A Bite of Szechuan: MaLa Marvel

Thumbnail for those in a hurry or just want to look at pictures. Terrific no compromise Szechuan.

LTH,

Crave wise I've cycled back to Szechuan, possibly due to a mala mashup of kung pao pastrami at Mission Chinese in San Francisco early January. Mainly home cooking with Ms. Dunlop as Lao Szechuan, either Skokie or Chinatown, are feeling one-dimensional and Szechuan Cuisine is a bit of a trek and does not fit my hours well.

When Steve Z mentioned a Szechuan restaurant was near opening in the 5600 block of Lincoln ave I was hopeful with tempered expectations, A Bite of Szechuan exceeded all hopes and I see it taking a solid place in my rotation.

At first blush I simply want to gush, hyperbole overdrive, Szechuan beef tendon/pig ear/rabbit, Dan Dan noodle, Zhong dumplings, MaPo Tofu, Fish filet in chile oil, frog, duck head, the menu simply swats you with ~authenticity~ whatever the hell that means.

In addition every table of the entirely Asian clientele, aside from me and the bride, had a bubbling burner of seafood, mainly whole fish, fish filet or crab with "optional garnish" in the $2 or $4 category, we opted for black bass with black fungus, dry tofu, watercress and bean sprouts.

Friendly, comfortable, surprisingly well run for being open just a few days, I'm sure I will be back to A Bite of Szechuan within the week.













We got into a conversation about broad bean paste from Pixian, the owners are from Chengdu, and when I mentioned I had purchased similar from Amazon I was kindly given a small container.



A Bite of Szechuan, Count me a FAN!

A Bite of Szechuan
5657 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
773-878-8577
11am to 10pm
Closed Mondays

I've started an Events thread for dinner Friday night 2/10/17 at 7:30pm.

I went here today. Place is clean, full of light, and serving some pretty darn good dan dan noodles and lamb with cumin. didn't have anything else, but will be back. promising.

Living near Chinatown very little makes me want to travel farther for a Szechuan fix, but well worth a trip from downtown. Everything was good but for me the pickles w/a toasty chile oil, Chengdu style dumplings, and dan dan noodles were particularly fine.

Do not miss the hot and sour soup, or the dry chili fish. Great find Gary!

FrankP wrote:Do not miss the hot and sour soup, or the dry chili fish. Great find Gary!

Steve found it, I just followed up. He had a touch of the flu or would have probably beat me to the punch, or we would have gone together.

Hot and sour soup jumps into my #1 position, maybe tied with Go4Food with the HHS sleeper Great Beijing in Lincolnwood running third.

Agreeing with you and Alan, Dan Dan, Pickles, Crispy Fish Fillet, Chengdu style dumplings...... Another terrific lunch. Loved the MaPo Tofu as well.





Terrific lunch today, A Bite of Szechuan is 2 for 2.

Hot and sour soup is one of the better around town but prefer Go4Food's seafood version. Really enjoyed lunch though. Excellent meal.

I should mention today's lovely lunch was shared with Steve Z, Jazzfood and FrankP. Company and food both stellar.

Ms. Wiv's beholden fish-tail made me wish to be there--I'm sure you two sucked each and every tender morsel from admidst those skeletal bones with great skill and zeal! Looked simply wonderful, Gary!

Onward!

Geo

There have been a bunch of posts from my dining companions about our recent lunch at A Bite of Szechuan. I'm not going to rehash most of what's been said, but I do have a few things to add.

The chef (Chef Cheng) was the former chef at Ma Gong & La Po, so he's got some serious chops. I'm very glad that he and his family have put down roots in my neighborhood, but I hope he gets the support he needs to keep this place in business. It's not exactly a prime location for Szechuan lovers. Hopefully, he'll spread the truth to the neighborhood folks. It's certainly worthy of becoming a popular place, and their location right next to The Angry Crab probably won't hurt foot traffic at night. Get there soon and support this great place.

At yesterday's lunch, the standout dishes for me were the dan dan noodles (the noodles don't appear to be house made, but it's a really well balanced version of the dish), the Chengdu dumplings, with their top knot of minced garlic, the Spicy Fish Filet (a more refined version of the beloved dish from the now closed Lao Hunan) and the Hot & Sour Soup, which may be the best version I've had in Chicago (very flavorful and very little to no corn starch).

