
Interesting mention about Korean food. I had a really really excellent Korean tofu house experience in New York several years back. Light, clean food but really tasty...unfortunately I can't remember the name. We stumbled upon the place by accident.

Okay, those aren't really answers to your question. But you may very well have tried anything I might recommend, since I'm local.... Here's two places.
If you eat Ethiopian food, and haven't tried it yet, there's Zeni restaurant in San Jose. I'd tried a couple other places and thought the food tasted much better here. But who am I to judge Ethiopian food? However, the Erytrian security guard in my building later recommended it to me as "the best restaurant in the Bay Area...people go from San Francisco to eat there." www.zenirestaurant.com
Here's another, a French bistro type place in SF. The Butler and the Chef Bistro. Good food, cute little place in a cute location (South Park!), and you can't beat the name of their website.
www.thebutlerandthechefbistro.com
AKA
www.oralpleasureinc.com/cafe/
Merry Christmas!