Green Pepper Grill (Squirrel Hill)

Finding authenticity at an Asian restaurant can be a rather difficult task. That's not to say that authenticity for it's own sake is necessary an important goal — but I find that the alternative is almost always some form of "dumbed down for unadventurous Americans." That tendency can be annoying at least in part because it so frequently leads to an greasy, unhealthy mess. Thankfully, that doesn't seem to be the case at Green Pepper in Squirrel Hill.

details: Urbanspoon (http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/23/1558904/restaurant/Squirrel-Hill-CMU/Green-Pepper-Pittsburgh) / City Paper (http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/pittsburgh/green-pepper/Content?oid=1398007) / Restaurant (http://greenpepperpgh.com/)

Green Pepper's specialty is a fearless desire to serve authentic Korean fare without compromises to appease an unadventurous palate. That might sound scary, but I'm pretty confident you'll find something rather authentic that you like. Some dishes will be rather unfamiliar, but others are perfectly recognizable (see Bibimbap (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibimbap)). On both sides, the dishes are well presented and tasty. If you're into tangy, you can even look forward to all the kimchee and other accompanyments that tend to come along with Korean food (apparetly known as banchan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banchan)).

I've personally enjoyed Green Pepper several times now and enjoyed most of what I order. Vegetarian options can be a little sparse, but they make up for it by having a beer list with at least a few good craft options. If you're concerned or just interested, both the beer list and menu are available online (http://greenpepperpgh.com/MENU.html).