There is a caveat about ordering the pickles. If you order pickles off the menu, you'll get some cucumber spears that have been barely pickled, to the point of not having any taste (other than the cucumber itself), which in my book is a flavor diluter and should be avoided. The pickles that Gary and others mentioned are an off menu item consisting of pickled cabbage and radishes. This is a great appetizer, similar in taste to the cabbage served to every table at Lao Sze Chuan; the difference being the cabbage at Bite of Szechuan is soft, as opposed to the crisp cabbage at LSC.

Anyway, they're off to a great start, having been open only 7 days, and I look forward to many more meals at A Bite of Szechuan.

Always on the lookout for good northside Szechuan, thanks for the hot tip

Holy. Crap. This place is for real. I also think there may be some confusion with the name, since the sign on the building says "Bite of Szechuan," but the menu says "Taste of Chengdu." Maybe someone can clarify this next trip.

Anyway, this brought me back to my first trip to Lao Hunan, in terms of how each dish seemed more distinctive and delicious than the one before it. And unlike Lao Hunan, there is a much lighter hand in the kitchen (and, the same hands, day after day, which is important too) in that the flavors of the meats, vegetables, tofu, etc. really shine through, regardless of the manner of preparation.

A few new items that we tried today that haven't been written about yet:
--bean sprouts with leeks--one of my favorite dishes of the day
--BBQ lotus chips--like a crazy, Asian take on BBQ potato chips
--sour pickle with minced pork--a touch salty--likely due to the way the beans were "pickled"--otherwise, delicious
--Beef with soft tofu soup--huge hit--velvety beef, intensely flavored broth with anise, peppercorns, soy nuts and more.
--scallion pancakes--typical prep--chewy, good for sopping up things.

As everyone else has noted, the dan dan noodles, dumplings, tendon and homemade pickles are best in class.

This place deserves to do well and, hopefully, will be the location of many LTH meals in the future! Thanks to Steve and Gary for the recon!!

boudreaulicious wrote:Holy. Crap. This place is for real. I also think there may be some confusion with the name, since the sign on the building says "Bite of Szechuan," but the menu says "Taste of Chengdu." Maybe someone can clarify this next trip.

I had asked Chloe, daughter of Chef Cheng, about Chengdu vs Szechuan. IIRC her reply was along the lines of we were planning on "Taste of Chengdu" but a friend suggested Szechuan was more recognizable/well known and they went with A Bite of Szechuan, which is what the business card in front of me says.

I am cool with either both or neither long as the kitchen keeps rolling out hit after hit after hit.

do we have any thoughts on ABOS vs Chendu Impression?

HPglutster wrote:do we have any thoughts on ABOS vs Chendu Impression?

I'm only one opinion, and it's been quite a while since my last trip to/delivery from CI, but I definitely thought ABOS outshined CI in all areas. Strong flavors without being as heavily oiled or salted, more variety of dishes. It's very early on so we'll see, but even if you live closer to CI (I do), it's worth taking a trip over to ABOS. They're also open for lunch which CI isn't.

I ordered carry-out here for lunch today. I tried to order the soybean sprouts and leeks shown in one of the pictures above, but the guy on the phone couldn't figure out what I was talking about. I'm assuming, then, that the sprouts are just a garnish for one of the mains. Instead I ordered stir-fried green beans. While not quite best in class, they were fresh and tasty.
I found myself wishing I had eaten the other dish I ordered, dan dan noodles, in house. They were tightly packed in one of those standard cylindrical plastic containers and were not easy to separate. Par for the course with carry-out noodle dishes, I suppose. But after I worked the chili oil back into the noodles and mixed in the other elements, they ended up being pretty good.

TomInSkokie wrote:I ordered carry-out here for lunch today. I tried to order the soybean sprouts and leeks shown in one of the pictures above, but the guy on the phone couldn't figure out what I was talking about. I'm assuming, then, that the sprouts are just a garnish for one of the mains. Instead I ordered stir-fried green beans.

Not sure what the disconnect might be as Soybean Sprout (Regular/fried leek) is on the menu, though A Bite of Szechuan has only been open since 2/1 and obviously working out a few kinks. But, in my estimation, food/service/kitchen flow is doing amazingly well for week 1.

I had carryout yesterday from A Bite of Szechuan and ordered the following:
Chicken in Chili Oil - Very tasty chicken and roasted peanuts in chili oil. Tasted fresh and not too spicy at all. My favorite of the 3 dishes I ordered.

