Those who live in the San Tomas neighborhood of Campbell have seen a lot of changes in the owners of Palermo Pizza in the past few years. First there was Nico, a family guy who made a killer pizza with so many toppings you wondered how it cooked all the way through. Then there was the unpleasant Michael, who made cheap, blah pizzas and converted half the restaurant into a middle eastern bazar. And now, thank goodness, there's Harry, a congenial fellow who has completely transformed the place into a family-oriented neighborhood sports bar that serves some of the best pizza around.

Harry did a complete renovation of Palermo's and re-opened the place in November or December of 2009. It's clean, it's well-lit, and it has 2 big-screen TVs for watching whatever big game is on (football, hockey, whatever). The tiling on the floor makes the place a little noisier than I'd like, but it's a great place to grab a beer and watch a game over dinner. It's also a heck of a lot cleaner than Nico's place ever was.

And Palermo's pizza under Harry's direction is fantastic!!! Everything tastes incredibly fresh and it's all made from scratch in the restaurant. The cheese, in particular, is really good. I recommend ordering the "regular combo" - I'm totally addicted.

Give the new, improved Palermo's a try - either in-house or take-out. With this economy, we need to support our local businesses, and it's clear Harry needs some more patrons to keep the restaurant afloat. I hope he can keep the place open - it's part of a dying breed of great neighborhood eateries.

Simply Smashing Boutique in Downtown Campbell is my favorite women's boutique! With a collection of European and American fashion, it's the perfect place not only for fashionistas, but also for those of us who don't know a thing about fashion but like to look good. There's a wide range of clothing, both casual everyday wear and stunning dressy looks.

The best thing about this shop is Deb, the owner. She wants all of her customers to walk out the door feeling great about their purchases. She never pressures her customers, and is very sensitive about how you prefer to shop: if you want to browse alone, she's happy to sit behind the counter and do her own thing, but if you ask for help she's an expert at finding just the right items for you.

I stopped by to pick up a gift for a family fashionista, asked Deb for help, and showed her a picture of my gift recipient. Less than 10 minutes later we had found the perfect top.

Whenever I need to find something to wear for a special occasion, I head to Simply Smashing. Deb has a low-key way of finding items in her collection that suit my body type and that jive with the styles and colors I prefer. And her advice is impeccable - I know I can always trust her opinion. I walk out the door with fantastic clothing that looks great on me. (And I always have a lot of fun!)

I went here last night with 5 other people from Social Wave for dinner. It was my first time at the restaurant, and I was wowed by their food and friendly service.

My dinner, Sheereen Polo, was out-of-this-world delicious. But many of us shared bites of our various dishes with each other, and it was all incredibly tasty. The portions are enormous, so be prepared to take home enough leftovers for dinner the next night. And the price was very reasonable for the amount of food and the quality. (My dish cost $14, and I will get 2 dinners out of that.)

I'll definitely be going back, and encouraging my friends to try it, too!

Many of us know about the great things cooking at Twist Café, so I’m really happy to report that chefs/owners Dominique and Eileen Faury are now serving dinner at Twist Bistro next door!

I’ve been to Twist Bistro twice now, and I can’t say enough great things about it. The atmosphere is wonderful– quiet, a little romantic, yet relaxed - and the service is excellent. But, most of all, the food is outstanding – some of the best I’ve had in this area. The flavors of the dishes are subtle, the ingredients are of the finest quality, and since the menu changes every month, there’s always something new to sample. For those of you who are wine buffs, the manager is a professional sommelier, so you know the wine there is fantastic as well.

You pay a little more for dinner at Twist Bistro than we who frequent the low-priced Twist Café are used to, but I can honestly say it’s worth every penny. This is a very fine restaurant we’re lucky to have in Downtown Campbell.

This past weekend, a friend and I attended a free 3-hour workshop on gardening with native Californian plants. Sponsored by the Santa Clara Valley Water District and held at their headquarters in San Jose, I expected this to be a rather hum-drum affair (you get what you pay for, right?). Well, was I ever wrong! The workshop, led by landscape architect Stephanie Morris, was engaging, entertaining, and very informative. My friend and I are both interested in gardening with native plants, but this workshop got us so excited we decided to plant a native garden within the year! Already, I'm searching the web for more information, and getting ready to buy a couple of books to increase my knowledge.

