CLICK HERE if you are having trouble viewing these photos on a mobile device
You don’t take coffee so much as sweet tea. And we can hear it in your voice when you talk — you’re a Southerner in Silicon Valley.
And here you are – welcome! — with thousands of your kind for the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship at Levi’s Stadium because your Sooners, Tigers or Crimson Tide will be suiting up for the big game, bless their hearts.
Sure, there will be a tsunami of fan fests, concerts, events and Bay Area sights to see. But if your sweet Southern souls get a hankering for a taste of home, here are some local spots that might fit the bill — or at least give you a chance to chuckle at our version of Southern hospitality. You’ll be glad to know we’re not all kale and kombucha. Heck, we even have Chick-fil-A now!
1. The Saddle Rack
Get your yee-haw on at the largest country nightclub in the Bay Area. The Saddle Rack, just up the road from Levi’s Stadium in the town of Fremont, has been around for more than 40 years. It’s a cavernous hall of country music, dancing (dance lessons too, not that you’ll need them), live entertainment and chiropractic sessions (also known as riding the mechanical bull). Plus there’s grub like Tumbleweed Onions, Tri-tip Tacos and Cowboy Tots. Over-21, cover charges apply; 42011 Boscell Road, Fremont, www.thesaddlerack.com.
2. Smoking Pig BBQ
With fall-off-the-bone ribs and pulled pork, Smoking Pig BBQ has been called a “real honest-to-goodness Southern barbecue in San Jose.” At all three locations, you’ll get fat as a tick and happy as a pig in mud when you munch on burnt ends (twice-smoked fatty brisket), smoky beans, meat-laced mac ‘n’ cheese, housemade peanut-butter pie and the appetizingly named Wolf Turds (bacon-wrapped jalapeños stuffed with housemade sausage and cream cheese, then smoked). Also, try a dish rarely seen in these parts — a Southern-style Brunswick stew of vegetables and smoked meats. In San Jose, 1144 N. Fourth St. and 530 Newhall Drive (near Avaya Stadium); and in Fremont, 3340 Mowry Ave., www.smokingpigbbq.net.
3. LeMans Karting
NASCAR doesn’t come to town until June, but if you’ve got a need for speed, put your pedal to some indoor kart racing at LeMans Karting in Fremont. It’s a total adrenalin rush in a Honda GX270cc E85, zipping up to 42 mph around a tight track designed by racing experts. Time trials start at $25; 45957 Hotchkiss St., Fremont, www.lemanskarting.com/fremont.
4. Southern Baptist churches
Religious or just football superstitious? If you feel like taking a knee on the Sunday before the game, try one of these welcoming church communities. Primera Baptist is a Southern Baptist church located in the heart of South San Jose with a Spanish Sunday service at 9:30 a.m. and English at 11:15 a.m., 145 Martinvale Lane, San Jose, www.primerabaptist.org. Emmanuel Baptist holds worship services at 8 and 11 a.m., 467 N. White Road, www.emmanuelbc.org. Cambrian Park Baptist is a Reformed Southern Baptist church that bills itself as “comprised of ordinary sinners made extraordinary by God’s grace.” Its services are at 10:40 a.m., 2030 Camden Ave, San Jose, www.lovinglord.org.
5. Rookies Sports Lounge
If you’re a sinner not fixing to reform, head to Rookies Sports Lounge in downtown San Jose where they’ll whip up an Alabama Slammer for you Crimson fans with Southern Comfort, sloe gin, amaretto and a citrus kick. Or maybe a Mint Julep or Sweet Tea Spritzer, if you like. And if they don’t know your home state’s signature drink, they’ll look it up. No matter what, you can watch all manner of sports on some of the biggest TVs they could find; 99 S. First St., San Jose, www.rookieslodge.com.
