Cathy2 wrote:

Octarine wrote:I made kung pao chicken last night. I grossly overestimated the amount of Szechuan peppercorn and hot peppers.
I blame the high potency of the fresh ones I recently purchased. Next time I'll use about 10% and it should be perfect.

Ouch.

Did you eat it anyway?

Of course!

I'm regretting it now

While I've not posted about A Bite of Szechuan for a couple of weeks I've been three or four times with delicious results each time, both with friends and the occasional solo in the evening after work. Late/solo I can't seem to move from Spicy beef w/tofu, tender beef, soft tofu, lots of sprouts for textural contrast, finished with a dusting of Szechuan peppercorn for distinct yet balanced MaLa bounce. Along with an appetizer of Spicy pig ear, tendon or tripe and gratis pickle makes for a terrific meal with leftovers for lunch.

Speaking of later in the evening BoS visits a week or so I was leaving Barn & Company and it occurred to me the Cheng's might enjoy a change of pace so I brought them a couple of racks of ribs. They seemed to dig the hickory smoked ribs but, like the Chicagoan's they are, centered discussion more on the two types of BBQ sauce I brought.

I also had the distinct pleasure of running into a fellow LTHer that evening at BoS, which is always enjoyable.

Of the new dishes I've tried one that stands out is Fei Ten Yu (boiling fish with bean sprouts in hot spicy oil) A large heat proof clear bowl is layered with fish fillets and bean sprouts and bubbling hot oil laced with an absurd amount of dried whole hot pepper and Szechuan peppercorn is poured over top. It literally bubbled and rolled for 2-3 minutes. In answer to two obvious questions, Fei Ten Yu was not particularly spicy nor oily. I took a cool short video on my phone but have no idea how to upload to LTH. Pictures do not do Fei Ten Yu justice.

A group of 6 of us dined last night at Bite of Szechuan.

Pork with Garlic Sauce and Spicy & Sour soup were the big hits with our group, followed by Zhong dumplings and soybean sprouts w/leeks.

Chicken in chili oil was good and I enjoy meat on the bone but there were tiny bone bits in copious amount.

Lotus Root "chips" were good as well.

I was surprised with the chili oil dishes at how luxurious the sauce was but there was no real heat that I could detect. It was delicious, just didn't have any heat.

Our group came away at $9 per person which included tip, we'll be back for sure to try other items.

G Wiv wrote:Of the new dishes I've tried one that stands out is Fei Ten Yu (boiling fish with bean sprouts in hot spicy oil) .... Pictures do not do Fei Ten Yu justice.

You had me sold Gary! I've been loyal to the spicy fish filet w/ tofu. I checked my carry-out menu for the Fei Ten Yu, or a description w/ sufficient resemblance, but nothing fit.

When I picked up, the young man (I assume son/family given my several interactions) said that Fei Ten Yu is not on the menu (carry-out at least). Instructions are to just order by name.

Which I will do. (my first pig ear order tonight, looks to be my last)

There are many great restaurants scattered in
many of the 50 neighborhoods of Chicago,
that once you "get-a-Taste-of", are difficult to avoid circling back to-
even though they may be - "Geographically-Undesirable"."A Bite of Szechuan"- easily fits into that category of Great Neighborhood Restaurants.

Finding plentiful street parking on Lincoln Ave., combined with an adjacent Parking Lot,
make getting to A.B.o'Szechuan easy.
The bright & contemporary cheery decor greets you,
Interior> "A Bite of Szechuan"-Chicago by R. Kramer, on Flickr
and once you've sighted their abundantly RED use of Chili Oil, you're ready to order.
"Chloe"-Owner @ A BITE OF SZECHUAN, 5657 N. Lincoln Ave.,Chicago. by R. Kramer, on Flickr

"Chloe", who in her previous life was a "housewife"(her words) - &
had never owned a Restaurant, clearly has the right attitude for being
a "Front-of-The-House" Restauranteur.
Her father mans the kitchen.
I'd heard that the chef was an ex-Employee of Lao Sze Chuan- and Chloe told me not true- and that her Dad had worked in a rather large Chinese restaurant in Vernon Hills.

Chloe's pictured, assembling some of their house made Cabbage/Radish/Chili Pickle for us-So kind of her- as a To-Go-addition, to packing up our leftovers- because I'd asked about the recipe for their pickled cabbage- which tasted like "Black Vinegar" to me-
Chloe said it was Rice Wine Vinegar....

