Now that Red Pepper is gone....

Where is the best place to go for good, affordable, Chinese food?

We loved Red Pepper. We went there a lot. What an amazing value that place was. The lunches, I swear, were less than McD's, and were huge. And they took custom orders. My favorite special order was Kung Pao chicken with extra fresh ginger and Chinese snow peas. I can't believe I'm never going to have it again there. We usually went every couple of weeks, even though it was pretty out of the way for us. But somehow a couple of months slipped by and we didn't go. A week ago we drove by and we were all fantasizing what we were going to get, all topped by a big pot of Oolong tea to be shared and....saw the for lease sign. Bummer. We wish them well in their new endeavors.

To soothe our sad feelings we went to Seviche, which was--of course--delicious.

But, still, what's the next best choice now that Red Pepper is gone...?

Thanks in advance, Ben

I was wondering the same thing, but looking for authentic Chinese as opposed to Chinese-American. As far as affordable Chinese I stick with Jade Palace ans Szechuan Garden.

It's kind of a power vacuum. As much as I love them, Jade Palace isn't Red Pepper and that's the best we got...

/sigh/hanginghead/sigh



EDIT: Wait... maybe we haven't given Peter the chance to do what Red Pepper did for us. They do have the special menu. Maybe we have grown comfortable withe dim sum familliars and have eschewed the real talents and dishes that he would love to bring to bear, if only we showed him the willingness of the foodie community! Interesting. I think I just tasted a great idea!

To expound: It does no good to offer (x) Lake-style mussles if nobody orders them and they rot- a sacrelidge to the Chinese mind.

Oriental House
Jade Palace
Liang's Cafe

[Robin Garr]

Oriental House
Jade Palace
Liang's Cafe

Agreed on Oriental House, but ask for the Chinese menu. Jade Palace for dim sum only; the dinners don't reach the level of authentic excitement we're looking for. Liang's is pretty good, but again, no authentic menu that I know of, although the regular menu is above average.

Don't forget Jasmine, which is probably the closest to Red Pepper in terms of having a noted chef from Sichuan province and an authentic menu printed in English and available to Westerners.

I've heard that Chef Chen from Peking City is reopening a new place - need to watch out for that, although Peking City was not good about offering "authentic" dishes to non-Chinese. I insisted on the authentic menu once, and they finally gave it to me ... in Chinese only. (I know just enough food symbols that I was able to pick through it and find the lamb, pork, chicken and fish dishes, but it was sketchy.)

I think the short answer to the original post, though, is Jasmine, followed by the authentic menu at Oriental House and dim sum at Jade Palace.

I totally agree with Robin. How I do love Jasmine. Unfortunately, they do not have a web site. I need to remember to talk to Lan about that.

We were at Jasmine last night, Derby Eve. We got there early (had the grandson). By the time we left the place was full, and most importantly as a answer to this topic's question, over half the tables were Chinese families/groups. The owner, or owners' daughter(?), personally handled all the Chinese tables.

As always, the food was excellent. Our three year old grandson loves their hot and sour soup.

[Robin Garr]

I totally agree with Robin. How I do love Jasmine. Unfortunately, they do not have a web site. I need to remember to talk to Lan about that.

Point out the "sticky" post about IgLou offering a cut-rate price for a simple website at the top of the forum.

Will do, Robin. Probably won't be there until Monday at the earliest, could be Tuesday.

[Robin Garr]

Will do, Robin. Probably won't be there until Monday at the earliest, could be Tuesday.

No rush, I think it's an ongoing offer. I don't get any kind of commission or anything, but I do like the folks at IgLou - an indie local business! - and try to support them when I can.

Liang's does have an "authentic" menu. It's not in league with Red Pepper (really no one left is) but they serve some dishes that I've never seen anywhere else.

[Robin Garr]

Liang's does have an "authentic" menu. It's not in league with Red Pepper (really no one left is) but they serve some dishes that I've never seen anywhere else.

Guess it's time for a revisit. When I went a few times before my initial review, the head guy (Mr. Liang?) told me that he didn't want a separate menu but was putting some "real Chinese" dishes on the regular menu. The cumin chicken came close, although even there he admitted that he substituted chicken for the traditional lamb because he thought Americans wouldn't like lamb.

ROLAND!!!!!





Sorry, there are just those people who make you happy simply to have known them. He is that, to me, from the Emporer of China days. I just happened across my favorite hostess last night, from the same house- she was the hostess at the Mint Julep Ball!

(My, how we have grown!)

Agreed on Oriental House, but ask for the Chinese menu...

We went to Oriental House for lunch one day last week. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask about the Chinese menu.

From what we observed, practically everybody who walked in for lunch opted for the buffet.

We ordered from the "regular" menu, Barbara had the Mongolian beef and Hunan pork. We enjoyed them both.

I'm curious about what you'd suggest from the "authentic" menu.

Go to Jasmine. Ask for Lan. Then tell her you want authentic Chinese. She will quiz you about your likes and dislikes and make suggestions. I've been following her suggestions for over a year and loving it!