A few months back, I heard about a Thai Restaurant located in an office park in Sorrento Valley. I did some quick "Googling" (hmmm…is that an appropriate present participle?) and Thai Test Kitchen came up, located off of Lusk Boulevard, right down the street from Eurofood Depot. The place was fairly close by and they even open at 9am! A Thai restaurant! So, after returning from our last trip, I headed on over to grab an early lunch.
Thai Test Kitchen is located in the Sea View Corporate Center. Such an interesting location.
There's ample parking. The interior is a collection of posters, knick-knacks, with a certain charming kitschiness.
I took a look at the menu posted and have to say, the prices did give me some pause. I thought it was all in my mind, but when I did a menu check, in some cases Soi 30th was cheaper!
The young lady working was very friendly and when I mentioned the decor, she laughed and told me that they were previously a deli and coffee shop and decided to change course. They still do a couple of sandwiches like the BLT and also coffee. but now the focus was Thai Food. Things were going so well that they decided to open until 7pm on Fridays! Good for them!
I decided to try out the Crispy Pork with Basil ($15.49).
No, your eyes aren't fooling you. That's a fairly small portion. The egg was crisp at the edges just like I enjoy it, but a bit over cooked for my taste as the yolks was hard.
The pork belly was quite good, crisp, yet fatty. I really liked the spice level; it was a bit too much for "CY" whom I gave a sample to, but I enjoyed it. Also enjoyed the green beans and the Thai basil flavor, there's hint of garlic, just enough sodium, with nice umami from fish sauce and soy. This was definitely not an "Ameri-Thai" dish.
The portion of rice was quite large in comparison to the amount of pork belly which consisted of 4 pieces.
Well, while the price to portion ratio seemed a bit skewed, I decided to return and try one of the pick-a-protein dishes and settled on the Eggplant with Basil ($12.99). The young lady recognized me from my previous visit. I asked her what protein would go best with the eggplant and she said chicken.
Like before, the flavor and heat were quite good…. perhaps I'd enjoy a bit more basil, but no complaints with the rest. On the negative side, the chicken was really tough and dry, the eggplant was not cooked the way I like it. It was too hard. I like a slightly crisp exterior with a creamy interior; this was solid all the way thru. Like before, there was quite a generous portion of rice provided.
As I was leaving, the young lady handed me a card with a QR code on it. She told me to just scan, order, and pay…. then my order will be ready for pick-up. There's no upcharge.
So, deciding I needed to do one more visit, I did the QR thing and ordered the most expensive item on the menu, the Spicy Basil Duck ($20.99). Even though it wasn't the same young lady working on this visit, the woman working was every bit as friendly.
As you can see; there's quite a bit of rice. I really enjoyed the seasoning and spice again; the bamboo shoots were wonderful with the Thai Basil and savory components; nutty-anise goodness. The duck was a bit on the dry side, but the flavor was good, nice "duckiness" with a touch of sweet and assertive savory components.
I really appreciate having a place like this fairly close by. It's definitely not "Ameri-Thai", though I do think the proportion of rice to dish is a bit skewed on the starch side and the prices fairly high for the portion size.
Still, the folks here are quite friendly and nice. I also like that they open early, since I often like to get lunch at 10-1030. So, I'll definitely drop by again and try some other dishes. So, I guess they "passed the Test"?
Thai Test Kitchen
10184 Telesis Ct.
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon – Thurs 9am – 5pm
Friday 9am – 730pm
Closed Saturday and Sunday
I saved the seaweed salad for the Missus, not a fan of the stuff. The rice was moist and cooked decently.
It did seem like my sandwich was sticking "its tongue out at me"……perhaps mocking me? To use a single word to describe this would be "light". From the slightly crusty, yeasty-airy bolillo to the filling. Other than a good amount of heat from the jalapenos this was quite light. In my mind, it could have used a bit more salt (when was the last time I wrote that?), tomatoes, and onions. Still, it was a decent breakfast and the price was right.
