Grand Forks late-night hotspot makes Esquire’s list
August 18, 2012 at 6:29 am in Grand Forks Herald
Red Pepper in Grand Forks has been named one of Esquire’s Best places for late-night food in the nation. Its famous ham grinder is putting the restaurant on that list. Continue Reading
I’m well aware that the Red Pepper if a GF tradition. But come on, the place is a dump! They wipe their tables about once a week, their food is less than mediocre, and they charge for refills. Add to that they have a tip jar. Tips are for service…there is none. They already get paid to prepare the food, and then they act as if they’re doing you a favor.
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oh look its gene with another negative response go figure. Everyone acts like this is the only restaurant that has “terrible” food but yet seem to realize that there are others out there in the forks area… Italian Moon, Dennys(soon to be again), IHOP, Whiteys.. just because you dont see the kitchen *so to speak* like you do the Red Pepper doesn’t mean they’re the worst ever.
Oh look i put a spin to this article..
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View it as an antidote to the Herald “reviews” in which every eatery from McD’s and BK to Sander’s and Toasted Frog are characterized as a 5-star restaurant.
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Gene with a negative comment?! Would anyone expect anything less from the French?
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I have lived in Grand Forks for 10 years and have never once eaten at the Red Pepper. Its reputation precedes itself, and I can’t say that I feel like I’m missing out on anything.
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The old original Fat Albert’s was always WAY better than the Red Pepper ever was. Too bad that’s gone and the replacement business by the same name is nothing like it.
Red Pepper food is for the after the bar, drunk crowd that will eat anything. I used to know some bikers that would go in there just before closing time and get them to make sandwiches from the stuff that falls through the preparation grate for tacos, etc. Yuck!
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Fat Alberts was incredible.
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that was called the garbage plate, and used to be available on the menu. nothing too disgusting, just the meat, lettuce, and cheese that fell through during taco prep. it wasn’t like it was swept off the floor, just collected in a sanitary metal bin under the grate.
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Is the place a little bit of a dive? You bet, and that’s fine because it’s part of the atmosphere. The place is the same now as when I went there many, many times while going to UND in the early 70′s. Grinders were and still are fantastic, as were the Mexi-burgers and garbage plates. Still pick up a grinder kit whenever I can. It’s the best sandwich around, especially when loaded with extra sauces and taco meat.
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I enjoy a link now and then when I read an article.
http://www.esquire.com/features/food-drink/late-night-0912/best-late-night-food
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The newest one up on 47th is pretty close to my place…..Have to admit…I hit the drive up window there more than anywhere else….Half an Everything grinder and some chilie (Kind of a seceret I think because nobody really mentions it….But it’s really good….Not as good as my home made chilie with a lot of chilies…but pretty good for store bought
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The place used to be good… back in the mid-80′s. I went back and ate there a few years ago and it was nothing more than pure disappointment.
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First of all congrats to red pepper! That’s a big honor. Second of all, I don’t get it in my opinion the food is very average. Not a knock just my opinion.
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I have one word for the Red Pepper……Overrated!
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If the Clark County (Las Vegas) Health Inspector ever inspected the Red Pepper they would be closed on the spot. They are real hardcore in Clark County. They have shut down IHOPS, McDonalds, Soinics, and Dominoes right on the spot. These were closed and so have places in the casinos.
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Uh, for someone that has lived in Vegas for many yrs and has had inspections every month yes i could see it happening they would be shut down.. but our inspectors compared to vegas is quite a laughable experience. North Dakotas Inspections are once or twice a year depends on the points/demerits and let alone the inspectors also notify the business when they show.
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Why would anyone give this post a neg response? The walrus is right to say that inspections in GF are a joke compared to Clark County. The first thing they would jump on the Pepper for is their extremly unsanitory way they put taco meat on a grinder bun. Laying it on their arms? How gross is that? Handling food and money without washing their hands? Clark County knocks off points if the dishwasher does not wash their hands between loading and unloading the dishwasher.
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In Chicago if don’t pay your protection money to the mob they will stage fights in the restaurant to create police calls & drive your rep down the tubes. That’s probably what’s going on in Vegas.
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The p;ace is a hoot. It was the place to stop for some chow on the way back to UND from Matt’s Tavern! Ah, the glory day!
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“Red Pepper food is for the after the bar, drunk crowd that will eat anything.”
Yep… it is what it is.
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DDM-It does sound like you were one of the early closing Valley Dairy early to bed folks who on feasted on cottage cheese. You have really missed out by never having had a ham or taco meat Grinder from the RP. Perhaps, by knowing the food is so bad you were really there a time or two?
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“Airstrikes”….do they still deliver?
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Seriously? This is the type of place that you do not want to actually sit down in and eat. The very few times I have been there were after everything else had closed so it was one of the limited choices where someone else prepares food for you that late. Kind of gross environmet if you ask me.
Did I mention the customers who don’t seem to respect the neighborhood – not all customers, just quite a few? The noise level exceeds city ordinance for noise at a time when people in the nearby homes are trying to sleep. People have actually had to get out of bed, get dressed, and walk over and ask the crowd to quiet down. Some of us live “normal” lives which require us to sleep at night and get up early in the morning for work or school. Some people have to maintain this same type of schedule on weekends because they work on the weekends as well. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason for the excessive noise and disruption that is causes. The RP is not a “party place”. It is what some might call an “eating establishment” – you know, the type where people go in and behave in a civilized manner and keep their voice down. Some of the customers who come to this “eating establishment” must never have been taught how to behave in such a “normal” manner.
Another issue is the trash that ends up in neighboring yards. The RP staff have had to walk around and clean up after people who buy from them. They should not have to do this. Their customers should have enough respect to at least take their trash with them. Children do a much better job of making sure trash ends up in a trash can than the adults who throw theirs in people’s yards and on the street.
And then there is the issue of late-night “criminal activity” in neighboring yards (things being broken, stolen, knocked over, etc.). Some people have a hard time walking down the sidewalk to the RP without bothering property that people put time and effort into. Some of those properties are owned by the same family who owns the RP while others are owned by private individuals. Either way, people need to be more respectful.
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Do you have any pictures or paintings from the times you and Teddy Roosevelt were building the Panama Canal? #goshakeyourwalkingcanesomewhereelse
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This old nugget is still in here while the story of the Deer Molester getting in trouble again doesn’t even have a Talk button……Come on Herald…Give us a chance on something interesting….
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Get back in the right lane, tundra.
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