Chain Gang: Pei Wei's Sriracha Pineapple Pork Lettuce Wrap
Wok-seared pork, red and green bell peppers, red onions, cilantro, garlic, lemongrass, rice sticks and sweet pineapple "topped with a kick of our own sriracha sauce."
Company description: Wok-seared pork, red and green bell peppers, red onions, cilantro, garlic, lemongrass, rice sticks and sweet pineapple "topped with a kick of our own sriracha sauce."
Chain: Pei Wei Asian Diner.
Location: 4040 City Ave. (near Monument Road), Wynnefield Heights
Nutrition information: 860 calories, with 50 grams of fat and 1,830 milligrams of sodium.
Order time: 10 minutes.
Price: $6.95.
Review: I prepped my palate for the new Sriracha Pineapple Pork Lettuce Wraps by feasting the previous day on the Asian-chic chain's delicious Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps. So, I certainly wasn't prepared for Lettuce Wrap Letdown, as I sat listening to the stir-fry symphony of chefs working the woks in the big open kitchen.
Bummer! For the same $6.95, Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps pack a lot more flavor into those crispy iceberg leaves because their blend of citrus soy sauce, scallions, cilantro and mint brings out the "Wow!" in the chicken. But in the new pork wrap, you taste the pineapple bits and feel the sriracha heat, but the piggy has fallen into flavor purgatory and it can't get up.
Summary: Best way to beat the blands of the new Sriracha Pineapple Pork is to shell out two more bucks and dive into the $8.95 Mongolian Chicken Signature Dish, a hearty helping of white meat smothered in sweet soy sauce with scallions bobbing on the surface like lifeboats coming to rescue your taste buds. Man oh man, Mongolian Chicken rocks!