Little Pepper College Point

[johnk]

So, me and Grindy go over there for lunch today and it's closed??
Ended up at Savory Fusion for some dumplings (pork & chive and lamb) and Cumin Lamb Noodle Soup. Any reports on LP??

[Bob Martinez]

Thursday is their day off.

We've been to LP about 5 times over the last 3 months. It's been terrific on every visit. It's one of the best Sichuan restaurants in NYC.

[johnk]

I thought it was Tuesday... Thanks for the heads up. Food was good at Savory Fusion although janie wouldn't last two minutes in there. Sort of funky.....

[janie]

LOL...you know i've never been to little pepper...is there an online menu anywhere?

[Peter Cuce]

http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/...

[janie]

thank you

[Robotron]

These postings prompted me to try Little Pepper (College Point) last night for dinner. Unfortunately, my wife and son do not eat spicy so I was limited in what I can order. Let me first say that the portions were huge and prices were reasonable. Got a lot of leftovers from the meal. We ordered:

Sichuan Style Double Cooked Pork ($10)
For me, this beats the version served at Hunan Kitchen simply for the fact that they don't use fermented black beans. Other than that, both versions are excellent. I simply don't like fermented black beans (or olives or raisins, but that's another story).

Eggplant In Garlic Sauce ($8)
Very good. Just a little spicy which my wife can handle. The skin was slightly crispy from the stir fry. It would have been even better if the eggplant was cut into smaller pieces so there was more surface area exposed to the heat.

Chicken with broccoli ($10)
Okay dish. There was more chicken than broccoli. The sauce was a little too salty.

Dandan Noodle ($6)
It came with a big bowl filled with noodles. The Sichuan peppers was front and center in this dish. My mouth went numb with the citrus sensation that I associated with Sichuan peppers. Wish the noodles was more al dente because it got pretty soft by the end of the dish.

We got to the restaurant around 7 PM and most of the tables were in use. I thought that was pretty good for a Sunday night. Unlike Flushing, that neighborhood feels deserted at night.

[diprey11]

Strange.. there should be no fermented black beans in the real double-cooked pork: the sauce base is broad beans, which tastes differently. Although broad beans is not a rare or an expensive ingredient, there has been some experimentation going on, mostly in Manhattan. ;-)

[scoopG]

Actually, the traditional method for making Twice-cooked pork does call for a bit of fermented black beans!

[scoopG]

I should mention that Lao Chengdu's Twice Cooked Pork versions omit the fermented black beans!

[diprey11]

Thank you Scoop!
We'll be doubly pigging out there soon!

[IWantFood]

I plan on going to Little Pepper in the near future, having read good thing about it. Is communicating with the waitstaff about items on the menu a challenge? And will they make dishes less spicy if requested?

[Bob Martinez]

Engaging the wait staff in detailed discussions about the dishes and then asking for things to be made less spicy is a surefire way to get a mediocre meal.

I suggest you look at their on line menu, pick out some dishes that appeal, and then post them here for comments. Not every dish is heavily spiced. (Look for the ones with a single asterisk or none at all.)

http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/...

[IWantFood]

Right. I've found in various restaurants that when I request the amount of spice be altered, the food usually arrives bland and devoid of any flavor, aka mediocre at best and ruined at worst.

[Lau]

so they're closed on thursdays at dinner time? i was planning on going soon since its been a while since ive been

[Bob Martinez]

Yelp and Menupages say they're closed on Thursdays. You may want to call them.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/little-pepper-flushing

http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/...

[Lau]

ok yah i just checked on yelp too...its fine just make sure i dont go there on a thurs

[Bob Martinez]

Thursday is such a weird day to be closed. You'd figure business would ramp up as the weekend approaches and it would make more sense to close Monday or Tuesday.

Oh well.

[Lau]

yah i was thinking the same thing as well