There’s a kind of cowardice that runs deep in the halls of 4747 Southwest Freeway. It’s not in the investigative work conducted by the journalists inside. Nor is it in the uncomfortable calls and emails with lawyers and politicians. Rather, it’s in the work lunches organized inside the Chronicle’s various conference rooms and auditorium.
For more than a decade, it’s been an endless parade of Chick-Fil-A platters, Liberty Taco piles, and plain deli sandwich boxes at meet-and-greets, trainings and workshops. Staff lunches are inherently safe affairs, but there is a kind of spiciness that comes with working at the Chronicle. So I don’t know why nobody ever recommends Pepper Twins nearby at 3915 Kirby Dr.
Pepper Twins first appeared in 2016, the brainchild of Yunan Yang—also credited as the co-founder of the Cooking Girl chain of restaurants with her sister Lily Luo. The Upper Kirby location opened in 2017 where the old Cafe Japon used to be.
Since opening, Pepper Twins has added plenty of converts for its “country style, organic Chinese” cooking. That includes myself. I’ve ordered plenty of takeout from there, continuously drawn to the bold Sichuan flavors and spice of its lengthy menu.
On a Tuesday afternoon, I had the time to actually sit inside. I ordered some jasmine tea which came in a fun little glass tea-brewing pot. As always, I ordered crab wontons. These ones came in a peculiar shape—flatter, almost resembling a filo dough pastry I had somewhere else. Whatever the case, they were delicious. And lastly I sprung for two (generous) plates of Pepper Twins tofu and chicken, each one marked by that signature mouth-numbing Sichuan pepper spice.
It brings the kind of heat that may ward off anybody looking to entertain. But it shouldn’t. That citrus-y burst following the tongue-tingling sensation is something that invites people to poke around. Perhaps it’s a plate of bubbling hot sliced fish or breaded eggplant. There’s a colorful variety in Pepper Twins menu that invites a ride on its culinary carousel.
There’s a fun lunch to be had here for the office crowd. They just have to find the courage to take a walk on the spicy side.
