Where Do You Eat at FanimeCon?

[JohnnyAR]

I'm awfully curious about this, because I was working at a pizza restaurant, Extreme Pizza, back in 2011. Man, there was no busier weekend than FanimeCon, but I sure enjoyed making pizza!

[lanislori]

For the most part, my Fanime diet this year was composed of coconut juice, Hello Panda, and a pastry from the café downstairs. As for restaurants, two days of Togo's.

[SpiritOfKairi]

My roommate and I generally hit up Hoagie Steak Out for most of our meals, with a couple trips to La Victoria's thrown in the mix.  Both are only a couple blocks away, and you get a great meal for less than $10.  Heh we don't tend to drive out to meals since he doesn't like giving up his parking space unless it's absolutely necessary.

However, have to say I did enjoy the addition of the food court this year, even though there wasn't much available.  Asian Food Grocer was always good for a quick snack or Ramune, and the milk tea vendor's drinks were delicious and hydrating =).  (I tend to get dehydrated easily, and very few things besides water really do the trick.)

[Barnes]

Other than the stuff in my hotel room, I'll head to Pizza My Heart, Sonoma Chicken Coop, McDonald's (only because I had a card) Peggy Sue's, or Johnny Rockets. And maybe somewhere else I forgot to mention.

I've been trying out other places in downtown SJ lately, so I'll likely return to them next Fanime :)

[KyraEnsui]

I usually drive up to Mitsuwa to stock up on Day 1 when I can find parking easily when I come back to my hotel. Other than that, it's usually Pizza My Heart or Extreme Pizza (delivery), Hydration, and where ever I hang out with my friends. Or go to Tanq for some chill time with alcohol.

[Lucifargundam]

I stock up- then when i feel like eating out- i go to OJ's or get some pizza...

[Quinnton117]

I ate a lot of Subway and McDonalds. My friend took my to Hydration, a few blocks away, the wait there was crazy though. Also ate once from one of the food vendors inside the convention center since I was in a rush to get to Masquerade practice that night.

[PinkHairSasuke]

I stock up on food and eat in hotel. When I do eat out though, I go to Subway.

[dajoo]

Behind the Fairmont is a lot of good food. I recomend Chinese Gourmet Express (think mall food court style) Johnny Rockets (1950's themed burgers and atmosphere) Pitapit (awesome pita's well priced recomend the gyro) and House of Thai (sit down family run/style Thai food)

[DangerHeart]

I went to the Hoagie place twice this year, first time ever and I loved it. My roommates and I split a dozen donuts from Psycho Donuts this year, super good but I wouldn't buy them alone....to expensive for me. Also did our yearly tradition of trekking down to San Carlos Pizza(have to walk straight thru the college campus), its a little further but its been a tradition every year since we stumbled on it during a late night our first fanime.

[Lucifargundam]

pizza, subway, byo food, fast food, pocky, etc.

[Glitch]

I go to a few restruants, but it is always guaranteed that I will get something from Carls Jr.
Along with that, I recommend grabbing some coupons for fast food places. Alot of times an extra buck can make a big difference.

[virilevocalist]

$$$ - If you have money to burn, go to Arcadia, on the ground floor of the marriott, next to tanq, haha. Their rib-eye is pretty amazing.

$$ -If you have not as much money to burn, but still a legit amount, go to happy hour at Grill By The Alley, over at the Fairmont. They've got this delicious American Kobe Burger for 12 bucks, plus decent brews on tap.

$$ - If you want awesome pub food, head to Original Gravity Pub, or OG Pub. They've got the best selection of beer on tap in DT SJ, and a wide selection of gourmet bratwursts and sausages. That and their Duck Fat fries with truffle salt are AMAZEBALLS.

HOWEVER,

If you're just trying to survive and scrape by, there are numerous fast food options.

If you want something not from an multinational fast-food chain, it'll be marginally pricier, like LaVic's, Hoagie's, Pizza My Heart, and that Boba place. There's a Johnny Rockets nearby too.

All of these are walkable.

[AR-99]

I live within driving distance. I had sandwiches for lunch and muffins for dinner, with bananas and granola bars to supplement. Otherwise I hit up McDonald's a couple times for the $1 menu. More money for other things.

[Rurutie8]

I ate at least three meals at Arcadia, once at Il Fornaio, once at Tandoori Oven, once at Myth (Greek) and once at Teske's Germania.  Would anyone care to join me?  I treat.

