What did those poor people eat before Rick Bayless was born? If I eat at a place where everybody the kitchen is Mexican, it's authentic Mexican food. Tell the people in San Felipe that fish tacos are not traditional.

There is a guy who sells them at the Linda Vista Farmer's Market on Thursday afternoons. Really messy. Really good.

They do have something every Sunday. It varies, but there is almost always barbecue - chicken, pork and sausages - for $2 a stick. Som tum (papaya salad) is always there as well as noodle soup. If it's a Buddhist holiday there will be a much bigger deal. Check out the women selling things from their gardens, as well as the woman selling homemade sausages. You'll see some different herbs and vegetables and the sausages are great.

There is always a giant spread in the kitchen, for free, that is left over after the monks eat. My wife won't let go in there, but I see a lot of people helping themselves. You might wander into the kitchen looking lost and hungry and I'll bet someone will offer you a plate. You have to go through the kitchen to pray, so there's no reason not to be in there. But you didn't hear it from me.

There is a guy at the Linda Vista farmer's market on Thursday afternoons who sells bacon-wrapped dogs. I don't remember if he had beans available, but everything else you mentioned was on there, I think. They're messy but good.

La Playita. 5185 Clairemont Mesa blvd. $5 for a pint. This is a nice place selling wonderful seafood. Try the 'Return to Life'.
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Now, I've only been in San Diego since 1974, but Fat Tony makes the finest pie I've eaten since I've been here. The $2 pint Thursdays, which feature Ballast Point beers, is like a dream for a guy llke me.

The place has been dark for a while. Does anybody know what is going on?

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Fat Tony's
4973 Diane Ave, San Diego, CA 92117

There is also a guy who sells fresh sauerkraut, pickles and pickled red cabbage at the Little Italy farmer's market. Maybe the same guy. It's very, very good.

Thai temple food and Super Cocina in one day. That's a nice home cooked doubleheader.

You are right about 'nam prik'. 'Nam' means water in Thai, so the description is misleading. There is nothing watery about these chili pastes.

I hope you're not disappointed. 10:30 may be too early; probably the barbeque won't be ready. But even if the food ladies are still setting up they'll be happy to sell you what you need.

I've only been to the temple just north of the Ashby BART station in Berkeley. That one is much bigger and has a much larger selection of foods than Escondido. Try the one in North Hollywood some time. It is immense; as big or bigger than many temples in Chiang Mai.

I don't think we'll be there before noon, but if you see a semi-chubby, middle-aged falang eating and sweating, it could be me. (Though that probably describes every non-Thai guy there.)

I hope you have a great time.
Tom

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Super Cocina
3627 University Ave., San Diego, CA 92104

This last Sunday, July 31, the Thai people from the Temple had a picnic at Kit Carson Park. It was a pot luck extravaganza and everything was free. They had games for the kids; tug of war, soccer, water ballon toss, etc. I don't know what the occasion was, but it was a pretty wonderful time.

We've been going to theTemple almost every Sunday lately. There is always barbeque, som tum and sticky rice. There is also noodle soup - pork, not beef last time - and grilled Northern sausages. Man those sausages are good. It's $2 for a sausage or a pork or chicken stick, I think $4 for som tum and a dollar for a small bag of sticky rice..

The women at the far right side of the food area sell a bunch of home made items and home grown vegetables and herbs. You can get Thai beef jerky, or a bag of five of the big fat sausages to cook at home for $5. Did I say they were fantastic? They're juicy and meaty and you can taste lemon grass and pork and a bunch of other things. If I had one right now I could tell you better, I'll work on my describing skills this Sunday.

There are also plastic containers of what I guess I'd call salads. Some are hot and spicy, some are pickled, some are both. We got a pint of a pickled one this week that had bamboo and cucumbers. Outstanding. They also sell what my wife calls chilis. They are too dry and thick to be called dips, they are more like pastes; she smears them on rice or vegetables. Again, some are really hot, some can be fishy, but they are all interesting and very tasty.

Check it out. We try to get there around noon and stay for a couple of hours. Everybody is really friendly, the prices are low and everything you spend there either goes to the Temple or the women. They can all use the help.

Ba Ren, or if you like pizza, Fat Tony's next door. Diane and Clairemont Mesa blvd. One stop shopping. Have a pint of Big Eye IPA at Fat Tony's while you wait.

