Peppermint Thai Cuisine - Pepper Pike

My wife and I spend a lot of time in Chagrin Falls, our favorite day trip destination. So with the days getting longer and the weather warming up just a tad, we decided to break loose from the winter chains and pay this lovely town a visit. Where to eat is always a question. Somehow we always end up at the same old places. Then I remembered a friend of mine recommended a Thai restaurant located in Pepper Pike…just up the road (Chagrin Blvd.) a piece from Chagrin Falls. And that worked out just fine, being Valentine’s Day and everything, because the places that take reservations were booked, booked and booked!!

Like all Southeast Asian cuisine, it is not your standard Chinese fare. It is different, with different spices and different textures. It tends to be lighter and more delicate than Chinese, and substantially more spicy than Vietnamese. The cuisine has distinct regional characteristics: curries with coconut milk and turmeric from the south, and dishes with citrus overtones from the north. Its noodle and rice dishes often have some sort of fruit as an ingredient. And “heat” tends to pop up in the least expected places. It is complex cuisine, and one that is worth exploring.

Peppermint Thai is a good place to start. Located in a plaza midway between Chagrin Falls and Corky and Lenny’s just off of the Woodmere roundabout, it is convenient to anyone doing shopping in Chagrin Falls, or as far away as Beachwood Mall and Legacy Village. It is a popular place, taking reservations for parties of three or more. Last Saturday night the place was packed. But we were seated with little waiting time at 6:00. Had we come a half hour later…that would have been another story.

It is a very attractive restaurant, well decorated. The service is adept and friendly. You are not rushed. It offers full bar service with a list of specialized drinks. The Thai Sangria is terrific. If you aren’t familiar with the cuisine, the staff is knowledgeable and can steer you in the right direction. I can tell you up front, you probably won’t like everything you try…but then again, there is plenty of other things to like.

The first thing you will notice are the curry dishes, offered in several different styles. My wife and I are not curry fans so we passed…although the table next to us ordered several different styles and they looked wonderful. Next time we will give them a try.

We started with a very safe chicken satay served with a peanut sauce and a cucumber sauce. We also ordered some vegetable tempura served with a seriously delicate sweet and sour sauce. Both appetizers were very, very good.

Just for the hell of it, I ordered a bowl of soup called Tam Kar Gai. It was a chicken based soup done in coconut milk and seasoned with lime and something else…I know not what!! I didn’t like it. But half the fun of going to a place like this to try some different things.

For my main course, I ordered something called the Crying Tiger, which was marinated skirt steak (one of my favorites cuts of meat) with Thai seasonings grilled over a hot flame. It was outstanding. It was served with a Thai salad of various Thai salad stuff…I know not what…and sticky rice. The salad was terrific…and HOT!!! Like I said, the heat pops up in unexpected places. It was also served with Jasmine sticky rice. This is a rice native to Thailand and has a distinct flavor and aroma. It’s not that it was bad, but it wasn’t my American palate was expecting when eating rice. Then again, if you want Uncle Ben’s…stay at home!!!!

It was fun to read the through the dish descriptions. One of the things you will notice is the use of fruit in their rice and noodle dishes, especially fruits like Mango…which appears pretty much every where on the menu. If you decide to go, visit their website on line and look at the menu beforehand because it is time consuming to read all of the provided information.

I played it safe with my dinner choices. So did my wife who ordered the equivalent of a lo mein Chinese dish…which was also very good. But part of the fun in going to new places is to be adventuresome, and next time we visit Peppermint Thai, we will. I also recommend if you go, go with another couple so you can share several of these wonderfully prepared dishes.

I am not going to give Peppermint Thai any meatballs because I usually like to visit a place more than once before making my decision. That being said…this is a fun and interesting place. Let's settle for two thumbs up. Next time you are up in the area, give it a try.

Peppermint Thai Cuisine
30769 PineTree Rd.
Pepper Pike, OH 44124
Phone: (216) 464-5432