Pozole from Linda's Restaurant in San Jose

I had my hopes up for this place (1179 East Santa Clara Street, 971-8444). A shop that opened at 5 AM and was known for Mexican soups? Dude, I'm so there! I ordered a bowl of pozole and eagerly awaited its arrival.

Unfortunately, I was a bit let down. I mean, the meat was tender and the taste was pretty good (enough for me to nearly finish the entire gigantic pho-sized bowl). But I suspect that I somehow had built this up so much in my head that inevitably it was going to be hard to meet expectations. To my dismay, the selection of toppings was a bit limited too, without any radish or avocado to be seen. Maybe I had to ask for them.

Anyway, I'll still come back. Like I said, it tasted good, and being open early in the morning has its advantages, especially in terms of beating traffic as well as a long day of meetings ahead. The frijoles here are supposed to be great too, so I still want to try that. But I'll have to remember not to come in a rush, as service was surprisingly slower than I had hoped.