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Red Pepper Experience

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Andrew Mellman

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Red Pepper Experience

by Andrew Mellman » Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:26 pm

Ate at Red Pepper last night, the new Chinese Restaurant on lower Brownsboro (where the Maharajah, Shariott’s, and others have come & gone). Based on a first visit, I think this one will survive! We were there two hours (mainly talking – service is prompt but not rushed, and we were doing a lot of talking) and in that period they had the equivalent of a full turn on a Tuesday night (half Asian and half Caucasian).

The service, as mentioned, was prompt and very cordial. One slight problem: our waitress made suggestions that were more sweet, less spicy, and more traditional than we had wanted (we ordered mainly from the “authentic” menu, although several items on the “standard” menu also appeared unique!).

Three appetizers (and, as I did not take notes, I may have words slightly wrong):

• Smelly chicken: a very spicy dish (moderate heat) of cold chicken. I’ve had this in other cities, and this version was the best ever! One at our party initially complained about the heat, but after a second forkful (not everyone used chopsticks) mentioned that it was truly tasty, not too hot.
• Dragon won-ton: pork wontons in an oil-based semi sweet-hot sauce, redolent with chives. While extremely tasty and delicious – I’d likely order it again, especially with less-adventurous dining companions – this was not as unusual as I might have expected. It was recommended by the waitress. One said that the won-tons were tough, but the other two thought them fine.
• Egg rolls: the only item ordered from the “standard” menu, these were good examples, among the best we’ve had, but nothing to warrant a special trip.

Three main dishes:

• Lamb and fish casserole in clay pot: possibly the best dish we had! Mildly hot spice levels, this was a stew with lamb and fish plus onions, bean thread noodles, and an exceptional tasty broth, sort of in the general Pho family? All of us dug into this dish.
• Bang Bang Seafood Delight: may have name slightly off. Fish, scallops, vegetables, and shrimp in a sweet clear sauce with crunchy fried rice cakes. The combination of textures along with the sweetish sauce was interesting and different. One in our party loved it, while another felt it too sweet. The waitress said we would like it!
• Crispy duck: another of the waitress’s recommendations. This is marinated, steamed, then fried duck, with hoisin sauce (on the side) along with slivered onions, sort of a Peking duck deconstructed and on the bone! While “authentic”, and exceptionally tasty due to the marinating and seasoning, if you’re looking for something you’ll never find elsewhere don’t order it. I don’t want to say this is not good; it’s possibly the best crispy duck we’ve had in years, but you can find similar dishes in other restaurants.

To summarize, we WILL be back! And – while we might order one of the above again – I think the best way to do things here is to ask questions about what is in various dishes, and then just be adventurous and go for it! If you follow their recommendations, you’ll get a wonderful dinner, but it will be a tad more “standard” in terms of flavor combinations than much of the rest of the menu. And, from our experience the rest of the menu was exceptional!
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Robin Garr

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Re: Red Pepper Experience

by Robin Garr » Wed Jan 16, 2008 2:19 pm

andrew mellman wrote:Ate at Red Pepper last night, the new Chinese Restaurant on lower Brownsboro (where the Maharajah, Shariott’s, and others have come & gone). Based on a first visit, I think this one will survive!

Good review, very consistent with my report. (<b>Red Pepper and Royal India review</b>)
I do strongly recommend ordering from the "authentic" Chinese menu. They seem to accept your use of it as a signal that you'll like the real thing and they don't have to dumb it down for you.

We did try the Chinese-American lunch specials once, and they were well-made, but very Americanized. Go with the "real" menu.

I've since learned, by the way, that in addition to being a Sichuanese chef who had a restaurant in Chicago's Chinatown, the chef has also cooked at Chinese embassies in several countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Definitely a strong addition to the Louisville mix.
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by NicoleP » Wed Jan 16, 2008 2:55 pm

Does Red Pepper serve crispy beef by any chance?
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by Andrew Mellman » Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:03 pm

NicoleP wrote:Does Red Pepper serve crispy beef by any chance?



Don't remember! Each of the two menus has five pages of items, and given the chef's experience level, I'd guess that if they don't have it if they weren't really crowded they could make it for you.

I wanted a "carry-out" menu, but when we left the hostess was helping clear tables, and I didn't see any out on her desk.
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by Robin Garr » Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:10 pm

NicoleP wrote:Does Red Pepper serve crispy beef by any chance?

I have only the authentic menu at home, and I don't see it by that name under beef, although they do have "stir fried sliced beef tenderloin."

As suggested on the other crispy beef thread a while back, try asking them about "gan bian niu rou si" and see what they say. The usual hostess, who I think is the owner's wife, speaks English well, although accented, and is very friendly and helpful. I expect you could negotiate a special order with a little smiling effort.
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by Adrian Baldwin » Wed Jan 16, 2008 4:34 pm

Robin,

I'm curious as to the main differences in the 'authentic' menus? I've only seen one place that has one, Oriental House.

I didn't study it too much, but I'm curious as to what makes 'authentic' so much different? I assume bolder flavors, more 'exciting' dishes, etc...?
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by Robin Garr » Wed Jan 16, 2008 4:49 pm

Adrian Baldwin wrote:I'm curious as to the main differences in the 'authentic' menus? I've only seen one place that has one, Oriental House.