Dan Dan Noodles - Was ok but didn’t travel well in the to-go container as the noodles tasted overcooked and not enough ground pork was given so it was mostly noodles and chili oil sauce.

Dry Chili chicken - (note its called something else on the menu) - The restaurant has 2 version of dry chili chicken (1 with bones, 1 without bones). I thought this dish was a little too salty and not as good as the Lao's version.

I will definitely be back to try some other dishes namely the dumplings and the fish dishes.

BTW - They are working on printing paper to-go menus which they mentioned will be available sometime next week. There is a yelp page with 2 reviews up, but no company website yet.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/a-bite-of-szechuan-chicago

Caveat: I have enjoyed snooping around on the forum for several years, but this is my first LTH posting - a result of "gentle" nudging from my friend GWIV.

I went to Bite twice - the first time alone, the second time with my wife, so I have only had a few dishes but based on these experiences I can confirm the glowing reviews above and will definitely be back to try other less familiar items on the menu.

I followed the advice above and requested the spicy cabbage/pickle at both meals, which was provided as a complementary appetizer. I especially enjoyed the spicy, almost nutty flavor.

The Zhong dumplings were exemplary. The waitress made a point of telling me that these were a Szechuan staple, and showed me that she was eating a bowlful between attending to the tables.

Crispy spicy fish came to the table boiling hot, an enormous pile of fried filets enhanced with a significant amount of flavorful peppers, scallions, and crispy paper-thin garlic slivers. I was surprised to learn that they were tilapia filets, a flavor I'm not fond of, but none of that fish's funkiness was in evidence.

On the second trip I revisited the cabbage/pickle and Zhong dumpling to start, followed by Dan Dan noodle and garlic scallops. On first bites the noodles seemed blah. It was only after having a bit of time away from the more aggressive flavors of the appetizers that I was able to appreciate the more subtle aspects of the noodle seasoning balance, and they were indeed fantastic. Neophyte lesson learned: the order of courses can affect how each course is perceived.

The only pedestrian dish was the garlic scallops. The plentiful smaller bay scallops were in an (unexpectedly) sweet sauce with red and green peppers and no perceivable garlic. It was almost as if we received the wrong dish - but that perception may have been a result, again, of plate order.

Two things stand out about the kitchen; first, the variety of flavors, and how distinctly different these flavors were for each dish; and second, how beautifully balanced the seasonings were for each plate, creating flavors greater than the sum of the parts.

I'm looking forward to going back and hope to meet some of you there. Just say when!

Admittedly I've developed a bit of obsession with A Bite of Szechuan though, as my appreciation grows each time, I see no end in sight.

Lunch here today with a small group afforded me the opportunity to not only finally this place but also, to sample a bunch of dishes. I really enjoyed our lunch. What stood out were the wide range of vibrant flavors, varied textures and deft use of ingredients. As a long-time fan of the fading LSC empire, it was great to try multiple dishes that contained similar ingredients, yet tasted very different from each other.

For once, it wasn't as if every dish that contained Szechuan peppercorn tasted the same. And not only that, it was clear that some thought and strategy were applied to how certain ingredients were used in multiple dishes. In fact, it seemed as if certain dishes maybe even showcased their respective ma-la factors via the use of buds of various ages -- the freshest ones feeling almost electric on the tongue and the older ones providing a far more subtle jolt. But on top of that, so many other flavors were present in these dishes that the resulting cavalcade of food we enjoyed felt remarkably diverse. These dishes were expertly, carefully and thoughtfully prepared.

Stand-outs for me were Szechuan Beef Tendon, Zhong (Chengdu) Dumplings, House-Made Pickle, Soybean Sprout & Leek, Tofu with Preserved Egg, Spicy Beef with Tofu, Pork with Garlic Sauce, and the Hot & Sour Soup (yes, seriously!).

If I have one minor criticism, it was the saltiness of some of the dishes. I've been watching my salt lately so I'm a bit more apt to notice it these days. But more significant is that some of these dishes, by the very nature of the ingredients they contain, are going to be salty. And I'm ok with that. I probably would have been better off eating more of the less salty dishes we were served and balancing out my own plate a bit. But this being my first visit -- and being absolutely enthralled with everything that hit the table -- I just couldn't help myself. Hopefully, next time around, I'll exercise a bit more self-control and balance it out a bit better. In any event, this is some great food and for me, it was a fresh take on Szechuan that delivered a very specific joy I'd never experienced before.

