Chengdu Taste

Some Sichuan kitchens temper their heat levels depending on what they think the customer can handle. Not this one. This long-standing veteran has never been one to hold anyone’s hand and their widespread success has not at all cooled their approach. Expect nothing less than the full-throttle Sichuan experience where tongue-numbing, lip-tingling dishes arrive coated in heavy spices, garnished with sliced chilis and, often, doused in fire-engine red chili oil. Toothpick lamb, intensely aromatic with cumin and chilies, remains the house signature, but the crispy-crusted beef is a formidable rival. Fish with mom’s preserved chili sauce is unapologetically sinus-clearing. Even the vegetables show precision, as in the shredded potato, julienned and cooked to a crisp, al dente snap with chilies and acidity. Swing by for lunch to avoid the lines.