

More on Stanford from another Stanford parent....

Slight correction on hotels/locations. The Courtyard Marriott is a few miles down El Camino Real from Stanford, not across the street. It looks very nice from the outside, I haven't been inside....

The ones that are closest are the Stanford Terrace Inn (on the south edge of campus and right next to Starbucks). The Sheraton and the Westin are down the block from campus on the other side of El Camino.

Fancy hotels are the Stanford Park, a mile north of campus and across the street from the shopping center, and the Garden Court in downtown PA. There are actually a lot of small hotels along El Camino in Palo Alto.

The kids seem to enjoy the most: California Pizza Kitchen and Cheesecake Factory, both in downtown Palo Alto. Also the Peninsula Creamery (great burgers and shakes) which has two locations--one in downtown PA, and one at the Shopping Center. And Max's Opera Cafe for extremely abundant food at the shopping center. Macarthur Park, in a historic building just at the edge of campus, is also fun--ribs, chicken, etc., but a bit on the dressy side.

The deli that justbaseball mentioned is actually in a small grocery store. It is "JJ & F market" on College Avenue, which is a block south of campus off El Camino. The Stanford baseball team members have sandwich accounts there for before games.

Sundance is okay and in fact is one of my favorites too--steaks, prime rib, seafood, primarily but the interior is dark and in summer it might be nicer to go to a place that is a bit more open and airy. Other fine restaurants include Il Fornaio (downtown), Spago (also downtown), and Spalti (on California Avenue). My favorite is St. Michael's Alley downtown(which was named most romantic restaurant in Palo Alto ). If you like sushi, try Miyake in downtown. I agree that Nola is very good, and different. And also thumbs up on the Old Pro.

California Avenue, which is about 1/2 mile south of campus off El Camino, also has Quizno's, Subway, Round Table Pizza, etc. for the guys. Also, another Starbucks and at least one Zagat-rated restaurant which is kind of hidden away near Quizno's called Bistro Elan.

The really great ethnic food (if you are not going to the City) can best be found in the next town south, Mountain View, on Castro Street.

The Cantor Arts Center at Stanford is a nice place to wander around if you're on campus with a little extra time to spare, and they have a very nice organic cafe in the museum that overlooks the Rodin Sculpture Garden. There is also a lot of outdoor art on campus.

For bleary early-morning people who need espresso drinks, the closest Starbucks is the one just at the south edge of campus on El Camino (corner of Stanford Avenue). Peet's is generally considered the best coffee place and it is across the street from campus in Town and Country Village (10-15 minute walk, 2 minute drive from Sunken Diamond). There is a Jamba Juice there, and there is also a JJ and a Peet's on campus in the Tressider Union (a fair distance from Sunken and the Peet's there has weird hours, I seldom find them open)....There is also a nice cafe in the Arrillaga Alumni Center, which is a beautiful new building on campus a couple of blocks from Sunken. (one thing to note about Stanford--the campus is very spread out and you pretty much need a car or bike to get around, although there is a free shuttle bus that crisscrosses campus and stops at the shopping center)

Also in Town and Country Village: Cold Stone Creamery (ice cream, kids love it); the Village Cheese House (awesomely decadent deli sandwiches); Rojoz (very good wraps and salads); Hobee's--nice family restaurant, VERY popular for Sunday brunch; and Douce France, authentic French bakery with wonderful pastries. And Long's Drugs for sundry stuff you forgot.

Wow! You guys deserve a grant from the Visitor and Convention people. I'm guessing they wouldn't give as much good information.

PGStaff...I have been the beneficiary of HokieOne's advice on Virginia , and a host of people's advice on southern California and New York City college trips through collegeconfidential.com...just repaying the favor. Palo Alto, it ain't New York....but it IS a nice place to watch baseball in the spring and summer

Other places the kids seem to like are the Olive Garden (1/2 mile or so south of campus, again on El Camino), and also Chevy's and Chili's--locations on El Camino for both, both north and south about 10-15 minutes.

Bordeaux,

I've gained 5 pounds just reading your post.LOL.

its rosy....kind of like what happened to me after the NYC foodies gave me all their favorite places for cheesecake and pizza . If you eat too much, just hike "the Dish"--someone at Stanford will point you in the right direction

quote:

Man if URKMB hangs at Nola's she probably is also a regular at Blue Chalk. Too racy for these old bones.

Never been to Blue Chalk and only been to Nola's for lunch -- sorry, I'm pretty boring, actually. Good eats, tho . Sounds like Bordeaux and justbb have it covered. I'll lumber back to my 'hood' on the other side of the bay

URKMB--we all know that Berkeley has far better eating than Palo Alto...home of Chez Panisse and others whose names I cannot remember...