Why is it that whenever my wife and I go to eat at a "hip" and/or "upscale" and/or "trendy" restaurant, we walk out half deaf? Tonight we decided to try the new Chinese restaurant at Santana Row named Sino. Inside, it was well decorated, moody, and definitely hip/trendy. It was also so loud we couldn't hold a normal conversation. Sino is the Chinese version of Blowfish -- another hip/trendy restaurant in Santana Row. Don't get me wrong, the food at Sino was fantastic. Very tasty and beautifully served (well plated). But, there was something that felt wrong. Maybe it was because it was so damned expensive -- come on, Chinese food is not supposed to cost $25 a person! Or maybe it was because my throat was sore after we left the restaurant. Or maybe it was the almost air-filled cushioned bench that my wife sat on -- she bounced up everytime the lady next to her sat down, like a kid on a teeter-todder. There's a small, hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant right behind our house named China Delight that does much better than Sino. The service is lightning fast at China Delight, the food is damned tasty with large portions, and the cost is very low -- about $12 per person. And, I can actually carry a nice conversation with my wife in the restaurant without wearing out my voice. Maybe I am just not cool enough to understand these trendy-expensive restaurants...