From one football fan to another: You CAN be Tasteful at Super Bowl 50!

The sight of Tom Brady being decked 20 times in the Denver mountain air was more than enough to convince me that the Broncos deserve to be playing at the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, the Carolina Panthers seem loaded in all aspects of the game, especially, like the Broncos, on the defensive side. I fully expect a 9–6 type of titanic struggle this weekend at Santa Clara.

You’re a football fan like me. You might even be a fan of hard-hitting defensive football, unlike me. You’re probably a Denver or Carolina fan, again, unlike me. None of these traits can or should prevent you from believing that healthy eating is a necessary part of leading a healthy life. You have come to the Bay Area for the game, probably been puzzled by the cold and the lack of parking, and are wondering about all the places where you can get a great, healthy meal as you hike up and down 101 from San Francisco to Santa Clara.

Team Tasteful has been on the job. We dug into San Francisco for you, since there are so many restaurants and it’s hard to find the true healthy eating spots. We’ll also take a quick trip down 101 to highlight towns you should consider stopping at and some special places you could eat at if you’re feeling particularly adventurous!

San Francisco

We didn’t just do a top 5 or a top 10. How about a Top 25!

Try a robot delivered quinoa bowl at Eatsa. What else do you expect at Silicon Valley?
Of the Paleo persuasion? Hit HH on Market St at Bluestem Brasserie, be sure to try the Bone Marrow or the Crispy Pork Belly.
Be sure to try the extensive artisanal cheese selection at Cowgirl Creamery, located in the ferry building. Grab a baguette from Acme Bread Company next door or go across the hall for a Gluten Free option from Mariposa Baking Company.
For a quick bite, you can’t go wrong with Oysters from Hog Island Oyster Co in the Ferry Building.
Need an afternoon pick me up? Try Bowl’D Acai in Mint Plaza and don’t forget to drink coffee like the locals right next door at Blue Bottle Coffee.
Grab some small plates at Beretta, we love the pate and burrata.
Try the nose to tail goodness that is the chef’s selection charcuterie board at Trou Normand.
Grub on some delicious upscale tacos at one of SF’s favorite Mexican eateries, Nopalito.
Swing by the Mission and indulge on our favorite Argentinian steakhouse, Lolinda. Head upstairs to El Techo de Lolinda for rooftop Argentinian street food with a killer view of San Francisco.
Vegetarian? Try SF’s oldest and most delicious farm to table vegetarian hot spot, Greens Restaurant. No time for a sit down meal, grab something from Greens to Go on your way to the Golden Gate Bridge.
Get some locally sourced, farm to table Mexican food at Lolo, (you can’t really go wrong with anything).
Eat one of SFs favorite burgers at Marlowe, be sure to make a reservation!
Grab some avocado toast as you walk along the Embarcadero, Frog Hollow Farm Market & Cafe is our fav.
Grab a glass of wine and some delicious charcuterie from Press Club.
Grab a drink with a 360 degree view at Top of the Mark in Nob Hill.
Swing by the Ferry Building for delicious Mediterranean noms at Boulibar, our favorite is the Vegetarian Farmhouse Lunch.
Need a quick pick me up on a foggy SF day? Try the Comfort Pho from Saiwalks in the Marina.
Try some delicious Prather Ranch meat from their American Eatery stand in the Ferry Building, Low Carb and paleo friendly! P.S. Their bone broth is a great afternoon pick me up.
Grass-Fed Beef and a gorgeous view of the Bay Bridge? Don’t mind if we do. Check out The Slanted Door for some delicious modern Vietnamese.
Head to Hopwater Distribution for some delectable deviled eggs, “pickled stuff” and their duck liver mousse.
20 Spot is the new 1 spot. Grab a glass of wine and indulge in their daily changing menu. With items like Roasted Sunchokes or Spanish Octopus, you can never go wrong.
Take a trip down to Latin America and indulge in some vegetarian and gluten free tapas at Poquito, the Red Snapper taco on Jicama Wrapper is amazing
For some island inspiration, head to Liholiho Yacht Club and taste your way through the Hawaiian Islands. The Slab of Beef Ribs are our favorite, but then again, everything is good. Literally, everything.
Head to Stem Kitchen and Garden in Potrero Hill for the ultimate garden to table experience (literally watch your veggies get picked), plus there are some pretty killer views of Downtown.
Finally, enjoy some delicious tapas and family style meals at Coqueta. Located along the Embarcadero, this is the ultimate way to wrap up your SF experience with delicious food, in an amazing setting with great friends.

