Two good restaurants
Kam and I recently went to Darbar Indian Cuisine in downtown Palo Alto, roughly at Lytton and Alma. We liked it. Unusually large portions, tasty food. I'll have to try it a few more times to be sure, but I think it may be my new favorite Indian place in Palo Alto.
Last night, several of us went to Café Rehoboth, an Ethiopian restaurant in San José. I'm told it's right on the edge of Japantown, but since I hadn't even known San José had a Japantown, that didn't help me find it. Kam tells me that we went to Rehoboth once before, but I have only a vague memory of that.
Anyway, the food was good and the staff were friendly. It looked like business was slow, but they've only been around for a year, and they seem to be getting rave reviews. I hope they stick around; I've seen too many Ethiopian restaurants disappear in the South Bay over the years.
My other current favorite Ethiopian place down here these days is Zeni, also in San José. Sadly, both Zeni and Rehoboth are 20-30 minutes from my place. But both worth the trip.