where to eat? (livermore/san jose/monterey)

Hi everyone! My wife and I will be near the bay area for a few days (largely around Livermore and San Jose) and were wondering if anyone has any recommendations for places to eat while we're there? This will mainly be a trip to visit family, so we won't be able to get out every night, but figured we'd try to make sure that we get at least one or two night to ourselves! We'll probably try to make a day trip out to the aquarium in Monterey too, so if there's anything else in between to see, we would love to hear about it. Thanks in advance!

I used to live in the Bay Area for years but am not familiar with much in the Livermore, Monterey, San Jose area. Monterey has great Pinot Noirs but I couldn't tell you about restaurants.

The one restaurant that I know of that's in the area is Manresa in Los Gatos. It's pricey but it's got 2 Michelin stars. David Kinch is considered one of the contemporary leaders of California cuisine. It's between San Jose and Monterey.

Maybe Johnny.B.Good can share his thoughts. He's in SF.

I'll do some more research in the meantime to see if anything comes up that I'm familiar with. I know there's good Chinese and Korean food in San Jose.

When will you be going?

I bought my car in Livermore and go there once in awhile to have it serviced, but that's it. If there are any great restaurants there (other than "In-N-Out Burger" of course!), I'm not aware of them. Maybe there are, but you'll have to ask someone other than me for a recommendation. There are some small wineries in Livermore that might be fun to visit, but with Napa/Sonoma/Healdsburg so close, why stay in Livermore if wine is really your thing.

I'm sorry to say I rarely visit San Jose either, though I'm sure there are better restaurants there than in Livermore.

There are so many options in the Bay Area, depends on what you're into and how much you want to spend. Livermore is kind of out in the "country" (by Bay Area standards), but it's not that far from Berkeley/Oakland/San Francisco where there are incredible places to eat.

Check this list out: http://www.sfgate.com/food/top100/2012/

Whatever your opinion of Alice Waters, Chez Panisse in Berkeley is wonderful and, if you go for lunch instead of dinner, reasonably priced. I have never been to Manresa, but it was just listed as one of the top 50 restaurants in the world in an article someone posted a link to here this week.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is a fun place to visit, as is Carmel (walk around on the beach, lots of interesting shops, great little restaurants).

In Monterrey a local favorite is the Monterrey Fish House. Their specialty is giant local grilled oysters. Any any fish they serve grilled is superb--served with a simple sauce or home-made pesto. Simple but winning wine list. Unpretentious, informal, most people over 40, but somehow "young" feeling. We've gone back twice and we're from New York!