Szechuan Pepper....What???

On the last night of our dinner at Woodberry, we had the pleasure of experiencing the Szechuan peppercorn at its freshest. The peppercorn had just been picked and the farmer brought it by to see if the kitchen was interested in cooking with it. Our server came out and told us what he had just tried and said that it was something that we had to do if we were interested in having a culinary adventure.

How could we pass it up? After dinner, there were 2 peppercorns that perched on a small white plate. It should also be known that the server explained this feeling after biting into the peppercorn as an "acid trip for your mouth".

The peppercorn is beautiful and looks like a mini sunflower, except that its gentle and lovely apperance is deceiving. Once you put it into your mouth get ready for a numbing and salivating experience on your tongue. At first bite you start to feel a tingling sensation, then the tingling lingers away while the numbness goes into effect and before you know it your mouth is as dry as a desert and salivating like you have never experienced. The sensation lasts for more than a few minutes and it goes from an intense and long stage to a gradual decrease.

Quite a deceiving little beautful flower! and what an experience to conclude our "charm city" visit!