Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

You make NOM NOM NOM noises as you consume it.

Pumpkin cheesecake. Two great things can only mean awesomeness, right?

Yeah, this is definitely a tough one. My vote, if I have the money to go there, is i-naba in Torrance. Granted, I'm from there, but the handmade soba noodles and the tempura are just insanely good.

There are plenty of amazing Japanese places in Torrance - helps that Honda of America is located there - ha.

Thank you guys so much! There were only 3 of us, so I just got a bottle of my favorite Zinfandel (which thankfully, they loved).

Thanksgiving at my parents' home - Alton Brown's brined turkey, Hawaiian sweet bread stuffing, fresh made cranberry sauce, green beans with almonds, and a reduced sugar pecan tartlette.

Man, I miss home :-(

Lucky. The kids in my neighborhood, somewhere between 6 and 7:30, had not only taken all of my candy, but they stole the bowl as well. x_x

I love SE and Alinea at Home. Carol is hilarious.

Hi lexa99. I graduated from SJSU in 2008, there are plenty of unique places to eat.

In the downtown area, visit Zanotto's Market on 2nd and Santa Clara for great lunch panino.

Vietnamese places are abound in San Jose, just about any one you go to will be excellent.

Original Joe's on San Carlos has great, higher end Italian food.

Avoid Hi Life. It's pricey, the food is not that great, and it's in an unsavory part of town.

Whereabouts are you staying? Will you have a car?

No idea. Have class and tutoring until nearly 10pm...with no break. I'm just hoping a sushi bar is open late...

Alton Brown covered this in an episode of Good Eats.

The important thing he mentioned was blanching them before attempting to dry or freeze, as to remove as much of the yucky stuff as possible.

Strangely enough, I have not had much great BBQ - it could be where I live. I did go to Rendevous in Nashville, but I was so young I don't remember. Most of the BBQ here in Tucson are chain restaurants or are not consistent at all.

We get them in some of the Mexican markets here in Tucson - I love them. Many of the markets roast them daily and sell them. I bought some for my taco-fest yesterday evening.