I didn't study it too much, but I'm curious as to what makes 'authentic' so much different? I assume bolder flavors, more 'exciting' dishes, etc...?

Adrian, probably a food-savvy Chinese person could tell us a whole lot more, but this Anglo certainly finds the authentic dishes more flavorful and "exciting," just as you've said. SOME of the dishes are very much what most Westerners would consider "challenging." I have not yet worked myself up to the "pig's intestine and blood cake," for instance, or "spicy hot pepper shredded pork stomach," which I suspect to be a Chinese variation on menudo.

Basically, though, many of the dishes seem to me to be very similar to the more familiar Chinese-restaurant courses (and indeed, some of the "authentic" dishes also turn up on the "Chinese-American" menu.) I don't know if they tone down the flavors for those who order from the regular menu or not.

Basically, as I said, it's just Chinese food made for Chinese people, and to the credit of a growing number of local places like Red Pepper, Oriental House and Jasmine, they're now offering Westerners the opportunity to try it, and a bilingual menu to choose it from.

But to answer your question right, I'd almost have to do it on a dish-by-dish basis. Check my review for a few descriptions ... for one, that pan-fried tofu over spinach (which I've now had three times) is one of the best comfort food dishes I've ever eaten in any ethnic tradition. It's simple, aromatic, and it just speaks to me. Others might not hear the same tune.
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by Adrian Baldwin » Wed Jan 16, 2008 4:53 pm

Is it safe to say most Chinese people don't eat your Chinese-American staples like General Tso, Kung Pao, Moo Goo Gai Pan, Chicken w/ Garlic Sauce, etc very often, if ever?

And if they do, is it prepared differently?
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by Robin Garr » Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:49 pm

Adrian Baldwin wrote:Is it safe to say most Chinese people don't eat your Chinese-American staples like General Tso, Kung Pao, Moo Goo Gai Pan, Chicken w/ Garlic Sauce, etc very often, if ever?

And if they do, is it prepared differently?

Good questions, Adrian!

I think we can safely say that Chinese people in China don't eat that kind. Americans of Chinese descent, who knows? Just like some Americans with Italian in our family trees might eat Rice-A-Roni or Kraft pizza. ;)

But seriously, I've noticed that the more authentic local restaurants invariably have a lot of Chinese people eating there - just as the old saying goes about picking a good Chinese restaurant by looking at the diners - and I have to assume that they're not there for the chop suey.
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by Ron Johnson » Wed Jan 16, 2008 8:05 pm

General Tso's Chicken is aHunanese dish, but not known to many Chinese.
Fuschia Dunlop is a good authority on chinese cuisine. Here is an article she did for NY Times on this dish.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/04/magazine/04food.t.html
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by GaryF » Thu Jan 17, 2008 1:32 am

Thanks Andrew- I wanted to try the Smelly Chicken the other nite, but the two of us already had order 4 dishes between us. I was wondering what it was.
The hostess is actually the owner, her husband is usually around in the evenings and weekends, but he works for Norton's I believe. He makes no bones about her being the boss.
It is really a great place to have in my backyard, almost. I've only had one thing there I was less than crazy about- and that was my fault not theirs.
Being the pretentious sort that I am I always order from the "authentic" menu- I'm trying to order my way through it, though I will also probably leave out the dried intestines, blood cake, and beef tendons.
There is a to go menu available, but it is only the American version, and that is also the only one posted on their website.
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by Aaron Newton » Mon Jan 28, 2008 9:52 am

We finally got out to Red Pepper last night for a first tasting. We ordered the Dragon Won-tons, which we loved, the Pan Fried Tofu, also loved, and the Big Bang Seafood.

Upon the first helping, the Big Bang Seafood, my wife and I agreed that it was absolutely delicious. The sauce had a distinct caramel flavor which was surprisingly pleasant in combination with the seafood. The cripsy rice cakes over which it is served takes on the flavor of caramel corn, which was fantastic. Or at least, for that first helping it was. By the second helping we took, we were already done with it. It really was far too sweet for us. Nto the fault of the dish or the restaurant, just wasn't for us. We enjoyed it at first, but simply tired of it very quickly.

The wontons and tofu were both fantastic though, and we really look forward to trying some more of the authentic menu.
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Re: Red Pepper Experience

by Eliza W » Sat Mar 08, 2008 3:56 pm

I tried this the other night as a "girl's night" with just my daughter, and I can say it's a great addition to the Louisville scene.

I don't know if they've changed their policy, but there was only one menu the night we were there, and it was full of Szechuan standards. We had dan dan noodles (too hot for her little girl palate but perfect for mom's), unique chicken smell (she claimed at first that it was too hot, but kept going back for it, and I neglected to say anything in case she decided it was too hot again). For a main course, we had ma po tofu. Normally I'd get this dish hot, but I ordered it mild in deference to the little one. She loved it - the mildly spicy pork a great contrast to the soft, perfectly cooked tofu. We also had pea shoots, a special that night and a first for my daughter. They were excellent.

We ended up boxing up food since the little one doesn't eat that much and mom is trying to lose 10 pounds, and it was excellent the next day. Dad was jealous.

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