55 Thai Kitchen Golden Hill

Jit Pipatkhajonchai runs the kitchen at 55 Thai Kitchen from behind a working liquor store on Broadway in Golden Hill, the original location before the concept expanded to East Village, San Diego State and Pacific Beach. He spent 25 years and nine restaurants learning the trade in his family's Bangkok business before opening this one with his daughter and a small group of partners. Prices across the menu stay deliberately low, on a thin profit margin the owners accept on purpose so the food stays affordable for students and regulars alike. The room is small and informal, tucked behind the liquor store's shelves with just a few tables for a bowl of tom kha or a plate of drunken noodles.