=R=

I've been there three times in two weeks counting today's lunch.

I can't get over how nuanced even the most highly spiced dishes are. Nothing I've had has nuked my tastebuds like some places will. Spice balanced with sour and salty and even sweet. It is easily becoming one of my favorite places to eat and I have high hopes it will last a long time.

There are two pork with garlic dishes; the main course pork with garlic sauce is fairly pedestrian, skews sweet and frankly a waste of precious table space. The pork and garlic appetizer on the other hand are slices of pork belly with a wonderful smoky spicy sauce and a generous knot of crushed garlic on top that somehow is not blisteringly pungent. I could eat that for the rest of my life.

Octarine wrote:The pork and garlic appetizer on the other hand are slices of pork belly with a wonderful smoky spicy sauce and a generous knot of crushed garlic on top that somehow is not blisteringly pungent. I could eat that for the rest of my life.

This is a sensational dish. The belly is sliced thin, in a lardo-like style, and lays luxuriously in a shimmering pool of chili oil dotted with peppercorns and chopped scallions. Gary's great picture above doesn't even do it justice.

I snarfed it down so eagerly, I was actually stunned I got back to the office with no orange oil spots on my shirt.

=R=

you guys are making me hungry at 9am... On my short list of places to check out in the next couple weeks - will report back.

Heard Riccardo Muti's Prokofiev "Ivan the Terrible" Cantata (adapted from the soundtrack to Russian filmmaker Serge Eisenstein's 1944 Propoganda Film) twice in the past three days, which has hapened once before in my 17 years as a Chicago Symphony Orchestra subscriber. Just amazing!

Now that we're getting ready to relocate to Palm Beach, I find myself equally obsessed with A Bite of Scechuan.

Only one negative: Fuggedabout the Garlic Chicken Wings. TGI Fridays are better. Not even close to the image pictured on the menu.

Everything else is so positive that whenever I go, I'm already planning what to order on our next visit. Donna is just as crazy about this place as I am.

Might have done 1/3 to 1/2 of the menu so far. In total agreement with the group on all comments.

Cucumber Salad w Peanut ( BEST, SIMPLEST, MOST PALATE CLEANSING DISH ON MENU!!!!), Beef Tendon, Pig Ear, Kung Pao Chix (yeah...you heard that right), Hot Sour Soup, Hot Garlic Pork Intestine (YEP!....), pickled cabbage, Crispy Fish, Steamed Black Bass, Steamed Pork Hot Garlic, Rockin' Ma Po, and other stuff I just cant remember right now.

Looking forward to trying the pigs feet and some new items for lunch Tuesday.

Hope there might be something somewhat close to this place in greater Palm Beach. FYI...Peter Chang's rwo places in Virginia Beach are in the same ballpark.

Another huge thumbs up!

Gonna go polish off my leftover pork intestines for my bedtime snack.

Happy on many levels..,, Huge shout out to the Trailblazers who discovered this marvelous place.

And it's owners are some of the world's nicest, sweetest people. Uh oh...gotta get back over to Sun Wah for my Cheng Family fix. Mañana??!

Good luck finding anything remotely like this in the Palm Beaches. Having lived there for a decade (and going tomorrow for some work) I found God's waiting room to be a place where most people leave their tastebuds @ the door. Get it while you can while you're here would be my advice.

Yeah, Alan. For sure, there's a lot of stuff that I'll miss, but we plan on visiting often, so scratching itches will be possible. Who would ever imagine that Virginia Beach would have 2-3 places close to this caliber?

OTOH, at least there should be a few Delicatessens in S FL ...I remember a pretty good one...

Evil Ronnie wrote:Kung Pao Chix (yeah...you heard that right),

I'm a fan of Kung Pao Chicken and agree wholeheartedly with Evil A Bite of Szechuan's version is terrific!



A Bite of Szechuan, Count me a Fan!

I'm not normally a kung pao chx fan but I know what I'm having for lunch tomorrow.

Cabbagehead and I had an excellent dinner there a few nights ago. Alas, it was just the two of us, so we could only sample a few dishes, but these were exemplary: Zhong dumplings, hot & sour soup, mapo tofu (outstanding), and "dry" fish.

For those wanting more ordering power, please join the Evanston Lunch Group on Tuesday, March 21st. See posting HERE to sign up.