With the days getting longer, soon we’ll be walking down Jackson for our Friday night feasts. This is a good thing because I know that I, for one, could use the exercise and that after the kind of extensive dining we did this Friday at Sichuan Cuisine, a little post dinner walk could make the difference between carrying those noodles home that evening in a full belly or carrying them around as a couple of extra pounds for the rest of the summer.
Sichuan Cuisine is a little too big for a hole in the wall; I guess you’d call it a greasy spoon. It’s got two or three family style tables and maybe ten smaller tables. I’ve been there when people are lined up on the sidewalk waiting for you to finish your green beans and get the hell out so they can order their own. They’re best known for their dumplings, which you should order pronto, right when you get in the door, because the service, while cheerful, can be slow. (The dumplings don’t come in a true vegitarian option, just FYI. ) “90% vegetable,” said our waitress, when asked. The dumplings – get them steamed or fried, your choice – come with a chili dipping sauce. I love these things and can eat a mountain of them, but they got passed over as too plain by some of our eaters.
Once you’ve ordered your dumplings, you can turn your attention to the rest of your meal. The green beans, mentioned above, are outstanding. Also first rate, the eggplant and the shrimp chow mein. For the sake of culinary adventure, we ordered something called deep cooked potato, which I can’t recommend though some at the table did like it. It’s shredded potato – cut sort of like a skinny french fry – slightly undercooked, it seemed, and served with hot chilis and a nondescript sauce. We also ordered mushu, veggie style with tofu. I thought it was lacking something, but it went over okay with others at the table.
Sichuan Cuisne is cheap, cheap, cheap – we had six dishes, which was plenty of food for the five of us – at 11 dollars a head. Go early or be prepared to wait, this is a popular little place and food that’s this good and this cheap keeps the tables full.
We give Sichuan Cuisine a big collective thumbs up. I’ve been to Sichuan Cuisine before and I’ll go there again. It’s a winner.
Sichuan Cuisine is at 1048 S. Jackson St.