The 101 Tour

Quick tip: you don’t have to trundle up-and-down industrial 101 all the time. Give yourself a little extra time and try this — 101S to 380W (the shortest national highway in the US) to 280S to drop-dead-gorgeous views to 85N back to 101S. If 101 has you mystified as to what we Bay Area residents like about living here, 280 will quickly dispel the mystery.

Burlingame

Your first stop for healthy food options should be Burlingame. The name sounds boring, but Burlingamers are wonderful and the food is great! I fired up the Tasteful app at downtown Burlingame and was served up nothing but Good and Great restaurants.

As Exhibit 1 for all you Vegan eaters, try Que Seraw Seraw on 1160 Capuchino Avenue (no, I didn’t make up the name of the restaurant or the street it’s on).

Menlo Park

Our journey down 101 continues. Now, you may have heard entrepreneurial friends utter the phrase, “I tried to raise money up and down Sand Hill Road”. San Hill Road in Menlo Park is the epicenter of Silicon Valley venture capital — the lifeblood of much if not all the innovation that never ceases to stop in the Bay Area and that draws creators (& cuisines) from all around the world.

The venture capitalists and the entrepreneurs pitching them have to eat somewhere and we’re pretty sure they’re doing great in downtown Menlo Park.

When friends ask to be taken to a place that epitomizes the beauty, the luxury, the excess and the general silliness of Silicon Valley (the HBO show), I always take them to Madera at the Rosewood Hotel in Menlo Park. We might just park outside and walk through the drive way and into the lobby and my friends get it. This doesn’t mean the food isn’t awesome — you should try it if you can, especially if you can get a table to enjoy the sunset.

Palo Alto

Tasteful’s hometown and a great location for healthy eaters. Nothing but Great restaurants here if you ask Tasteful for a quick view of downtown Palo Alto.

My favorite? Hard to pick, so here are two choices within feet from where we work.

Asian Box is 100% Gluten Free and just amazing fast casual Asian fusion food (you can be assured that there’s a lot of TheBox! within the Tasteful app).
Mayfield Bakery & Cafe is quite simply the best restaurant I have eaten at for consistent, outstanding quality no matter the time of day or the dish.

Mountain View

Downtown Mountain View near Castro Street is packed with restaurants. For a while in the mid-90s and early-2000s, it seemed to be packed with just Indian restaurants — with all those Indian meals perhaps inspiring Peter Thiel to write his startup classic Zero to One (all about focusing on the “one” thing — be it inventing PayPal or starting a Mountain View Indian restaurant).

Of course I have to showcase an Indian restaurant in Mountain View (or MtV as it’s sometimes called in email). Park Balluchi is a great Indian restaurant on Castro — it wasn’t around when Peter Thiel was a regular, perhaps to its credit (because to be frank, the Indian food was plentiful but not that great back in the day).

Sunnyvale

Speaking of Indian food, Sunnyvale, outside of Chennai in India, is the world headquarters for South Indian cuisine (dosa and coffee, anyone?). It’s also a great melting pot community of people from many temperate and warm climes — which makes it a great spot for Mediterranean, Persian and Afghani cuisine as well.

Perhaps the first user-added restaurant in both our Paleo Digest and Tasteful apps was Dishdash Restaurant in Sunnyvale — great family-friendly Mediterranean food with cross-over appeal for all folks who love their lamb, vegetables and rice.

Santa Clara

Finally, the Super Bowl location itself. Formerly known for the Great America amusement park, Santa Clara University and for being the location of Intel’s headquarters. Now famous for parking challenged Levi’s Stadium — home of Super Bowl 50!

You ARE a football fan, so I thought it best to conclude with a great steak joint -Parcel 104 in Santa Clara isn’t far from all the football action and while being in a hotel, delivers the goods in terms of great steak.

That’s it for the Super Bowl-101 tour. I hope you’ve found it useful, especially for the many San Francisco tips and perhaps for exposing you to great spots like Madera and Que Seraw Seraw. Please download the Tasteful app for iPhone here for the full picture all over the Bay Area and where you live! If you’re an Android user, Tasteful is now available on the Google Play store starting today!