Tired bicicletas. These guys made the trek from the San Diego neighborhood of South Park down to Tijuana. (We gave them a break on the trolley on the way home.)

On 05 of December 2009 we set out by bicycle — joined by Jay, Katie, and Michael of North Park farm-to-table restaurant The Linkery — in the direction of Suzie’s Farm, an organic farms that supplies The Linkery with some of its produce.

Set & Drift also happens to be part of the Suzie’s Farm CSA program. Every two weeks we pick up one box of whatever is in season at the farm (from Grant’s Marketplace in South Park – oh so convenient). To give you a sense of what’s inside, we laid out a December box on our table.

So beautiful. Such variety. Building recipes based on what’s on hand is a new creative challenge.

Suzie’s Farm owner Robin was generous with the taste tests. We were also excited to hear that strawberries will make their way into the CSA box in early spring.

They’re trying out growing heirloom tomatoes in the greenhouse. Farm owner Lucila explained that sometimes it’s good to be rough with tomatoes. Perhaps if they think they’re on their way out, they’ll make babies faster. And those are some delicious babies.

Suzie’s farm is not far from the U.S./Mexico border. So close, in fact, that we decided to take the bikes across. We ended up at Tijuana ceviche restaurant Erizo: amazing. The quail egg was a nice touch.

After many shared plates and a few bottles of wine we decided to link up with Derrik on his Turista Libre outing. We found ourselves at TJ bar Garces, a fantastic lounge that pays homage to Mexican actor Mauricio Garces — fully outfitted with gold upholstered booths and mirrored tables. We spent a good amount of time with the Turista Libre crew, admiring their loot from the Tijuana shopping spree, before hitting the road.

So sore the next day but so worth it.

If you’ve been paying attention, San Diego is celebrating beer with a passion. Show some love by voting for your favorite Beer City in the states and show Charlie Papazian (homebrew hero and founder of the Brewers Association and the Great American Beer Festival) what’s what.

Thanks for the heads up from one our favorite watering holes, Blind Lady Alehouse, part of an impressive microbrew corridor along 30th St. & Adams Ave. that includes Hamiltons, The Whistlestop, Sea Rocket Bistro, The Linkery, Ritual Tavern, Toronado, Jayne’s Gastropub…

Did I miss anybody?