Legend of Taste

Deep into Queens past Flushing is this little gem that hides in plain sight—inside of an ordinary strip mall. To be clear though, the cooking is anything but ordinary. The uninitiated come for the crab Rangoon, General Tso’s chicken, and other American treasures; but those in the know come for crave-worthy Sichuan food.Start with the spicy mung bean jelly noodles and Sichuan-style crispy eggplant, which is not the least bit greasy and sports a creamy center and glass-like crust. Thin shavings of intensely smoked pork with garlic leaf is even better than what tea-smoked duck would taste like if made with bacon. The “tears in eyes” jelly salad may not induce actual tears, but it’s stocked with chillies, seeds, peanuts and is absolutely worth ordering.