Two-Minute Review: Thai Peppers

The nice thing about Thai food is that you get a lot of food, free food even, yet somehow never walk out of the restaurant feeling overstuffed. Such was the case on two recent lunch trips to Thai Peppers (1411 E. Sunshine St., 417-882-1979, thai-peppers.com). The entrees are zesty and plentiful-with the complimentary Thai salad and egg roll, of course-but not too filling.

On my first trip I tried the Siamese Twins ($6.95)-sautéed chicken and shrimp with rice, peppers, water chestnuts, pineapple and scallions in a sweet and sour sauce (the dinner-size portion, pictured at left, is served in a pineapple!). It was spicy without turning me into a dragon, though a few of Thai Peppers more adventurous dishes could do just that. The accompanying ginger salad was light and tasty.

On my second go-round, accompanied by GO staff writer Evan Fisk, I went out of my comfort zone a bit with the duck chili (also $6.95), which isn't chili in the American tradition but sliced (and very, very tender) duck in chili sauce along with pineapple, tomatoes, ginger, mushrooms and cashews. The duck chili, too, was spicy without overwhelming the taste of the meat. Evan tried the Thai Peppers Mango Curry, a neon yellow dish that I could smell across the table. He pronounced it "delicious."

Another refreshing thing about Thai Peppers is the attentive, extremely speedy (almost too speedy, if you like to finish salads) service. And even though its location, just east of Fremont Avenue on Sunshine, is a bit of a headache to access at lunchtime, the rear escape route through an unsuspecting neighbor's driveway will make you feel like one of the Hazzard boys-until the neighbor reads this and blocks his or her driveway off, anyway.