Chengdu 23: Wayne, NJ
March 17, 2013
Representatives from the tommy:eats organization, including the editor-in-chief, the publisher, the VP of sales, the COO, and the CEO, had another fantastic meal at Chengdu 23 in Wayne this weekend. The editor-at-large and the Bergen County consulting editor were also present (titles make me feel good).
As I've noted several times on this blog, Chengdu 23 is serving authentic Sichuan food, as good as you'll find in NYC. You can certainly go here and foolishly order the Americanized Chinese food, and it's certainly better here than it is at 99.999999% of the Chinese restaurants out there, but the real magic happens with their more authentic offerings.
Today's lunch included:
Ox tongue and tripe. I cannot go to Chengdu 23 without ordering this dish. I can't go to any Sichuan restaurant without ordering this dish.
Salt and pepper head-on shrimp.
Crispy shrimp balls. Get some hot mustard for these. Only available during dim sum service.
Shrimp toast. A finer shrimp toast you will not find. Although I prefer the crispy shrimp balls.
This was a special. Beef with pickled green chilis. A very simple dish. Not terribly exciting, but done well.
Green beans with minced pork.
Fish filets with romaine hearts, Sichuan Roasted Chili Sauce and cilantro. Now we're talkin'. This was fantastic. Spicy, vegetal, garlicky.
The staff is great, the service is great, and the food is exceptional.
If you still haven't been to Chengdu 23, or if you haven't had authentic Sichuan style cooking, then you should stop putting off life and get on with it.
Cheng Du 23 : 6 Willowbrook Ave (Wayne Town Shopping Center) : Wayne, NJ