03.30.08
Review of Spicy & Tasty, Queens, Monday January 2008
39-07 Prince St. & 39th St., Queens, 718-359-1601
Great for: numbing your mouth as pleasantly as possible, old-school Chinese (non-)service
I had to be in Flushing one day, and this was the only Queens restaurant I ever bothered to put on my list, because of a rapturous review in the New York Times a few years ago and some mentions here and there since then. (You’d better have a good reason for me to leave Manhattan if it doesn’t involve a plane.) Luckily the shop where I had to go was only two streets away. I figured I’d better try Spicy & Tasty now, since I would probably never be so conveniently close again. So I got some takeout.
[I generally do not review places if I don't sit down and eat, but as a Chinese girl who grew up eating proper Chinese food, I feel a little more qualified to judge a Szechuan restaurant than any of the Caucasian reviewers whose articles I've read. Plus they made such a damn fuss over it, and my father is Szechuan. Here's to you, Daddy.]
Dan dan noodles are medium width white noodles on a bed of spinach and sometimes ground meat, covered in soy sauce and hot oil. The dish always comes unmixed, so that you can choose how spicy you want it to be. They did a good job here – the noodles didn’t stick together too much, and there was a good ratio of meat and sauce to the rest. Yum.
I also got what they call shredded beef with spicy sauce, which has some cabbage and large scallions underneath enough hot oil and ma-la pepper to destroy all sensation in a mouth for quite some time. The beef isn’t really shredded; it comes in nice big chunks. I’m not sure that’s the right name for what I got – the English translation of the Chinese name sounds like “Water-Boiled Beef” to me. It’s a standard Szechuan dish and an easy test of how good the restaurant is. They did it quite well here. I had to add a lot of rice to stop my mouth from bursting into flame. I was also happy with the meat, which was better quality than usual.
So, everything was good. I didn’t find it amazing, though. If it were in Manhattan I’d definitely make trips, but since it’s over an hour away by train I’ll probably not get back there. It is definitely better than a lot of the crappy American joints in the city that make faux Chinese food, but it’s still just a cheap little place. It’s sad that what should be the normal standard is accounted amazing by American reviewers. And I’m disappointed that there aren’t more chefs trying to do really good Chinese (not fusion) cuisine. Maybe one day Chinese food will be considered as upscale as Japanese…
Rating: 6.5 / 10
My cost: $18
Noise level: quiet at 3pm on a Monday, probably pretty noisy when busy
Chance of walking in: good.
In New York magazine on 5/11/08, the founder of Grand Sichuan discusses the same issue of crappy Chinese food. He seems to be pretty hopeful about it.
