I've lived two streets away from this little creek and park for six years and never realized it,…read morebut this year during quarantine I noticed it on Maps and had to check it out. The first time I came here I was actually a little scared! It's a legit woodsy area right next to a neighborhood, with a small babbling (or maybe trickling) creek. The mallard ducks like to call this place their home, mostly visible in early morning or evening (you can sometimes catch them sleeping!). After you get used to the insular quietness of this park, you come to really appreciate it! It's a very short path (I think my Fitbit logs it as about 200-300 steps across), but it's very peaceful. You can listen to the birds chirp, the squirrels rush about, and the water and gentle rustling of leaves. I also found it funny to catch the squirrels yelling their heads off more than once. It's located between two streets, so you can clearly see houses on both sides, and it's pretty safe. I'd recommend taking a stroll! But not too many so I can keep the quietness to myself :)

Arroyo Park is probably one of the honey's favorite parks in the area due to the mallard ducko…read morefamily that is in residence in the stream. We originally thought it was just the drake and his two ladies, but it turns out there's at least two drakes and three hens, though we don't usually see them all together. The park is open during daylight hours and is usually pretty quiet, surprising for being not that far from the bustling El Camino street. You can hear the brook babbling and birds, and it's really quite a lovely stop.

The Shaggy Dog Statue, located in Central Park in San Mateo!!…read more It's located on the southern end of the park, right when the paved path forms a Y split. He's obviously very sturdy, kids can't walk by him without jumping on him. Even adults can't just walk by without stopping and staring, or taking a picture. He stands upright, as if he's alerted to something. And he seems very well maintained, cool local flavor in San Mateo!!

Central Park has a statue of an exotic animal with it's Leon the Giraffe statue by the Fifth Street…read moreentrance. So why not a statue of one of the planet's most common domesticated and beloved animals? No worries, the park's got that covered too. You'll find it near the 9th Street entrance, near the gazebo and rose garden. The cast-iron dog statue is standing and looks alert, staring straight at you. He is somewhat shaggy and looks a little like a Labrador. The top of his head is worn smooth, the result of thousands of people petting his head. The dog was imported from Italy in the 1870's by William Kohl who once owned the property that is now Central Park. I wonder how many photos of people posing with the dog have been taken over the years?

The 'Dream Fountain' is located on 'The Avenue' which is San Mateo Avenue. Lot's of places to eat…read moreon this street in San Bruno! There is also a Centennial Time Capsule here provided to the city of San Bruno by the Rotary Club of San Bruno on December 23rd, 2014, to be opened on December 23rd, 2064!! So if you're in the area, check out the Dream Fountain and the surrounding area!!

Ric's short attention span review…read more A cool parklet area in downtown San Bruno. Located next to the Health Mart Pharmacy (as of march 2017) it is a nice and relaxing respite when shopping. A Rotary International time capsule is located at this park. ( To be opened 12/23/64) Fountain was dedicated 10/9/2008. Located at the corner of Jenevein and San Mateo avenues ( Main Street downtown San Bruno. A Rotary Centennial clock is located across the street next to the Citibank Branch. Worth a look if you happen to be in the area, pretty interesting shops and places to eat here, this fountain with benches is pretty neat.

BURLINGAME COAT FACTORY…read more Okay, now that I got that out of the way, this is definitely a higher income, bougie neighborhood. Good luck finding parking that you don't have to pay for if you're in the main business/downtown area. Lots of people walking around, especially with their dogs and going about on their bikes. Some restaurants have signs saying no laptops on certain days or at certain times so you know there's an epidemic of people camping there for hours or work from home-cels or even worse, Linkedin-cels, but I digress. I did exit the car and see a $9 fancy almond croissant on the road and really, really debated grabbing it, ripping off the bottom part and eating the top part, but we already ate and were going to eat more, so I stayed away from that. Pretty cold and windy even on a bright May afternoon, so I guess that's why people wear a lot of North Face and puffer jackets here. Nice mix of affordable businesses (Ume Tea) and more higher end eateries. Good diversity of, at least food from what I've seen, and everything was largely walkable. Parking can get tight though, even with paid parking. We went at an odd time that was a bit before brunch, so I can't imagine the weekends. Aside from maybe 5 places (all food, lol), nothing really matched my interests and tastes, so it's not a must stop for me to peruse around.

Burlingame feels like the creature out of The Thing: It's trying hard to look like the thing it's…read moreimitating but doesn't quite succeed. It has a main drag but the street is so narrow that a car parallel parking sends the street into paroxysms of a nasty traffic jam. There are parking lots but they're small and tightly packed making people hot tempered and cranky with an over-reliance on car horns. It's high end but overly eclectic, the niche players here (Madewell, L'Occitaine, Trina Turk, Departures) but not the more affluent mainstream stores. It's The Truman Show of suburban towns. It feels artificial like astroturf.

The charm of this Burlingame Christmas light display is both in the lights and in the homes…read more Willborough Rd, on the Willborough and Neuchatel block is a tiny group of Tudor homes where a stroll reminds you of a visit to a small village in England or France. Most homes have traditional lights displays, and there's a massive tree decorated beautifully in candy-cane red and white. Grab a hot chocolate from Burlingame Ave or Broadway Ave and walk 10-minutes with your sweetheart to see this hidden gem. http://sites.google.com/site/willborough/

Nothing to see here. Not sure why this is listed. A couple houses, the same as you would see on…read moreany random street.