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Fat Tony's
4973 Diane Ave, San Diego, CA 92117

If she eats Pho without beef, won't she still be a virgin? (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

JV's 'only Mexican in the most generic and gringo sense'. Um, everyone who works there has roots in Mexico. Don't they get points for that? No huitlacoche. Shame on them. Their salsa bar is awfully good. Their burritos are the size of those in the Mission. Parking is the only problem there for me.

Try Super Bronco Taco Shop at 6725 Linda Vista rd., maybe the closest restaurant of all to USD. (Up the hill on the right) It's pretty divey and very good. Their birria was very good. They sell it - and chile verde - by the pound with all the fixings. Again, only five or six parking spots.

Thank you. Oh, man. I think I first had them 35 years ago at El Rey Sol in Ensenada. Spectacular? Right on the nose.

My wife and I were there just after noon on Sunday, September 26. There was barbequed chicken and pork, sticky rice and som tum for sale. I saw some deserts and soft drinks as well. Pretty small selection, but even sitting in the 175 degree heat it was pretty satisfying. I asked the som tum lady if there was food every week and said she was always there.

The best thing was the greens for sale ('pak' in Thai). There were three or four Thai women selling things from their gardens. We filled several grocery bags with things (some I haven't seen here in the states) like eggplants about the size of peas (sharp flavor), green spiky, stemmy herbs that tasted like garlic and white and green striped egg-shaped eggplants about the size of a quarter. The women all stressed the greens were organic and were very proud of what they had.

There were also some plants for sale. We bought a couple; one was the saw-toothed, minty herb you often get with pho in Vietnamese restaurants, the other was a viny thing my wife said she's been unable to start from cuttings or seed here. There were chiles and a couple of ornamentals as well.

Why Nittaya was yak yaking with the vegetable ladies I asked around. They offer Thai and English classes as well as Thai dancing classes for the kids. I can't be sure everything will be there every week, but you call (760) 741-3459 and ask. I do know they go all out for Buddhist Holidays. Big food. Strange wonderful treats. Loy Khatong is coming up in early to mid November. Be there.

My wife and I wandered in there about 9:30 this morning. Get over there. It's snack-tacular.

My wife and her girlfriends have been talking about the New Year's Festival at the temple in Escondido on Sunday. I have no detaiIs, but the food will surely be wonderful.
Tom

Don't forget Ba Ren, right next to Fat Tony's on Diane. My intro to this site was reading KirkK's posts on this HOT new Szechuan restaurant in Clairemont. I've been a fan of this site, and and an FOY (fan of yoso) ever since.

Ballast Point's Big Eye IPA is my refridgerator beer; the one I keep at home. Their seasonal Victory at Sea (Imperial Porter?) and Sculpin IPA are both incredible special occasion brews.

Doggone it, Phee, you just can't not be nice, can you? And how about a Convoy board? To be serious, 90% of my rotation, as well as the concept of having a rotation, I learned about here.

Bless you, Hound. I will. I'm afraid, though, we'll lose track of all the hot spots in Buttonwillow.

Congratulations. I'm proud of you, San Diego. So, are there any good restaurants there? I like food.

Boat noodles, Sang Dao, 5421 El Cajon blvd. I really mean it this time.

Ha! I should have paid more attention to the title. But here is the challenge from the original post. 'Curious as to others' single dish fav's from S.D.?' I never claimed to be conversant in English.

I was also going to mention Mama's baba ghannouj, as well as her garlic paste and those pink and white pickles on the side.

Tom

You cannot be wrong. There can be no disagreement. You were asked your personal favorite. Anyone who would argue another's personal favorite is not conversant in English. As for me, I'll take Serrano Ham, some olives and a couple of Sangrias from Costa Brava. Or I'll take an armored vehicle to the Ensenada harbor for fish tacos.

Wow. Thank you all. cgfan, you know more about Japanese food than I know about, well, everything put together

Tom.

I really want to explore this food, but new food from different cultures can be a little intimidating. Can someone like me just walk into one of these places and say 'I want to try a bunch of different things. Please help me'.? (I love everything I have ever eaten except rhubarb and green-lipped mussels.)

Thanks,
Tom

My mistake. I didn't see the 'II', as in Double IPA. Those doubles are too big, even for me, and I am a beer guy.

I agree with Josh. Ballast Point makes the finest beer in San Diego - Big Eye IPA. It's at the bottom of Linda Vista Road, just east of Napa.

If it's what I'm thinking about one of the vendors sells it. It's reddish and more granular than powdery. Nice little zing. It would be the vendor right next to the plant lady on the east side. I can't remember the name of it, but it's good on almost everything.

Where is it?