[halfyoumu]

JUST a reference for people who might want to know where to eat for this year's con here's some options i added

Aha, the benefit of fanimecon is that it is in Downtown San Jose so there's so many options for food!! I get food there all the time :)
Asian food:
Hydration has good udon and bento boxes, but for boba tea, I would go to either quicklys or thirstea
Fuji Sushi has pretty good sushi (its a little farther down)
Pho 69,  great pho (although their hours are kinda weird, they aren't always open the whole day)
Siam Fine Thai Cuisine: Really close to the con! really good curry
Mexican:
La Victoria's is good, its got great stuffed quesadillas
Also,Iguana's ,which is more famous for their burritos (both these places are pretty good value)
American:
Pizza My Heart (yay)
Johnny Rocket's, basically (also mcdonalds of course), and Peggy Sue's
Whispers, its has your basic american food and also crepes
Caribbean:
Back A Yard, its awesome!!! get the jerk chicken. but some of their stuff is spicy so make sure you get mild if you can't handle the heat :)
Tea:
Boba at thirstea and quicklys
Also theres a starbucks
REALLY CUTE tea place called Satori Tea Company, great for a lolita tea party! its kinda hard to find, its near peggy sue's like the entrance is in the parking lot yeah
Dessert!!!:
Cream! awesome new ice cream sandwich place would recommend (they also have great vegan and gluten free options)
Ben and Jerrys :)
Psycho Donuts
Yogurtland (great value)
theres also a really cute fancy french pastry shop really close to the con
ALSO, there a Safeway pretty close, good for getting cheap snacks and stuff for your hotel room
More expensive, Fancyish places/italian?:
Il Fornaio (i would recommend to not go in there in full cosplay haha)
Original Joe's, Blackbird Tavern, Mezcal
ALSO, there a cool place called San Pedro's Square Market they have a bunch of different foods and theres a bar too, cool atmosphere, sometimes there is live music. it is a little bit farther from the actual con (still downtown, not that far idk depends where you are) Its on N San Pedro St

[keitoghostie]

I'm just gonna second a few on this list!!

Pizza My Heart (yay)

Back A Yard, its awesome!!! get the jerk chicken. but some of their stuff is spicy so make sure you get mild if you can't handle the heat :)

Cream! awesome new ice cream sandwich place would recommend (they also have great vegan and gluten free options)

theres also a really cute fancy french pastry shop really close to the con

ALSO, there a cool place called San Pedro's Square Market they have a bunch of different foods and theres a bar too, cool atmosphere, sometimes there is live music. it is a little bit farther from the actual con (still downtown, not that far idk depends where you are) Its on N San Pedro St

Pizza My Heart is cheap, convenient, and filling! It may be hectic during Fanime so I'm not sure if they'll give out punch cards, but if you go to a location prior to the con you can ask for a punch card which gets you a free drink/salad/pizza slice after you purchase a number of slices!

BACK A YARD IS SO GOOD - it's a bit far (kind of near San Pedro Square) and the service takes a bit of time so keep that in mind but it really is delicious

I've only been to the Cream location in Palo Alto, but it's SO GOOD and surprisingly inexpensive! It seems upscale but the ice cream sandwiches (which are BIG and HIGH QUALITY) are only $2.50 if you pay with cash!

i'm assuming you're talking about the pastry place across from/attached to the fairmont! they also have great sandwiches and they're very nice

Additionally, the sushi place that was housed in the convention food court (I think it was Tengu sushi?) had REALLY GOOD spam musubi - I think I had 5 of them over the course of the con
Also last year there were street vendors selling bacon wrapped hot dogs and they were hella reasonable and good
Also a number of food trucks tend to gather in the area, especially around St. James Park from my experience.

[otakuya]

Here's the tv guide to the food places in downtown San Jose

Naglee Park Garage. They have one of the best burgers ever. Everything is made from scratch there and most of their veggies are grown in their backyard. As seen on Diners Drive-Ins and Dives. I highly recommend the Brussels sprouts and bacon.

Hi Life. Seen on Man v. Food. They have the most tender bbq ribs ever and the best homemade bbq sauce.

Iguanas. The usual suspects for their burritos and Burrito-zilla, but they are still good. I'm more of the ground beef type. Seen on Man v. Food and a favorite of Joey Chestnut.

SmokeEaters. Known by many names like Cluck U, University Chicken, etc. They are known for the 911/hellfire/whatever-it's-called challenge. All of their sauces for their chicken are spicy in a way. I tried the top level spiciness (not the challenge) in boneless. I didn't look too good afterwards, but the taste was worth the pain.

[thepsynergist]

Everyone should try the Burrito-Zilla once in their life.  I've had them three times now, and I love them.  5 1/4 pounds of pure burrito goodness.

[BunofGovt]

I'm just gonna second a few on this list!!

Also last year there were street vendors selling bacon wrapped hot dogs and they were hella reasonable and good
Also a number of food trucks tend to gather in the area, especially around St. James Park from my experience.

I heard from someone that the food trucks may be there to go with a festival on Saturday.  The festival and trucks have been in the park the past two years.