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Burn, Baby, Burn: Bahn Thai Not Scared of Spice

There's a guy in tears at one of the three small tables inside Banh Thai. There are three more tables outside, but that is all the seating available.

"They make it way spicy here!" he says. "They don't play around!"

His tears are half joy, half exposure to excessive Scoville Heat Units.

He's not just a wimp, either. I'm tougher than most güeros when it comes to spicy foods, and I order my plates "hot" at this little University Heights shop. "Extra hot" would probably be too fiery to be enjoyable. I'd have to be in the mood for punishment, which is a once-in-a-blue-moon scenario. In that rare case, the aforementioned tearful customer assures me that the kitchen at Banh Thai will make dishes as spicy as the guests want, even to the point of agonizing, eye-watering, mouth-scorching overkill.

The food presentation isn't fanciful by any means. Everything comes on a styrofoam plate (or in a take-out container), and the water's in a self-serve bubbler in the corner. But the service is friendly, the tables are clean, the food's well above average, and the prices are low. The main dishes are all priced at $7.95 for chicken, beef, pork, tofu, or vegetables; and $8.95 for the executive option, shrimp.

Bahn Thai's drunken noodles are quite good. Spicy, plentiful, and generous with the fried basil. An entrée is enough food to fill most diners without appetizers, but tom yum soup ($3.95) or a shredded papaya salad ($5.95) will get the job done in a heartbeat. The red curry plate is a milder than the drunken noodles, and much richer. It's equally filling, however, as it comes with an enormous amount of rice.

Banh Thai
4646 Park Blvd #3
619-299-6363
Mon-Wed 11-10
Th-Sat 11-11
Sunday 5-10

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There's a guy in tears at one of the three small tables inside Banh Thai. There are three more tables outside, but that is all the seating available.

"They make it way spicy here!" he says. "They don't play around!"

His tears are half joy, half exposure to excessive Scoville Heat Units.

He's not just a wimp, either. I'm tougher than most güeros when it comes to spicy foods, and I order my plates "hot" at this little University Heights shop. "Extra hot" would probably be too fiery to be enjoyable. I'd have to be in the mood for punishment, which is a once-in-a-blue-moon scenario. In that rare case, the aforementioned tearful customer assures me that the kitchen at Banh Thai will make dishes as spicy as the guests want, even to the point of agonizing, eye-watering, mouth-scorching overkill.

The food presentation isn't fanciful by any means. Everything comes on a styrofoam plate (or in a take-out container), and the water's in a self-serve bubbler in the corner. But the service is friendly, the tables are clean, the food's well above average, and the prices are low. The main dishes are all priced at $7.95 for chicken, beef, pork, tofu, or vegetables; and $8.95 for the executive option, shrimp.

Bahn Thai's drunken noodles are quite good. Spicy, plentiful, and generous with the fried basil. An entrée is enough food to fill most diners without appetizers, but tom yum soup ($3.95) or a shredded papaya salad ($5.95) will get the job done in a heartbeat. The red curry plate is a milder than the drunken noodles, and much richer. It's equally filling, however, as it comes with an enormous amount of rice.

Banh Thai
4646 Park Blvd #3
619-299-6363
Mon-Wed 11-10
Th-Sat 11-11
Sunday 5-10

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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