Stephanie Morris was intelligent, fun, and a great speaker. What's more, she got us excited about what she does. Her accompanying Power Point presentation was helpful and nicely done.

And Santa Clara Valley Water District puts its money where its mouth is. They had lots of great free brochures available with more information on water-wise gardening, they offered everyone at the morning workshop coffee, juice, bagels, and doughnuts, and each of us walked away with a new watering hose spray device as well as a handy SCV Water District canvas sack. The conference room was also comfortable, if a little chilly.

I would recommend checking out future gardening workshops run by this organizination!

I loved this film. Ang Lee did a brilliant job, Heath Ledger was amazing, and Michelle Williams was phenomenal. I told myself I wasn't going to cry, and I still did. It's a lovely, touching movie with beautiful cinematography, and the story will stick with you for quite a while - I'm still thinking about it. I'd recommend it to everyone.

M&N Watch Repair & Jewelers is a gem of a place. Nestled in a small strip mall on the corner of Bollinger and Miller in San Jose, this owner-operated shop offers low-priced, high-quality watch and clock repair. They also have a wide selection of watch bands, for those of you looking for a new one for an unusually-sized wristwatch. The collection of jewelry for sale is small compared to many places, but there were a number of interesting clocks for sale hanging on the walls.

I was very impressed with the patience and good nature of the owner, who clearly enjoys his work and dealing with his customers. I found a very good-quality watchband, and was so impressed with the place and the owner's quiet competence that if I ever need my watch repaired, I'll definitely be heading back there again.

ORIGINAL REVIEW, 2005:
I recently discovered Tiny Tots Togs, located right across from the VTA Rail station in Downtown Campbell. I had a baby shower to attend this weekend, and I found that this place is a gift giver's dream!! I have never been this excited by a children's store. They have a small but very nice collection of educational toys for babies and toddlers, nice-looking baby clothing and sun hats, and some really nifty items for new moms. The prices are a little above normal, but I think the quality of the stuff you're getting is worth a little extra.

The one drawback to this amazing shop was that the store clerk was exceedingly rude, and the customer service is terrible. At first, I thought maybe the clerk was having a bad day, but after browsing on a Friday, I returned on a Saturday to find her demeanor hadn't changed a bit. Don't expect much help at Tiny Tots Togs, and certainly don't expect polite behavior or a warm welcome from the staff. But if you're looking for some unusual and high-quality items for small children or babies, this is a good place to go and support the local economy.

UPDATE, JULY 2009:
I wrote a pretty middling review of Tiny Tots Boutique in Campbell a few years ago because I was really upset by the rudeness of one of their employees. However, I'm happy to report that the customer service has improved a lot and the merchandise is still absolutely the best stuff you're going to find for babies and small children. There are a lot of unusual toys (some imports, some domestic) and clothing there - all very carefully selected.

I frequently shop Tiny Tots when I need to find a gift for the 2 and under set, and every employee I've met there in the past couple of years has been super friendly and helpful. I've become a complete fan, and

If you live in the heart of Willow Glen, then you know it's hard to find someplace nearby to make photocopies or send a fax. I stumbled across Excel Printing Service a year or two ago, and boy am I glad I did! It's a wonderful little shop on the corner of Willow and Bird, packed with low-cost office supplies (meeting and often beating the prices of the big office supply chains) including photocopy and printing paper, a range of pens, and a good selection of computer printer cartridges. The shop is owned and operated by a very friendly husband and wife team, and I'm always happy with the service I receive. Best of all, I rarely have to wait to get good-quality photocopies done or to send a fax. Excel Printing Service may not look fancy, but it beats Kinko's hands down.

I found Meet the Fockers to not be as funny as I had expected. A lot of the humor was based on really puerile sex jokes, and the plot wasn't all that clever. I went with a small GROUP of people and most of us were left sitting there wondering what was supposed to be so funny (as did most of the theatre, since there wasn't much laughing). I agree that Hoffman and Streisand were brilliant - most of the good laughs came FROM them - they really made the film worth sitting through.