Yesterday we went to Joe’s Noodle House in Rockville for a late lunch. I’ve been wanting to go here ever since I read about it on the Washingtonian’s Top 100 Restaurant list last January, where they described it as authentic Szechuan food in a chaotic setting.
The interior walls are a pepto pink color, what I’d call Chinese Kitsch, but the food really is amazing. The menu went on for pages and pages, and it took us at least fifteen minutes to narrow down our choices: seasoned shredded pork ear, triple delight noodle soup, triple pepper chicken dry sauté, and steamed pork buns (well, that’s what we ordered, but we got steamed pork dumplings.)
The shredded pig ears came cold, and they reminded me of a seaweed salad with a pork flavor, and kind of chewy. Not my favorite dish, but we just had to try it, because really, where else would you be able to order pig ears?
The most intriguing dish was the triple pepper chicken. I thought it would be dry and slightly salty, like I’ve had at other Szechuan restaurants. But this dish was saucier and came loaded with peppers. The spiciness was not immediately apparent, but after eating a few bites, I noticed a strange sensation on my tongue. It’s difficult to describe, but imagine that spicy-flavored Pop Rocks is throwing a dance party in your mouth. It was wild. It was by far the most complexly spicy dish I have ever had. It wasn’t firey, but tingly. I did some research, and I think the dish is made from the Szechuan pepper, which was banned in the U.S. until 2005!
I’m looking forward to trying Joe’s Noodle House again—and I’ll have to go back about 50 times just to try everything on the menu.
The Pork Ears:
