The menu at the new Red Pepper in Saint Paul combines Vietnamese, Thai and Hmong dishes, but since the first two cuisines are pretty widely available elsewhere, I decided to try one of the Hmong dishes. Number 27, sweet pork belly with eggs, turned out to be a savory stew with big chunks of roast pork, (not nearly as fatty as I had feared), hard-boiled eggs, red bell pepper, fresh pineapple green onions and ginger, in a rich brown slightly sweet gravy accented with star anise (I think), served with steamed rice. Delicious, and served in very generous portion.
There is a lot more on the menu that I would like to try, including the squash curry, made with butternut squash, bamboo shoots, peppers, onions and coconut red curry sauce, available with beef or chicken ($7.50), shrimp ($8.50), or a combination of shrimp, squid and scallops for $10.50. The whole fried tilapia with sweet pepper curry sauce ($10.50) also sounds promising. A friend reports that when she ordered the kow poon, a Hmong/ Laotian dish made with shredded chicken, bamboo shoots, red curry and lemongrass, the broth was delicious, but she couldn't find any actual chicken in the dish. Still might be worth a try, but I would ask about the chicken first.
Otherwise, the menu offers a variety of familiar southeast Asian dishes - Vietnamese pho (beef noodle soup), plus variations with seafood and crispy pork belly ($5.50-$7.95); pad Thai ($7.50-$10.50); green papaya salad ($5.95 / $8.50 with beef jerky), and a variety of stir-fried noodle and fried rice dishes.
Red Pepper Cafe, 864 University Ave., St. Paul, 651-292-8800. Closed Sundays.
Six Buck Hank?
Henry Chan at Giapponese Sushi in Woodbury is starting a new promotion this Sunday: selected wines for $6 a bottle. Here's the fine print: the offer is open to everybody on Sundays, and to people in the hospitality industry on Tuesdays. As soon as the outdoor patio is open - Chan says that'll be a couple of weeks - the offer will be good on the patio every day.
Don't expect Chateauneuf-du-Pape at these prices - the labels are trustworthy old cheapies like Oxford Landing Chardonnay and Shiraz, Penascal Sauvignon Blanc, Stella Pinot Grigio; and Shiraz, Riesling, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon from from Banrock Station, an Australian winery that donates a share of its proceeds to environmental causes. Still, a great deal.
What Would Gandhi Do?
Coming Tuesday to 27th and E. Lake: Gandhi Mahal, a new Indian restaurant, next door to Midori's Floating World. The menu seems to be pretty much the standard north Indian repertoire, but owner Rahman Arshad - whose family also owns the Little Taj Mahal in Dinkytown, and several Indian restaurants in New York City - is promising some unusual touches, including a lassi bar, serving several flavors of the traditional yogurt beverage, plus a tapas-like assortment of Indian finger foods. A lunch $9.99 lunch buffet will be offered daily, and eventually, live music on weekends.
The restaurant will be decorated with images of Mahatma Gandhi, who might not have approved of the meat and seafood dishes on the menu - the Indian spiritual leader was a strict vegetarian.
I am Bangladeshi and a chef for 18 years in London at Khan and Tender and also I am Rahmans uncle. I am now retired and 67 years old. I have eaten the food at both Little Taj Mahal and at Gandhi Mahal. The food at Gandhi is better than any of those that I worked for and Little Taj Mahal is only a lunchtime buffet.
Even though there are typical dishes on the menu, the atmosphere of the new Gandhi Mahal is beyond what any of the other local Indian restaurants provide. Very cozy, appealing and soothing environment with romantic colors and lights are good for a peaceful feeling. Sarvodaya is an idea that Gandhi loved, a feeling of coming together across differences for a common idea.
Gandhi would like it--he would not want to inhibit people from their beliefs or did he want everyone to believe what he did. Peaceful persons should have the freedom to enjoy what they would like. Even his daughter Indira was a Hindu, but she was also married to a Muslim man who ate meat, and they were married forever. I think Gandhi would have been happy with that.
The grand opening of Gandhi Mahal is Friday May 30th.
I went there last night and what a feast! I started with my favorite-samosa--and an iced "badami" lassi , which blew my mind for freshness and flavor--nutty and sweet, but not too sweet. I usually have mango lassi , but the waiter, who was remarkably polite talked me into the badami.
The menu is fun and gave me three or four coices of 'hot', and of course I went for "Bollywood jana" (which the waiter explained was " a Journey to Bollywood" kind of hot) I had the "Dil E Dildar" with lamb, mushrooms, spinach (not too much, not too little) and WOW was it good!
I also ordered the "Biriyani kazana" rice which is kind of like Indian fried rice, which was the best I had ever eaten. The waiter tried to talk me out of it because "that is a lot of food for one person" but I was thinking ahead for lunch the next day. Even though I was full, he managed to give me some free ice cream sample called "khulfi" which is made of pistachio's and saffron! What a combination.
Which reminds me...;-)