Chengdu Gourmet

Apparently, they don’t spit in the city of Chengdu. I’ve never been, but this is what I’m told. They spit elsewhere in China. All over, really. Mostly outdoors, but indoors as well. Moreso in rural areas, less so in urban areas. Older generations spit more than younger ones. Not everyone spits, of course, and plenty of people in other countries spit, but enough people spit in China to make it a thing. A thing people know about. Like I said, I’ve never been. But this is what I’m told.

There must be something comparable that we do here. Like a quirky little cultural thing that you wouldn’t think is anything of note until you realize that so many of us do it, and that other cultures might be surprised if they heard about.

One thing we do, we call out sick from work even when we’re not sick. Maybe that’s something?

We call off from work and let the rest of the team deal with being short staffed, which sucks because the same number of guests are going to come in for dinner regardless of how much staff we have, it’s not like we can say, ‘Hey, Emily isn’t here today so we’ll just reschedule all these dinner reservations.’

No, it doesn’t work like that. They’re all gonna come in anyway and they don’t care how many people are working and then everyone is overstressed and overworked and short staffed even though we aren’t really short on staff we just don’t show up for work and, wait a minute, this really has nothing to do with anything, does it?

But we do do that. So maybe that can be our thing. Or maybe other countries do that as well. So I don’t know.

Anyway, they spit a lot in China. Other Asian countries too, I think. But not in Chengdu.

Chengdu is the capital city of Sichuan Province, and if you go there you’ll eat Sichuan food, which is Chinese food, but not “Chinese food”. Because saying that a restaurant has “Chinese food” is a bit like saying that a zoo has animals. There's lots of different types.

Chinese restaurants began in the USA on the west coast during the Gold Rush. Cantonese immigrants were the first and, even after immigration from other provinces, remained the largest influence on the style of food offered at Chinese-American restaurants.

The dishes offered were adapted from their original recipes due to availability of ingredients and, soon after, customer tastes, eventually morphing into a different cuisine altogether (kind of like Mexican food vs Tex-Mex). In short, the food became a bit blander, a bit sweeter, with sauces a bit thicker.

One of our more well-known dishes, Chop Suey, doesn’t even exist in China at all. Crab Rangoon, General Tso’s chicken, and fortune cookies were all invented in the USA.

These days, with better access to global ingredients and more savvy diners, authentic ethnic foods are easier to find. Which brings us back to Chengdu. Sichuan cuisine is based on dried chiles, crimson-red Sichuan peppers, garlic, black vinegar, and peanuts. Many dishes are spicy, loaded with chiles and peppers, but they are not spicy simply for the sake of it, they are packed with flavor.

Even if you’re not prone to enjoying spice, it’s worth it to order at least some of your meal off the traditional menu (they have an Americanized menu as well for the less adventurous).

Here at Chengdu Gourmet, the decor is no-frills, the lighting is cafeteria style, and the soundtrack is non-existent. But you can bring a bottle of sparkling wine or a german reisling, or a 6-pack of beer for that matter, and enjoy. Or simply opt to order in and set your own mood at home on the couch. As with most places of similar ilk, it’s almost as good taken to-go as it is experienced on-premise.

Regardless, be sure not to miss the dan dan noodles, a dish of such seeming simplicity that I’m amazed every time at the layers of flavor. Each time, I find myself Googling a recipe to remind myself that it’s something I won’t go to the trouble of making on my own.

I’m a sucker for anything with a fermented black bean sauce, and Chengdu’s twice cooked pork belly, while sometimes slightly dry and overdone, is a favorite.

The vegetable dishes are standouts, led by the seasonal snow pea leaves and baby bok choy with mushrooms.

Order what appeals to you, go back again and order something different. Try some spicy stuff and, if you start spitting, you might stumble on a theory as to why they don’t do it in Chengdu: Presumably, no one wants to walk down blood-red streets, stained form fiery red peppers, in their own hometown.

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Your online concerns, addressed (they won't do it, but The Monster will):

"Warning: Always check your take-out BEFORE leaving this restaurant as they will not make things right once you leave! I have dined-in at this location many times and enjoyed the food and service. The food is very delicious and reasonably priced. However, my most recent visit was takeout…"

TWO STARS

OK, it went on and on, I’m sparing you the details. Suffice it to say, there was an issue with the takeout order and they were “extremely disappointed and angry at the service we received”. And for our purposes here we can proceed with the understanding that the issues were valid. But here’s my question:

Are these online reviews supposed to be about the restaurant as a whole, or about last night’s meal at the restaurant? Because if they’re about the restaurant as a whole, and you’ve had so many good meals there, how exactly does that translate into two stars? And if they’re about 1 particular visit, then I should be able to find all the other glowing reviews from your past visits, shouldn’t I?

"Everything was very bland. The ribs tasted as if they had been reheated and not fresh. The soup was tasteless, and the ho fun wasn't any better. Maybe I'll try dishes from the authentic menu. Amazing chicken was far from amazing, driest chicken I had."

TWO STARS

Yeah, you messed up. It happens. You should try again and order from the authentic menu. Or don't.

And yes, the ribs were reheated. I don’t work there, so I don’t know exactly how they prepare them, but I’ve yet to hear of a method to cook anywhere close to decent ribs in less than 3 hours. So no, they were not made to order.

"Waitess was not attentive, didn't put the food close enough and didn't did not give us refills on our water didn't bring my fork I waited up mins I can't use chopsticks, I had to ask a nother in employee she didn't have the red Chengdu shirt on, she went got the man who was working the front, he was nice he apologized. Our egg rolls were the size of my pinky finger, no hot mustard sauce there is a sauce on the plate. The dumplings didn't look good the sauce with was water looking, time for Bill I asked for fortune cookies for myself and guests didnt get any, I, will report her to the owner in person. I will Never return"

ONE STAR

What?

In other news, I did see your 5-star review of Denny’s in West Mifflin. So there’s that.

Chengdu Gourmet

5840 Forward Ave

Squirrel Hill (2nd location in North Hills)

https://www.chengdugourmetpa.com/cvs4hd16/restaurant/order-online