I have not been to Downtown San Mateo for years. I believe the last time I went is when my family…read moreand I decided to go to a high-ended Filipino restaurant. Also, this is my first time visiting here by myself. It's really quiet here just like other downtowns I visited in the Bay Area. It's expected since probably most people come here to shop and dine at restaurants. Very peaceful here which I like, but at the same time, I wish it's a bit crowded whenever I walk in downtown. It's really cheap coming here since many parking areas offer fair prices. However, it doesn't really seem like a place where I can mostly hangout at. I would still come here for eateries and explore around though.

It was our 2nd time to Downtown San Mateo. Our last time was in 2023. We found many new restaurants…read moreopened this time even though many are overpriced. Parking was a bit hard to find but it was a great town to go for dining or go to the movies or shopping. FYI, you have to pay for parking in Downtown San Mateo.

Geat trails and spectacular views, very historic place great for dogs too!…read moreLots of wildlife here also, we saw Deer, Coyotes, a Bobcat, 2 snakes and many lizards, be careful there is some Poisen Oak around the area.

There isn't much to do here, a small parking lot, a few concrete benches, and views of endless…read morebeautiful land. If you like nature or looking to explore some trails (I don't know where they lead), or just a peaceful atmosphere to get away, this is a cool spot. But otherwise, it's pretty much a rest stop off the 280 freeway (without restrooms, or any structures really).

I love this place! Went there for happy hour the Bruschetta plate was delicious and drinks were so…read moregood. The service is great and everyone was so friendly they treat their regulars well! I can't wait to go back :) Service: Fantastic super friendly and attentive Taste: delicious I was there for a while Ambience: it was lovely for a date or a get together or just to go solo and make a new friend Highlights: loved happy hour! Thanks for being great!

Look, I'll be honest, if you're coming here for seamless, polished service, you might be…read moredisappointed. We went on a slow night and still dealt with a total "slow turnaround" and some classic operational gaffes. They couldn't find the bottle of wine we actually wanted and then spent way too much time trying to sell us on a different bottle we had zero interest in. It was a bit of a circus just to get the basics situated. But then the food arrived, and that's where the magic happened. I've seen reviews complaining about a "lack of flavor," but that was not our experience at all. We started with the beet salad--the honey-lemon notes were nice, though nothing to write home about. But once the mains hit, everything changed. The Carpaccio was spot on, the Ribeye (prepared perfectly to medium) was delicious, and the Branzino special was fantastic. And the Rigatoni Rustica? Believe the hype. It's a classic for a reason. Bottom line: The service is definitely sloppy, but I wouldn't dismiss this place because of it. The food is genuinely good Italian and the prices are reasonable for Burlingame. My advice? Skip the salads, ignore the service "monkey dance," and go straight for the classics. I'd definitely go back just for the steak and the Rigatoni alone. Highly recommended if you actually care about what's on your plate. An A++ local find.

Located on the north side, near Pinstripes and the Hillsdale Dining Terrace, this lovely…read moreinstallation is a wonderful centerpiece for this peaceful and charming outdoor space at Hillsdale mall. Lots of tables and seating available in the plaza, mainly at the border of this work of art. And relaxing music playing in the background along with the sounds of water splashing from the fountain. The fountain light show is listed as happening every hour, on the hour, 12-7pm. But the show seemed to be ongoing during my time here on a Tuesday, water gushing from the fountain jets somewhat randomly, with color-changing lights, on-and-off, underwater. Weird that this daily "light show" only takes place during the daytime, as it probably would look better after dark. Regardless, it was still beautiful and engaging. The flower beds in the exhibit are gorgeous in spring, too. A great spot to have a meal or sip on yumny dessert drinks or refreshing beverages from businesses on site, and definitely worth checking out even if just doing some shopping at the mall.

San Mateo Bridge is one of the longest bridges in the Bay Area, and one of the favorite bridges to…read morepast through. I often come here to come to and from the peninsula especially commuting to San Francisco. Going through this bridge gives you this type of oceanic and mountainous sceneries where everything is pretty much chill. My favorite is coming back to the East Bay since that's like coming from a long journey and going back home.

Insomnia mixed with receiving my latest fastrak flex pass has me somehow reviewing my local Bay…read moreArea bridges lol... this is another one I find myself on once a month or so if my day takes me this route. Maybe towards the South Bay or Santa Cruz I'll need it to or from-depending on if I'm going back home to the city afterward or if I'm headed so where else. There's no potholes and the bridge gets me across water so I guess I'll give it 5 stars. One time though, like- in college maybe 30 yrs ago, I recall crossing this bridge after a company Xmas party and it was so foggy I thought we'd never make it home. So now, whenever I'm on this bridge, all my passengers must hear me recount that fateful night... and they all get really mad. Bc they're really just over that story. So the lesson here is- use this bridge if you're in the area and need to cross o er the water in a car. I'm driving when I'm on it, but please enjoy these fastrak flex pictures. They are very much bridge related.