Boba has its day

And good. Fun. Interesting. Community-building.

Boba started in Taiwan in the 1980s, I believe, when someone decided to put some tapioca in already popular milk tea. You know, the whole “your chocolate is in my peanut butter” thing. It’s been spreading around the world since. Opinions vary on boba but one can’t deny its popularity and staying power. And it’s pretty good, if you like it.

At one time, downtown San Mateo was home to frozen yogurt shops all over the place. You couldn’t turn the corner without seeing people piling sprinkles, crumbled cookies and maybe one or two pieces of fruit on their cups of frozen yogurt. That trend died down, of course, and then there was poke, which was popular but less prevalent. That trend died down, of course, then it was T-Pumps that opened on B Street and a new trend was born here — boba. While T-Pumps has since moved, others have come in to take its place downtown, and then some.

It used to be that one could tell what shops were the most popular based on the litter into nearby neighborhoods, but the Downtown San Mateo Association and the city has picked up the pace of its cleaning at the edges of downtown so it’s harder to tell. And that’s a good thing. Let’s hope it continues. Also, it used to be that those boba balls would be everywhere, but again, the cleaning makes it hard to tell if that’s still the case or if consumers are more aware of either eating them or putting them in the proper receptacles. Maybe it’s a matter of inflation, the cost is going up, so waste becomes less palatable. Those balls cost money!

At the same time, noodles are also everywhere downtown. Look left or right and you’ll spot a purveyor to fit your liking. There is literally the opportunity to get basically every type of noodle downtown. If I’m wrong, name a noodle you can’t. I used to hear people complain about the proliferation of noodle shops for some reason, but that’s luckily died down. In fact, all the noodle places should be celebrated. There appears to be about a dozen downtown.

Downtown San Mateo certainly isn’t unique in its boba shops and noodle shops, they are in many other places. But it is unique in that there is a mass accumulation of thriving businesses that provide variety and interest in the area. It was smart to celebrate boba. Can we look forward to a noodle night soon?

BTW: I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the great SomiSomi with its waffle fish and soft serve. And the excellent and expedient service with fresh and flavorful ingredients at Kajiken. Gems.

Others are the meat counter at Draeger’s, the dried pepper selection at Mi Rancho, everything at Backhaus, the lunch selections and fresh fish at Suruki Supermarket, the musubi at Takahashi Market, Fuji Sukiyaki, La Cumbre, the Foreigner, Bay Watch (politicos know this about me), 3 Bees, Dean’s Produce, Victor’s Shoe Repair, Edmond’s Plaza Florist. Do you have any gems? Let me know!

BOLLARDS!: The effort to install bollards downtown at the edges of the open pedestrian area on B Street hit some snags based on the complication of doing it when there are utilities and other equipment underground and the cost related to that. The council opted to do without the bollards recently, and instead go with planter barriers. Right now, there are water-filled barricades, or barricades that could be filled with water, at the edges of the closed areas to mark that vehicular traffic is not allowed aside from deliveries. Planters are better, but might I suggest installing a fence and gate that opens in? That would be cheaper than bollards and more permanent than planters.

We’ll get there.

SPOTTED: A “Baby on Board” bumper sticker right next to one that said “New Driver” on El Camino Real in Burlingame. That’s a lot to take on at once. A Tesla Model 3 sported this on Highway 101: “Bought before Elon showed his musk.” Lame. Just sell it if you feel that way. And my favorite in North Central San Mateo: “I brake for breakfast.” Better head to Bay Watch.

Jon Mays is the editor-in-chief of the Daily Journal. He can be reached at jon@smdailyjournal.com. Follow Jon on X @jonmays.