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View the
Original Pepper's Menu
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Peppers is across the street from Santa Anita, at 181 Colorado Place |
Kid's
meal chicken strips |
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Tostada Grande |
Seafood Quesadilla |
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Flan |
Antique catcher's equipment, aka "The Tools of Ignorance" |
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Numerous plaques attest to Pepper's community involvement |
Racing memorabilia donated by jockeys, many of whom are customers |
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Shaq's shoe, ready to stomp on Kobe? |
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DOT COM DINING
A Look At San
Gabriel Valley Restaurants by SanGabrielValleyMenus.com
The Original Peppers – Keep Track of
This Place
By Bill Coburn
Directly across from Santa Anita Race Track, to the east, at 181 Colorado Place,
is the Original Peppers Mexican Grill and Cantina (626) 446-5529. While there
is a definite sports theme to the place (memorabilia from such Santa Anita horse
racing notables as Pincay, Nakatani and Black share wall space with non-horsing
related celebs such as Dodger stars, Angel stars, boxing legends, and in what I
considered an ironic juxtaposition on the same day that Shaq was traded away
while Kobe Bryant’s future as a Laker or otherwise was still up in the air, even
Shaq’s shoe in a sealed frame directly above a picture of Kobe on his way to a
slam dunk), and while numerous wall hangings thank Peppers for its contributions
to local sports leagues and other community events. the quality food seems to be
a major reason for the return business that Peppers has built its reputation
upon.
My
family and I have eaten at Peppers on many occasions and have always been happy,
whether we ordered tostados, enchiladas, burritos, tacos, quesadillas, etc. The
service is always professional, and on several occasions, our servers have gone
above and beyond the call to make sure we were happy. This trip, I ordered a
seafood quesadilla, Katie had a chicken grande tostada, and Keelan ordered the
kids meal chicken strips and fries. He’s technically a little too old for the
kids meal at Peppers (10 and under), but our waiter said it wasn’t an issue.
My
seafood quesadilla, which I ordered with no tomatoes and with the guacamole and
sour cream on the side, was delicious. Shrimp, scallops, crab meat and fish
were mixed with cheese on a lightly grilled flour tortilla, and served with rice
and beans. Katie’s Tostada Grande was chock full of chicken, mostly breast
meat, and she was quite happy with it. The Tostada Grande can also be ordered
with beef or pork, and includes beans, lettuce, tomato, guacamole and cheese, on
a crispy flour tortilla.
Keelan’s kids meal was a heckuva deal. He had fresh, fried all white chicken
breast, deep fried and served with some pretty good French fries.
There are more than twenty different combination meals available on the Peppers
menu, plus numerous a la carte items, including ribs, fajitas, tacos, burritos,
and enchiladas.
Peppers is known for well coordinated catered events, including fundraisers to
benefit local charities and schools. It offers nice patio seating, a good-sized
lounge, and banquet or private party, good food and service.
Peppers also has champagne brunch, not only on Sunday, but on Saturday, as
well. Weekend brunch offers you a choice of more than a dozen entrees, as well
as complimentary champagne or orange juice.
I
also tried their Cadillac margarita, with no salt (aka topless), and it was a
delicious way to top off a nice hot, Santa Ana winds evening. FYI, the beer is
cold, and they pour a good strong drink, as well.
You
can find the Peppers menu online at
www.sangabrielvalleymenus.com/peppers.
I
told you some time ago about Si, Como No! out in San Dimas. Well, they are now
open seven days a week, and on weekends, they are now featuring pozole and
menudo. They are located at 1057 W. Arrow Highway, and can be reached by phone
at (909) 599-7353.
There’s a lot going on on the SGVMenus.com website, as well as at the
restaurants that make up the site. Domenico’s in Arcadia has a new menu, which
we will be updating on the website shortly. They also feature karaoke in the
lounge each Saturday night, so stop by and sing a song.
Tailgators in Sierra Madre is undergoing a major structural remodel and a minor
menu remodel, and will soon be opening as the Peppertree Grill. We’ll be
posting their new menu, featuring the best of Tailgators and the best of the
original Peppertree Grill, soon.
Sinbad Restaurant in El Monte has new ownership and will soon be operating as
Sinbad’s Kabobs. Look for their updated website soon at the SGVMenus.com
website.
Mary’s Market, also in Sierra Madre, is hosting a Sierra Madre Chamber of
Commerce mixer on July 20th, from 5:30 to 7:30m. We recommend you
carpool or take the shuttle up from downtown, as parking in the Canyon is
usually in short supply without an event such as this drawing people up there.
Shrimp Ahoy in Arcadia (Peck Road and Live Oak) is revamping its menu and it
will soon be available on the SGVMenus .com website. You’ll also be able to
find the menu for its sister store, the Original Shrimp House in El Monte on the
site. Both restaurants are offering coupons through the site.
Union Street Café, which until now has been open only for breakfast and lunch,
is now open for dinner, as Union Street Café Mexican Grill. The dinner
restaurant is run by different owners than the breakfast and lunch restaurant,
and will be open six nights a week. You’ll be able to download a buy one, get
one coupon for this new Mexican grill very soon.
For
fans of barbecue, you’ll soon find menus on the site for two recent additions,
Big Mama’s Rib Shack in Pasadena on North Lake, and Hutch’s Barbecue, on Walnut,
also in Pasadena.
Bill Coburn is owner of SanGabrielValleyMenus.com, a
restaurant website featuring dozens of restaurant’s menus, as well as
downloadable coupons. He has nearly 20 years experience in the restaurant
business, and has been eating for much longer than that. |
