2009 BEST OF SILICON VALLEY Reader Survey Winner - First Place

best Microbrewery

An easy call; this popular favorite has many locations. Dan Gordon and Dean Biersch founded the institution in Palo Alto in 1988; that it has persisted through boom and bust is proof of the age-old appeal of four ingredients and a German purity law. Gordon Biersch deserves props for its elegance this is a brewpub you can take a date to. It also earns praise for its site-specificity as much as its beer, including the fine retrofitting of the first locale in the old Bijou theater in Palo Alto. The handsome old-world brick patio in San Jose is the ultimate place to have a couple during the end of a hot working day. Now up on the taps: the Octoberfest Fest Bier, a stronger, darker brew to combat the growing crispness of autumn.


2009 BEST OF SILICON VALLEY Reader Survey Winner - First Place

Best Theme Park

Screams and cheap thrills (OK, not so cheap) are what you can expect out of Great America. This place has been the gold standard for corkscrew roller coasters, log rides and midway games for many decades and only gets better with age. It has a classic wooden roller coaster as well as its newest ride the FireFall, which has spins, drops and special effects.


2007 BEST OF SILICON VALLEY Staff Pick and Reader Survey Winner - First Place

Best Microbrewery
It's probably a stretch to call Gordon Biersch a microbrewery anymore, but this Silicon Valley beer house is something of an institution. How ever you want to classify them these local boys brew good beer. You can get their garlic fries at Costco, right?

-- Metro, Silicon Valley's Weekly Newspaper, September 26, 2007