This came on a by-the-book, yeasty telera roll. The chorizo was nice and smoky, with a hint of spice. The jamon was a rather thin slice and was made irrelevant by the chorizo. The gooey cheese was the glue (no pun intended) that added a slight milky flavor to things. There was a bit of jalapeno for some zip, but I could have used more beans on this. I think I'll have the papas con chorizo version of this next time.
Big Jim's Roast Beef & Subs opened as a Food Truck/pop-up about March 2021 and has steadily built a following of its New England Style slow roasted style Top Round sandwiches, ultimately opening this storefront in September. They still Pop-Up at the Wednesday Ocean Beach Farmers Market and the Thursday Oceanside Sunset Market.
A simple menu. When you order, toppings are described and you can decline or ask for an ingredient 'on the side'.
Junior Beef Sandwich ($9). This sandwich is very large; the in house roasted top round, sliced thin and served medium rare, the beef chilled. This has wonderful flavor and texture. It is served on a butter grilled burger bun with a horseradish mayonnaise and American cheese. We asked for the BBQ sauce on the side. 
French Dip ($16). Apologies for the photo. The aroma of the roasted beef was amazing. Again, thin sliced beef, cooked more medium, served warmed with Provolone cheese. Great sandwich, easily shared.
The Italian bread roll, sesame-seeded, was fresh, flavorful and sourced locally from a bakery in Little Italy. The jus had bits of meat in it and was not salty. Quite perfect. 
The BBQ Sauce had a nice 'tang' and the grilled onions were sweet. Each was added as a condiment at the end bites of the sandwiches. 
Seating out front.
We arrived at about 7:30, parked, checked in and were shown to our assigned float.
Statice (three colors) all will have to be cut, dried and blended into powder.
Bark has to be peeled and brushed smooth so the glue can adhere.
Straw flowers need to be cut and divided into colors (see the darker gold?)
It took hours for two of us to cut the bucket filled with the dark statice.
Meanwhile, some people were decorating the City of Alhambra float (seen fully open and collapsing down on 
The Oddfellows were preparing their float for tourist groups and decorators (This is the 'off camera' side, which I didn't photograph during 
Local students, earning Community Service Hours, were working quietly and efficiently.
Gluing dry wheatgrass -to resemble dog fur- begins at the feet.
Plenty of people showed up, but still many more volunteers could be accommodated.
The materials used on the 'candies' included powdered rice, mung beans and dark lettuce seeds.
These completed 'lightbulbs' were spotted near the City of Newport Beach float (a group of seven satellites)
People were working on the 'keyboard' of the Coding for Veterans float. There will be two back to back large screens with a fun video on this symmetric float. (Many floats are not symmetric, hence the "Camera Side" and the "Off Camera" side). 
You can see more of the candies, which will be used on this satellite of the city of Newport Beach float.
The steam trays were not available.
A few Sandos were in the counter.
The Noodle Bar also was not filled.
There were plenty of desserts.
We picked up a few things, paid and went to the seating area.
We used the microwave for the Tempura Set ($6.99)
Took home two sections of the Katsu Pork Sando ($4.99)
We also heated the Yakisoba ($5.75) and ate about half.
But upon parking my car and walking over, I was relieved to see the sign that said "same owners, same menu, same flavors." I guess it was time to reacquaint myself with the Arepa Pabellon.
First thing I noticed was that the arepa was super soggy and actually started falling apart. I like my arepas on the crisper side…Congress Cafe was already teetering on the edge of too soft for my preference, so this kind of pushed it over the edge. There was perhaps a bit too much cheese on this, but the folks here had really gotten the proportions down the last couple of times I visited. There's the seasoned beef, with nice pungent flavors and was very tender if a bit greasy; the sweet and starchy plantains, the black beans, mild garlic, cumin, smokiness, though this was a bit on the salty side. The tangy, but not very spicy salsa verde helps cut the salt and richness.
Still the mushy arepa was hard to manage and enjoy. No wonder the included a fork in the bag?
