Little Pepper in Jackson Heights

[ewindels]

I will be making my first visit to this restaurant tomorrow evening, and wondered if there were any recommendations for good food stores in the vicinity, particularly asian. Google Maps lists a Hong Kong supermarket on Main Street: any thoughts on this?

[Eatmywords]

I've only driven by but thinking they have a good selection and prices due to it's massive size. Just down the block and over one from LP. It's called Assi Plaza. http://www.lotteplaza.com/branch/branch.php?Id=44&lan=ENG

[Steve R.]

First of all, just to be picky, Little Pepper is in Flushing, not Jackson Hts. Its on Roosevelt, 2 or 3 blocks short of Main St. (dive joint, downstairs). If you go to Main St, make a left, go 3 blocks and make a right onto 37th (5minute walk...short blocks), there's a very large Asian supermarket which is equidistant & I like better. Its almost right across the street from Imperial Palace, a Cantonese restaurant I also like. Besides having a great selection of foods, the supermarket also carries (as do many) Cafe du Monde coffee for prices substantially lower than even ordering direct from the company. If you love N.Orleans chicory coffee, get it here. And Asian supermarket food of course.

Not that you asked but, although L.Pepper is highly touted, I like Spicy & Tasty and Fu Run better. Both on Prince, a block from Little Pepper... S&T to the left of Roosevelt, Fu Run to the right (across from the schoolyard). Just sayin'

[ewindels]

Steve, thanks for store reco: I managed to do a quick run through it, and while I wound up not actually buying anything, man were there truckloads of stuff I would have liked to. Stores like that alone make one contemplate moving to Flushing...

Spicy & Tasty, I have to say, was a little disappointing. It was certainly tasty, but not very spicy: nothing like the original Grand Szechuan, or more recently Szechuan Gourmet before the Times review (after which they seemed to have dumbed down the content). Now S&T may have looked at this very Caucasian couple and given the kitchen the warning, but I wouldn't have known how to counteract that, so it was a bit frustrating. But definitely tasty.