That’s me, (opinionated) enthusiast of food, wine, computer science, young researchers and entrepreneurs, bicycling, odd British cars, and the exquisiteness of language. I have lived in Downtown Palo Alto since, oh, before the Internet boom. This guide began as a bunch of scribbled notes about places to take colleagues to dine and gradually evolved into a spreadsheet. One day I had the ridiculous idea to include every eating place in my neighborhood, just for the challenge of it. When it was done, I realized it would never be done. Every week, it seems, some place closes and another place opens. Since I walk, bicycle, and occasionally even drive these streets every day, I have been able to take note of these changes. Finally, of course, I had to put it all on the web. And here you are.

People ask if I have eaten at every place. I have not. You might tell from my comments.  If they are purely descriptive, I probably have not, or at least not recently. If they are more evaluative, I probably have. I have my favorites, and I like to frequent them because that develops a relationship. My family and friends share their experiences with me, and I keep my ears open around town.

I would like to acknowledge the inspiration and suggestions I have received from Sheila Himmel, (the late) Aleta Watson, Julie Kaufmann, Carolyn Jung, Laurie Daniel, and Jessica Yadegaran, current or (unfortunately) former food and wine writers at the San Jose Mercury News. You must look at Carolyn’s highly entertaining food blog. You will see why her leaving the Merc was such a loss for the paper and its readers. And I highly recommend Elena Kadvany’s blog in Palo Alto Online and the Palo Alto Weekly.

Thanks also to the trainers at the Apple Store in Downtown Palo Alto for their cheerful help with the website, all things Mac, and even some other stuff. The One-to-One program of personal lessons on anything of your choosing for a grand total of $99 a year (no longer offered) was the bargain of the millennium. Thanks go to Shawne, Nick, Areem, Thomas, Alex, Meghan, Mark, Stacy, John, Kurt, Avri, Kevin, and Brad. Smart and sweet all.

The site is built using the simple tools of Apple’s iWeb and is hosted by MyDomain.com. Some parts look better in Safari and some in Chrome or Firefox and some on the iPhone and iPad. Not sure about the Watch. All in due time...

Comments? Write me at PaloAltoRestaurants.