As teenagers, we used to end up at Denny’s late at night. After wasting the summer nights away, we’d order shakes and fries and pancakes. Stimulated by high school parties and close encounters with our crushes, we’d pool a pile of bills and coins on the table before heading back to the isolation of our cold suburban bedrooms.
This was a starting point, when we were making the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. Defying common sense, we borrowed cars, ate out in public at formerly forbidden hours and gossipped about our friends and enemies in order to understand them. We were both earnest and playacting in our fumbling efforts to grow up.
Unlike many of my more focused peers, as a 16-year-old I had a hard time imagining the future and lacked the maturity to plan ahead. Sitting under the fluorescent lights in Denny’s red booths, I didn’t know that, while the outside circumstances of my life would change, in the decades that followed I would continue to connect with friends and seek out respites from reality with them in “third places.” Restaurants that stay open beyond the initial buzz cast a spell on diners. Whether the experience is undercooked, medium or well done, the recurring question is, will we be charmed enough to return?
By any number of leaps and bounds, The Pressroom is posher than the national chain of Denny’s restaurants that populate forlorn landscapes across the country. The Pressroom’s owners have created an upscale diner that’s an infinitely more sophisticated equivalent for adults. Decked out in teal, gold and green, the active dining room is animated by staff members who’ve been trained to be welcoming and attentive.
From the circle of high stools surrounding the bar to the long rows of booths and tables, the décor is luxe and comfortable, a winning combination. Customers will want to hang out for leisurely conversations over meals and drinks. Bored teenagers have the option of sneaking away from family occasions to check out the goings-on in San Pedro Square one block away.
The Pressroom moved into the ground floor of the Lyndon Building, the former Times-Mercury headquarters. The nod to newsroom themes shows up in subtle ways throughout the restaurant. A collage reproduces newsprint as wallpaper; cocktail napkins read, “Extra! Extra!”; and, there’s a sign inside the main dining room—Bar Mercury—which leads to a separate, interior bar. Mixologists there make a “Smash or Pass” vodka cocktail served in a golden owl-shaped vessel that already is a frequent visitor on social media feeds.
The food is set squarely in familiar American territory with occasional, but minimal, foreign culinary influences. No restaurant nowadays creates such a menu without including a cobb salad ($19), soup of the day ($12) or a cheeseburger ($26). Served on a sesame brioche bun, the “prime burger,” with a basket of crispy fries, is a satisfying plate of food. Big, but not giant, it’s scrumptious well-above-average bar food.
At lunchtime, the kitchen happened to be out of a fried artichoke starter ($20). Reluctantly, we ordered crispy brussels sprouts ($17) instead. In a refrain I’ve repeated far too often, I got tired of the brussels sprouts appetizer trend over a decade ago. But roasted cauliflower ($17) was an even less desirable option. In this case, I am happy to report the ubiquitous balsamic glaze didn’t create a soggy mess of greens. Dusting the sprouts with parmesan was also a nice touch but didn’t dislodge my longing for that elusive artichoke.
What didn’t work was a Thai salad ($20). Apart from the misleading description, which announced a long list of mostly absent vegetables, the spring mix of lettuces had been pre-dressed ages before it was brought to the table. Under the weight of the ginger-lime vinaigrette, the spring mix was wilted down and wet. We decided that, in comparison, Mendocino Farms’ Thai mango salad ($15.75) makes a better version of a similar dish.
Southern influences appeared on the menu in the form of beignets, fried chicken and another photo-friendly dessert, bread pudding ($14). Topped with ice cream and then crowned with a buñuelo, a fried doughnut-like fritter blanketed in powdered sugar, it’s one way to end the meal on a very, very, very sweet note.
The Pressroom, open Mon-Wed 11am-9pm, Thu-Fri 11am-10pm, Sat 10am-3pm and 5-9pm, Sun 10am-3pm and 5-8pm. 189 W. Santa Clara St., San Jose. pressroomsj.com
