LAST WEEK in Live Feed, I ranted a bit about downtown San Jose's dining scene. Well, I'm not quite finished yet. From June 3 to 13, the San Jose Downtown Association will host Dine Downtown San Jose, a first-ever event aimed at showcasing downtown restaurants. A select group of restaurants will offer promotions or three-course meals priced at $20, $30 and $40 levels.

Other cities like San Francisco and New York City have similar events, and I applaud the Downtown Association for trying to do the same thing here, but I think the lineup of restaurants, while broad, doesn't show much depth. The participating restaurants are:

A.P. Stump's Chop House

Agenda Restaurant and Lounge

Arcadia Modern American Steakhouse

Bella Mia Restaurant and Bar

Billy Berk's

Britannia Arms Downtown

E&O Trading Company

Emile's Restaurant

Eulipia Restaurant

Fahrenheit Ultra Lounge and Restaurant

Gumbo Jumbo

Habana Cuba Restaurant

Hawg's Seafood Bar

Il Fornaio

La Pastaia Ristorante

Loft Bar and Bistro

Mezcal Restaurant

Morocco's Restaurant

Morton's Steakhouse

Mosaic Restaurant

19 Market

P.F. Chang's China Bistro

Paolo's Restaurant

San Pedro Square Bistro and Wine Bar

71 Saint Peter

Silicon Valley Capital Club

While the list is refreshingly light on chains, I have to believe an outsider with a passion for food looking at the event would see it as a big bore. Yes, there are few restaurants like Mezcal, Morocco's, Habana Cuba, 19 Market and Arcadia that offer a taste of something unique, but most restaurants all fall into the same category. Of the 26 restaurants participating, by my count 17 of them occupy the steakhouse and/or California-Mediterranean category. As such, the roster of restaurants paints the picture of a rather one-dimensional food scene that seems to cater to business travelers with a love for steaks and martinis. I like a good steak and martini as much as the next guy, but downtown is more diverse than that.

For purposes of the event, downtown is defined as 280 to the south, near HP Pavilion to the west, near City Hall to the east and Julian Street to the north. I wish the event included a few more restaurants that highlight a broader range of flavors and price points, even though some are slightly out of downtown's boundaries, places like Vung Tau, Nha Toi, Mexico Bakery No. 2, La Peñita and Nazca, restaurants that offer a more nuanced taste of downtown San Jose. But I'm not going to fault the downtown association for failing to pull in every restaurant.

Scott Knies, executive director of the Downtown Association, acknowledges that limiting the event to mid- and upper-level restaurants cuts out a lot of bargain-priced places, but he says the event is structured around restaurants that offer three-course meals, and taco trucks and hot dogs carts don't qualify. He's quick to point out that lower-priced restaurants can still participate via the City Bites event June 3, noon–2pm, in which restaurants of all kinds are invited to offer samples and small bites of their food for free or nominal costs. Unlike the Dine Downtown promotion, the City Bites event is more informal, and it's not known what restaurants will participate. It will be interesting to see how many of the little guys will join in.

Maybe the challenge with an event like Dine Downtown is the that area hasn't developed to the point where it could be called a "scene" yet, so this makes highlighting a work in progress more difficult. Downtown is off to a good start, but it still has a ways to go to become a real dining destination.

For more information about Dine Downtown, go to sjdowntown.com/dinedowntown.html or call 408.279.1775

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