Menlo Park may seem an anachronism, a residential Shangri-la where antique fire trucks lead parades, Bible study groups fill cafés, and new neighbors are welcomed with homemade casseroles. But look closer: this is a town with a will of iron. When the beloved Kepler's bookstore faced closure, citizens fought back with petitions, donations, and VC savvy, saving the establishment. It is now partly staffed by eager volunteers. Similar tactics rescued the local bakery, Gerry's Cakes, yet these are likely just the first of the town's growing pains. While the public schools have a million dollar endowment, school board members worry they won't be able to handle the influx of students coming from private schools and new families flocking to town. And as the tech economy accelerates, McMansions are replacing bungalows and downtown boutiques are slinging Vera Wang. Menlo Parkers may be vigilant, but now they will have to proctect their idyllic burg from the most serious threat of all: themselves.

SHOP FRONTS
Yonten Raza's family hand spins and knots modern wool rugs in Kathmandu for Dolma. "When we opened seven years ago, we worried that Menlo Park was boring and dead," says Raza. "But now all the interior designers come down to Menlo Park to shop." 611 Santa Cruz Ave.

Where kiddie accoutrements are concerned, Le Cirque des Enfants is over the (big) top. An enormous plush giraffe and circus tent awnings greet patrons shopping for Marie-Chantal diaper bags and tot-sized genuine rabbit fur vests. 789 Santa Cruz Ave.

Nak's Oriental Market was a traditional Japanese shop until owners Ikie and Seikichi Kurose started taking requests. Now they carry an assortment of foods, from quail eggs to galangal to 20 different types of Dutch cookies. 1151 Chestnut St.

WHAT IT COSTS
...to rent: $1,600 a month for a one-bedroom duplex at 999 Crane St.
...to buy: $1.85 million for a 2,354-square-foot home at 696 Live Oak Ave.

THE TALK
Meet the Momfia. Menlo Park's super-moms don't shy from bringing their hard-earned graduate-degree expertise to bear on the schools. With a recent school tax on the ballot, one parent lobbyist even visited St. Patrick's Seminary to pressure the nuns for a yes vote. Local PTA meetings fill the downtown Starbucks for hours on end, and locals know better than to opt out. "Volunteering," says one mom, "is mandatory."

HANGOUTS
Café Borrone is now Menlo Park's unofficial citizens' center. Start-ups use it as an office, and new moms crowd the aisle with Bugaboos during their regular club socials. Citified café culture has hit the sleepy suburbs. 1010 El Camino Real

Wealthy execs and techy bachelors stake out barstools at the British Banker's Club, favored also—and not coincidentally—by silicone-enhanced lovelies. Tiffany lamps, animal heads, and stained glass—this place works hard to keep things old-school. 1090 El Camino Real

In an uncharacteristic lapse of PC sensitivity, a wooden Indian greets cigar aficionados at the Old Kinckerbockers Tobacconists, which stocks its humidors with 200 varieties of rare ceegars. 555 Santa Cruz Ave.

ONLY HERE
While most kids are Xboxing after school, cliques of Menlo Park teens hang out at the unassuming Zanadu Gallery to drink coffee and gossip among New Guinea masks and Han dynasty tomb pieces. 871 Santa Cruz Ave.

ON THIS SPOT
Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter used to bring their guitars down to Kepler's for informal jam sessions. After hearing them play, another Kepler's regular, Phil Lesh, told the KPFA DJ about the new talent, getting Garcia his first big break. 1010 El Camino Real

In 1998 Sergey Brin and Larry Page left Stanford and rented a few rooms from Susan Wojcicki to tinker with a new way to search the Internet. Now Google is a verb, and Wojcicki is the vice president of product management. 232 Santa Margarita Ave.

THE GRUB
The popular greasy spoon Ann's Coffee Shop is a glimpse of Menlo Park's past, from the orange and burgundy Naugahyde booths to the old timers who fill them. 772 Santa Cruz Ave.

Menlo Park families line up for crunchy fish-and-chips at the 78-year-old Cook's Seafood. 751 El Camino Real

Pat Kuleto put his mark on Menlo Park with Carpaccio long before he became the darling of Bay Area foodies. Dinner there begins with raw beef and ends with grappa. 1120 Crane St.