Sad notes rain down.
Bini's Grille, a San Jose landmark for the last 68 years, is no more. At the corner of Post and South Almaden streets, I bellied up to the bar at Fuel, a chi-chi oasis frequented by downtown workers and weekend urban sybarites. John Olson, a registered preservationist, was there and offered choice comments on the closing of Bini's Grille. A little over a hundred years ago, when Post Street was named El Dorado, the block Fuel holds down, and several surrounding blocks, were home to some very seedy houses of prostitution and rag-tag bars you would do well to avoid. Post Street has never completely shed its bad reputation, despite big shiny buildings and a name change.