Seaside’s tastiest place, kickin’ kitchens and bakeries to believe in.

Seaside has famously struggled to realize designs on a downtown – the City Center languishes half empty and the inspired train platform/mixed-use hub that’s been proposed at the east end of Broadway has yet to really leave the station – but there’s a spot between the two that’s quietly become a prominent place to digest the city’s identity.

A short stretch of sidewalk between Fremont and Del Monte, across from the Goodwill, has long been home to two family-run, blue collar-priced, personality-rich places, Rosa Villa Taqueria and Ferdi’s. Now they’ve got a third spot with as much homespun hospitality and value.

Villa’s (899-7710) – welcomingly understated with friendly Rosa directing traffic and delivering choice chile rellenos, authentic enchiladas and superb sweet tamales – has been a Weekly staff favorite for a decade.

Ferdi’s (394-2244) just does lunch, and can afford to because its team does it well, with homemade rotating specials, a roster of Cajun flavor, and great watermelon milkshakes.

Brand new Saigon Noodle (394-8494) adds a third superb bang-for-buck beauty where grandma runs the kitchen, the kids fan out over the dining room, and a giant spiny lobster hangs over the register. Nothing’s more than $7 – phos and noodle soups are $5.50 for a small bowl, $6.50 for a large – and service team is enthusiastic albeit evolving. My plate of bun thit nuong (barbecued pork over noodles and greens) was a bargain at $6 and had my tastebuds buzzing like the 22-table restaurant was for a 1pm lunch.

Together they’re a three-act understanding of Seaside at its best: affordable, authentic, ethnic, flavorful, family-run.

~ ~ ~

While Ol’ Factory continues to be a multifaceted mess – see Zachary Stahl’s cover story and note Morgan Christopher’s recent Facebook proclamation “3,274 ideas, 475 conversations, and 32 meetings later… The re-opening looks VERY promising!” – there’s another Sand City attempt at a self-proclaimed “edgy, big-city” place cooking with The Kitchen, Todd Fisher’s just-opened special event commercial space at 354 Orange Ave. Next Wednesday, Nov. 18, he’s serving up signature tri-tip sandwiches and what he calls “smokin’ the onions”; Friday, Nov. 20, he’s doing a five-course BYOW dinner for $65 ($85 chef’s bar); Nov. 16 and 23 present $75 classes on appetizers (and champion cheese boards) and Thanksgiving sides (good gravy), 206-8401.

Meanwhile, an established kitchen’s turning 10 across town. Pretty cool for a Culinary Center of Monterey that was a blighted and beat-up vacuum when Mary Pagan sat down between four plywood walls to sketch what has become such a sparkling learning sanctuary for both beginners and pros-to-be – and an awesome venue for a party like Saturday, Nov. 21’s Pink Poker Night to raise money for educational causes. $50 strolling dinner, chips, prizes, 333-2133.

Pagan’s also one of the local Les Dames d’Escoffier chapter members laying out the Gourmet Garage Sale stacked with cookbooks, appliances, ephemera and snacks 8am-2pm at 29 Herrmann Drive in Monterey. 624-0830. Proceeds go to female chefs in financial need.

To stretch the lost art of segues: An ace garage sale seeker and friend tells me centrally located/poorly named Sea Harbor (375-1111) has opened in what was long Chinatown at the corner of Webster and Munras in downtown Monterey. The report: Very solid – and, more importantly, very clean.

~ ~ ~

It rhymes with “delicioso meeting mojo” and provides just that: Parker Lusseau To Go (655-3030). I stopped by the venerable Monterey bakery’s new Ryan Ranch outpost (tucked in the first right after the main entrance) before a periodical powwow and the deadline discussions and persnickety local politics just went down easier with excellent tomato-goat cheese and lorraine quiche ($5 per little pie), terrines ($4.50) and fresh berry tarts ($4.50). Lunch looks just as good.

Speaking of good local bakeries, Angelina’s (394-8808) has been on my mind since I heard the reopened Rosie’s Cracker Barrel in Carmel Valley (659-2926) was stocking their treats, so I stopped in there en route to a dinner party and manager Odir Bonilla plugged me into some of the favorites: Oblivion ($4) is a dense and delicious mousse – too much chocolate for the weak (Odir prefers the Chocolate Mousse Bars, $3.50, which was also excellent) – that soars with a sip of good red. And the Boston Cream Pie (3.75) was boss.

~ ~ ~

The Great Wine Escape reminds us the Monterey County Vintner and Growers know how to celebrate our divine vines (see pg. 23)… Big developments at top local spots. Michael Burke is launching Star Market’s new Specialty Cheese Shop (422-3961) and John Cox is the new executive chef at Casanova (625-0501) after stints at Hotel Hana-Maui & Honua Spa and El Monte Sagrado in Taos, New Mexico… Doorbell Dining’s got 30 more local restaurants in its 60-minute-delivery lineup. 373-FEED… Saturday, Nov. 14, Cal Stamenov, Pastry Chef Ben Spungin, Florist Susanna Gamble and Cheese Shop chief Kent Torrey form a powerhouse panel on holiday hosting, replete with recipes, tips, tastings and new release wines. $85, 658-3550… Zeph’s One Stop Local Pinot Tasting is Thursday, Nov. 19, and will sell out. $20, 757-3947… If you made it down to Big Sur Food & Wine you’re already looking forward to the next one – nice work, Toby and team… Amen already.