J&T Thai Street food

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of this food blog. Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy share in the writing of posts on this blog.  Today, Cathy is writing, so the guys can have a bit of a rest while seeking out and enjoying more of their cravings.

The Mister and I had wandered into this (currently under re-construction) mall, with the initial plan of grabbing lunch at Ryan's Cafe and stopping  for an elusive blueberry fritter for dessert, only vaguely recalling Kirk's post from more than two years ago. But since parking was compromised, we ended up a bit farther in the parking lot, and upon passing J&T, decided to eat here instead.Walk in, order and pay.  Your food will be brought to you.  Yes, that is the entire menu, both behind the cash register and on the back of the business card.  There are a few variables, as you can see. Tables of various size and height are in the front area, along with a water dispenser, napkins and condiments on the counter and there are also a few tables in the back.Our 'first time' order.  Simple, served simply...as street food is in Thailand.  A salad (all the salads are the same base of vegetables) topped with chicken ($6).  You have a choice of three dressings: spicy lime, peanut vinegar or lemon grass.  You can specify a spice level, with 5 the top end (3 is as high as I would go as a first timer; it was enough). The other items are described below.The Chicken Satay appetizer ($3) is served without the skewers (yay)...grilled chicken thigh pieces (flavorful) and some cucumber along with a nice (and not too sweet) peanut dip. This could be a light meal.Combined with a chicken Tom Yum soup ($3), definitely a meal.  The spicy sour TomYum, made with lime as well as lemongrass and chilies hit the spot on the chilly day we were here.  It wasn't too crazy spicy though; I could taste the various ingredients.Above is a cross section of a lettuce wrap.  The order of three wraps for $3 could be a meal for me, easily.  Great fresh flavors with a good delicate spiciness contrasted with the cool/crispy iceberg used for wrapping is a perfect combination.Also sticking to the appetizer portion of the menu, fried tofu ($3) was another excellent item.  The order is topped with crushed peanuts as well as fresh cilantro.Returning a couple of weeks later to meet up with cc, who wrote this post about that visit, she and TC and I shared the above abundant meal.  I'll just describe the 'new to you' items. Since I read Kirk's post after the first visit, I knew we had to order the wings.  Ignore the feathery parts; the wings were fried properly and were quite meaty. The came with a sweet/sour sauce for dipping, but were quite good without it.The tofu Pad Thai plate ($7), TC's usual choice, was quite good and there were leftovers. The Shrimp salad ($7) included 5 quite large freshly grilled shrimp, again with the variable of the dressing. The Mister and I returned for another visit and this time chose the calamari salad ($7)...again, same fresh greens, choice of dressing (I do seem to like the spicy lime the best, but all three are quite good) and this time topped with freshly grilled to tenderness calamari pieces.  Another excellent salad.This time, we tried the Tom Kha soup, with shrimp ($4).  I wanted to try the J&T version of this coconut milk based soup and was not disappointed.  Three large shrimp were in the pint sized container.  Quite wonderful, and something I will return and order. 

Happy to have found this small casual restaurant, even though I should've known about it from reading this blog...

J&T Thai Street Food 5259 Linda Vista Road San Diego 92110 (619) 294-7500 Website Open Tues-Sat 11-midnight, Sun noon-9 and Monday 11-10

Comments

[caninecologne]

This was such a nice meal. Thanks for suggesting this place Cathy. I'd like to try their soups and the fried tofu next time.

[Kirk]

Hey Cathy - Good to know the chicken wings are still good.

[Lynn @ Oh-SoYummy]

lettuce wraps and chicken wings sound best to me! i gotta get out of my office for lunch soon! i'm always *pondering* where to go so thank goodness for this blog. ya'll go everywhere!

[Cathy]

J&T is a great little place, cc; I really liked our shared meal. We'll have gone through the whole menu after about three more visits.

We'd never paid much attention to wings until recently, Kirk. Only because we had some which were bad (elsewhere) are we starting to be critical. These were nice.

Thanks, Lynn. My blog posts are a reflection of having to drive around the County for work and noticing where the locals eat, then driving back on an 'off' day. Everybody has to eat...and they do, close to home and close to work.