Why go: The Szechuan fare goes far beyond the usual Kung Pao and twice-cooked clichés. Pickled ferns, long beans, and fresh bamboo show up, as does a fiery, oil-slicked red-chili brew that energizes the signature—and mostly wonderful—“Chengdu” dishes.
What to get: Pork belly with long beans, ginger, and bamboo; Chengdu-style tofu and fish (usually flounder) with red-chili oil; garlicky stir-fried pea leaves; smoked-pork fried rice with bits of egg, scallion, carrot, and fat-edged pork.
Best for: Diners with a taste for adventure—and chili-stoked heat.
Insider tip: The waitstaff is knowledgeable and opinionated, and because most diners are Chinese, you can always fall back on ordering what they do. Heed the color coding: Orange is medium hot, red incendiary. The restaurant does a brisk business with its buffet, but that’s not where the excitement lies.
Open daily for lunch and dinner.
>> See all 2009 Cheap Eats restaurants here
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
