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46 San Diego Reader November 3, 2016


Savory gravy


For the latest reviews from Reader writers and a complete searchable list of 2000 restaurants, please visit SDReader.com/feast


A cozy, out-of-the-way spot Bangkok Spices, 3627 30th Street, North Park. The name seemed familiar, but when I walked past Bangkok Spices shortly after it opened on 30th Street, I couldn’t quite place it. Eventually I realized I’d been to a restaurant of the same name a mile north, on El Cajon Boulevard. Sure enough, Bangkok Spices moved out of that location a little while back when the lease expired (now it’s a pho joint). A second Bangkok Spices also recently closed in Kearny Mesa. Now the reliable Thai spot does business in a converted Craftsman home midway between Upas and University. I’d call it a good move. Aside from the Pae-


sano Italian family restaurant that’s held the same spot for nearly 50 years, this section of 30th has been an oddly dormant stretch of North Park’s restau- rant row. But lately I’ve seen it start to come alive with new businesses. Nothing as flashy as you’ll find a couple blocks north or south, but there’s decent, affordable food for neighbor- hood residents to enjoy when diners from other parts of town gobble up the parking and tables around local hot spots. While Thai Buddha statues and other South-


ing dinner. Like other entrées on the menu, this dish


FEAST!


ranged in price from 8 to 14 dollars, depending on whether I opted for a veggie, meat, or seafood version. I went with chicken at 10 bucks and asked for a spice level of 5 (out of 10). All in all, a pretty milquetoast order for a Thai restaurant, and if you’re looking for a more adventurous Thai experience, it’d be pretty easy to ramp up the spice or dig in to the restaurant’s seafood options,


which include grilled salmon, steamed sole, and fried catfish. But I have no regrets. It tasted great and was


just about large enough to serve two modest appetites. Add an appetizer and you’ve got a winning date night at what feels like a cozy, out- of-the-way spot…in the middle of North Park. by Ian Anderson


A large serving of lad na — good for family-style dining.


Not all that tasty, plus a hangover Mamut Brewing Co., Calle Tercera #8161, Baja. Situated on Third Street in what used to be the Foreign Club building, Mamut Brew- ing Co.’s main location is top notch. The old hotel is one of Tijuana’s oldest buildings. Leg- end says that the build- ing was commissioned


by Al Capone and that Charlie Chaplin was a regular patron. The entrance leads to a hallway with murals


east Asian decor aren’t the first things you’d associate with San Diego’s early-20th-century Craftsman style, the juxtaposition works nicely here. Without trying to be glamorous, this is a comfortable and appealing space that feels a step up from the old locations. My lunch felt almost hybrid as well. I picked


lad na, a wide-noodle dish with carrots and Chinese broccoli smothered in tapioca gravy. I always marvel at this dish because, while the delightfully slippery stir-fried rice noodles read pure Thai, the savory chicken-stock gravy would not taste out of place at a traditional Thanksgiv-


painted by artist Teak that invoke pre-historic times with cave paintings of mammoths being hunted. The space opens up to a roomy bar with multiple craft-beer selections. They have a size- able balcony that overlooks Calle Tercera. Across the street from the balcony there’s a


large mural of a mammoth, and there’s a mam- moth-shaped oven in the kitchen. A mezcal room is situated next to the kitchen where they occa- sionally show movies. A few months ago they inaugurated their new concert space, which can host hundreds of people. Mamut Brewery Co. also has another location


Three-cheese burger with caramelized onions


in Plaza Fiesta. The extensive menu is identical, with beer, wine, mezcal, mixed drinks, pizza, burgers, fries, chicken wings, hot dogs, salads, and sandwiches. All for a low price (especially at the current peso exchange). I have tried almost everything on their menu,


and I give most of it a favorable review. Noth- ing is over $5, except for some guest mezcales. The hamburgers get the best rating. Pizza gets the best value and a bonus point for original- ity (crickets on a pizza!). Chicken wings are abundant and cheap (regular quality). Their home mezcales are cheap — some smoky, some smooth, all of them good. The mixed drinks are better than okay for the price. I’m not a wine drinker, and I’ve heard mixed reviews about their wine, but I enjoyed the few I tried. And, again, super cheap. I wanted their beer to be really good. Alas, it


is not. I’ve been a patron of Mamut Brewery for over four years, since it opened on the top room of an art gallery in Pasaje Rodriguez. From there they acquired their own small room across from the art gallery. You can still find this small room in downtown Tijuana today. Beer used to sell for 15 pesos back then. They filled growlers or one-liter plastic bottles for 50 pesos. Now they sell pints for 60 pesos (40 pesos before 8 p.m.), which is still very cheap. Their beer used to be good. The price and


lack of competition made the quality forgivable. If it wasn’t good, at least it was drinkable. Dry stout, black IPA, American pale ale…when they opened their Plaza Fiesta location they had a Double IPA that was beyond anything they had crafted before. But they tend to not repeat their beer. In the years they have been active, Mamut has not been


able to establish a rec- ognizable beer for their brand. Every time I go to any of their locations the beer menu is com- pletely new. Some beer styles I have never seen. The majority of them turn out to be barely drinkable. Their beer is also prone to give you a hangover. The quality has been consistent ups and downs, and even the best ones last only a short while. In spite of this ,


Mamut Brewery Co. still holds a place in my


heart as the first craft beer that I got to know in Tijuana. Mamut has grown exponentially, covering too much ground, and their beer is getting overshadowed by competition. Their original location continues to be a hub of activ- ity for local artists and curious tourists. And at 40 pesos ($2.25 a pint), it is worth it just for the ambiance and to keep supporting what used to be the only craft brewery in downtown Tijuana. by Matthew Suárez


La Mesa lunch spot Sheldon’s Service Station, 8401 La Mesa Boulevard, La Mesa. When La Mesa held its Oktoberfest in early October, a running topic of conversation was whether the city is the next North Park or the next Little Italy. La Mesa is a great city to live in, but, unlike


those hipper neighborhoods, there hasn’t been much of a reason for people to visit who don’t have business or relatives in the area. However, things have been changing since the


Cohn Restaurant Group opened two spots in the city’s village area, Bo-Beau and Coin Haus. Now, La Mesa native Aaron Dean is opening


up four restaurants in the next 18 months. The results look promising based on Dean’s


first venture, Sheldon’s Service Station, which opened a few weeks ago after a soft opening for Oktoberfest. Sheldon’s is an outdoor café built on the site of


a former gas station. Currently open for breakfast and lunch, the restaurant has plans to serve din- ner starting in November. There are a lot of items worth eating in


the meantime. For breakfast, we tried the latkes, which were


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