Typically Thai in the South Bay
Written: Jun 01 '05
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Pros: Thai Pepper is pretty good - large menu with vegetarian options.
Cons: While delicious, Thai Pepper doesn't stand out.
The Bottom Line: Thai Pepper in Santa Clara is good - nothing more, nothing less.
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| megugrrrl's Full Review: Thai Pepper |
Thai Pepper is strategically situated in the Franklin Mall, a dark, cinderblock outdoor strip mall (circa 1982), kitty corner to The Claran Lounge (a very divey bar) and a nail salon. In a way, Thai Pepper fits this mall, but only because I can't explain why it does (or why The Claran Lounge and the nail salon do.) They're not quite off the beaten path, not quite quirky... second rate? Yeah, that's it - junior varsity.
Layout
The place is small-ish - maybe a dozen tables - and is loaded with Thai knickknacks and what nots - LOADED. Miniature vases with fake flowers, cute elephant figurines, a disturbing amount of handicrafts, and of course a rather large picture of the Thai royal family. They serve water in clunky glass goblets, and have inserted hand-painted cloth placemats underneath a glass tabletop for you to enjoy.
It's casual, drawing neighborhood families, couples on dates and tables of friends. A few people wander in to pick up phoned in orders. If you get here when its warmer in during the day, you can dine al fresco, and get an even better view of The Claran Lounge.
Menu
The Thai Pepper menu is pretty typical - appetizers, entrees, curries, and noodles, with the pre-requisite drinks and desserts like Thai Iced Tea and fried bananas. Prices run a little high, (moderate to the South Bay) with curries around $9, and main dishes close behind at $8. A meal with soup ($8 for two people), appetizers (the magic number $8), a curry dish and a vegetable, salad or meat dish ($8?), plus dessert (not quite $8) will run around $40.
Is it worth it?
We shared five delightful skewers of Satay Chicken - which were the evening's hit. They were moist and flavorful, with just enough curry powder to make its presence without being bossy, and a half a whipser of tumeric. Of couse once you glob on their addictive peanut sauce, you embark on a whole new flavor journey. Also notable was their sweet and tart cucumber salad/sauce - a jad I believe it's called. Enjoying all three things at the same time was bliss, and everyone loved these.
Unfortunately with something that wonderful to start with, everything else was just typical. Our roasted duck in green curry ($10) came with squshy Asian eggplant, green peas, crisp green peppers, and a layer about an inch thick of translucent oil (prime suspect - duck.) True to Thai green curry, the coconut milk and spices elicited some initial 'ooohs' and 'mmmmms', but oddly the curry seemed to lose its complexity after a few bites. It could have used just a smidge for flavor and spice (not heat spice, but flavor spice.)
Of note at Thai Pepper is the Vegetarian section on the menu. Granted you can almost always substitute tofu or veggies in a curry at Thai restaurants, the vegetarian section offers a few novel things like Larb Tofu salad ($8.) (Typically larb is a Thai salad made with ground chicken sauteed in an intensely delicious sauce - hints of lime, onion, and that mouth-watering Thai combination of spicy and sweet - served on a scant portion of lettuce.) I love larb and it never occured to me that you could make larb with tofu. At Thai Pepper they use dice-sized cubes of deep fried tofu, which really isn't the same as larb gai. Actually, it was quite a disappointment. The Larb Tofu was too sour, which could have been a mistake just for that evening, but I'd stick to larb chicken, which they do have.
The desserts were good - the sticky rice with mango ($5) was a large warm square of sweet sticky rice and perfectly ripe mango - and the deep fried banana ($4) with its thick breading was decent. The Thai iced tea, served in a tall glass milk shake glass needed more tea taste, but it was yum.
Service & Such
The service, while a little slow, was typical for a Thai restaurant - very polite, considerate and warm - but nothing memorable.
It's close enough to Santa Clara University that a piece of computer paper taped to the door lets you know that students get 10% off their meal, and yet I didn't see a single student type all night.
What stands out the most is probably its location. Two other restaurants draw diners to the Franklin Mall, Mio Vicino and Hatcho (Italian and Japanese - incidentally, Hatcho is the kaiseki place everyone talks about - why we didn't go to Hatcho is a long story I'd rather not get into - but I'm definitely going there next time.)
Recommended:
Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Best Suited For: Friends
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Epinions.com ID:
megugrrrl
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Location: Oakland
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