San Diego Spotlight : Doing Their Countries Proud in Kearny Mesa

The search for inexpensive ethnic food leads inevitably to Convoy Street.

Other San Diego thoroughfares boast plenty of mom-and-pop establishments, but Kearny Mesa’s Convoy Street sweeps together the cuisines of most of Asia and presents them primarily in casual, modest establishments; the choice ranges from Afghan and Indian to Cambodian, Laotian, Chinese, Korean and Japanese. Virtually all of these restaurants--from tiny and unimposing to immense (but still, in most cases, unimposing)--are located in the dozens of miniature shopping centers that arrange themselves at right angles to the street.

Two unrelated, utterly dissimilar but worthwhile eateries are situated in the same quiet mall at 4633 Convoy. Chop Stix makes a great specialty of Japanese meal-in-a-pot noodle dishes, while Little India, as might be supposed, serves curries and similar preparations, with a self-proclaimed emphasis on the cooking of the Punjab.

Tiny, crowded and utterly without pretense (the decor extends to beer posters and hand-printed signs advertising the day’s specials), Chop Stix offers primarily noodles and rice, in huge portions and garnished both simply and with great elaboration. In only a few cases do the prices exceed $5 for a more than generous serving.

The noodle varieties are three: thin, fragile, egg-enriched ramen ; fat, chewy udon wheat noodles, and slender, spaghetti-like soba , which are made from buckwheat. Both the udon and the soba are served in sweet, rich-tasting miso broth ( miso , or soybean paste, is the basis for Japan’s daily soup), and with identical choices of garnish--the diner simply selects the type of noodle he finds more appealing. The ramen may be dry or in soup, and options include both the highly flavorful mabo - ramen garnished with stir-fried minced pork and beef, tofu and a spicy-sweet sauce, and the more restrained chasyu - men , with a topping of barbecued pork, seaweed, spinach and other ingredients.

But the udon / soba meals may be more fun, since using chopsticks to lift twisting, snake-like lengths of pasta out of deep iron pots of soup is a minor adventure that splashes a smile across your face along with stains across your shirt. There are such basic choices as pots garnished with tempura shrimp or sliced roast beef, but the nabeyaki offers more variety. Toppings include an egg, partly poached in the broth but still runny, so that it coats the noodles if you draw them through the yolk; scallions, shiitake mushrooms, a slice of pink-edged kamoboko (pressed fish cake) and spinach. It makes an excellent meal.

There are also rice bowls, again variously garnished with mild Japanese curry sauce, with freshwater eel, with a rich mixture of eggs, chicken and vegetables ( oyako - don ) and with katsu , or strips of breaded pork cutlet. Both of the latter are quite nice.

Chop Stix is more a cafe than a restaurant, but it does offer a few starters, including well-stuffed gyoza dumplings and very good, very fresh sushi served in exactly two varieties: blue tuna and California roll. At $2.50 for six generous, tasty pieces, the sushi is a steal.

The trick at Little India is to not show off by ordering the food prepared really hot unless you’re certain of your tolerance level, because, unlike many places, this restaurant will let the spices fly if requested.

The menu offers virtually everything that other local Indian restaurants serve, and virtually nothing unavailable elsewhere--which is to say that there are no surprises lurking among the offerings of crisp samosa appetizers, vegetarian curries, spiced chicken and lamb dishes and kebabs. But within this realm, the menu is comprehensive.

It’s easy enough--and not terribly extravagant--to construct a feast by ordering a number of the hot, freshly cooked breads, chutneys, pickles and other side dishes that give Indian cuisine such variety. Besides the triangular samosa pastries (stuffed nicely with spiced potatoes, or with seasoned minced beef), there is a starter of fried dhal , or curried lentils reheated in a great deal of butter, most of which floats like an oily sea atop the serving. Dip through this pool, however, to pull up a rich, savory, not overly spicy mass, which can be eaten with a fork or rolled inside a bit of the thin chapati bread served on the side; the result in this case could be described as an Indian bean burrito. The crisp papad and chewier paratha breads are also excellent, particularly with the main course, as are the mango chutney and the raita , a cooling blend of yogurt and mild seasonings. The hot lime pickle will bring any dish to life, but be warned that it truly is hot .

Sauced items seem the restaurant’s long suit among the entrees. The menu mentions charbroiled beef and ground-beef kebabs and chicken tikka , in which a half-bird that has been marinated in spiced yogurt is cooked over the charcoal too closely and too long; the charcoal flavor was far too intense. Much better to order one of the sauced chicken offerings, from the mildly spiced, spinach-enriched chicken saag to the jhalfrezi , which simmers strips of fowl in a yogurt sauce flavored with tomato and cilantro.

Among the meat curries, the basic lamb version is rather good, and served with a smart balance of sauce to meat--you want a lot of sauce to moisten the delicately flavored rice arranged in a ring on the plate. The flavor is sharp and thick with spices, and, ordered at a sufficient degree of heat, it will bring a flush to the face. The same is true of the jinga massala , which adds shrimp to a similar, reddish curry sauce. Little India offers relatively few vegetable curries, but the choice includes the classic matter paneer , of peas and fresh cheese, and the eggplant bharta , which simmers the vegetable with cinnamon, cardamom and garam massala powder.

Like Chop Stix, Little India is simply a storefront that has been converted to an eatery, and the style of the place makes no pretense at grandeur. A few murals of Indian personalities brighten an otherwise plain, sparely furnished room.

CHOP STIX

4633 Convoy St., San Diego

569-9171

Lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday, closed Sunday.

Entrees $3.65 to $6.95. Dinner for two, including a beer each, tax and tip, $15 to $25.

Credit cards accepted.

LITTLE INDIA

4633 Convoy St., San Diego

277-4419

Lunch and dinner daily.

Entrees $7.25 to $9.50. Dinner for two, including a glass of wine each, tax and tip, $25 to $40.

Credit cards accepted.