Food wise, the Chengdu (Zhong's) Dumplings we had were savory and soft- bathed in Chili Oil and cooking broth, quite slurp-able- yet- not that spicy?
The Rabbit Appetizer's my Dining Companions fav.
Too many little bones for my Gringo-Palette.
The Lamb with Cumin was different from Northern City's and Lao Sze Chuan's versions- not a Cumin Seed to be found- all ground cumin and deboned slices of Lamb- again not spicy either.....overall- good- just not as "earthy" & smokey as other preparations I've enjoyed around town.

The leek and beansprout vegetable was quite good (Soybean Sprout regular/Fried Leek)- although there are many other dishes that I'm eager to try.

Worth noting too- they serve a "Lunch Special"- about a dozen great sounding dishes- that are served w/ Soup & Egg Roll- for $7.95.

In the words of a Republican Governor ...."We'll Be Back"

Cold chix in chile oil- the stuff dreams are made from (@ least mine).

Jazzfood wrote:Cold chix in chile oil- the stuff dreams are made from (@ least mine).

Yeah....wet dreams!

G Wiv wrote:Of the new dishes I've tried one that stands out is Fei Ten Yu (boiling fish with bean sprouts in hot spicy oil). Pictures do not do Fei Ten Yu justice.

Big time thank you to Gary & Frank for ordering the Fei Ten Yu (my only guess as to how you came to the decision is the small specials board at the NE wall), and sharing this piece of Szechuan culinary genius.

While it isn't as spicy as many of the other dishes, it does have a small amount of heat. For me, the smooth, buttery texture of the fish fillet is what puts this dish over-the-top. I accompanied the fish with an order of the Shanghai cabbage in garlic sauce (it's a clear garlic sauce, unlike the typical pork in brown garlic sauce) because as lovely as the flavor of the FTY is, it could use some greens and color on the plate.

I am so happy that authentic Szechuan has come this far north, and the abundance of big flavor fish dishes (I used to eat Vegan, now just no beef) has me in spicy heaven. FTY and ABoS's Spicy Fish Filet w/ Tofu are just about as good as it gets!

Been here a couple of times now and both dinners have been excellent. Here are some snapshots of my first visit about a month ago.

Stellar Szechuan crab as part of a blowout pre B-day meal for 8-people at A Bite of Szechuan.



A Bite of Szechuan, Count me a Fan!

Got orders of Kung Pao Chicken and Lamb with Cumin takeout yesterday.
Kung Pao had excellent seared chili flavor with good amount of chili oil to be one of the best versions I have ever had. Certainly beats the lack luster version served by Lao Sze Chaun Skokie.
Lamb was very tender, nice thin slices and excellent cumin flavor with a little heat.
Count me in as a fan of this place!
As a bonus it's in an area with a number of good Asian restaurants as I also got take out for today from New Asia yesterday. I keep a cooler with ice to cool down the take out on the trip back to Wisconsin.
Edens was a parking lot with I94 also heavy traffic.
Back roads circuitous but much faster.
Have to pick my days better!
But I needed lobster from H-Mart for rolls on the 4th!-Richard

As mentioned in the Thai Rolled Ice Cream thread A Bite of Szechuan has rolled out two new items, one being Thai Rolled Ice Cream. My bride and I shared a mango, delicious, even more enjoyable was the intense happy fashion Chloe's daughter Celine made the sunday on the specialized equipment. Kids and ice cream!!




A Bite of Szechuan also introduced Chengdu style skewers. Today's selection included boneless duck and chicken feet and a plethora of veg options served cold in a powerful sichuan pepper laden chili oil.





A Bite of Szechuan, Count me a FAN!

So what's the story here besides new chef? Food's changed from what I hear but for better or worse? Was it just a tease?

I saw Octarine's comment in Katy's thread about "new and inferior guidance in the kitchen" at ABoS (& Katy's Oak Park) and I'm wondering what the hell is going on myself.

I hadn't heard a peep about any changes under this thread. I'll check it out for myself within a week or so, but clarity would be nice.

bweiny wrote:but clarity would be nice.

Far as I know at the moment there is no real clarity. The Cheng family patriarch and principle chef is 71-years-old and wanted a break from 14-hour work days, they brought in a chef from Chengdu who worked with Chef Cheng for a couple of weeks. Then on 8/1 Chef Cheng seemingly retired and the new chef took over with a pared down menu.

I've been once since the change, there were some bobbles, the new menu is interesting with some of the old and some new Szechuan dishes. Its an interesting aggressively authentic* menu which I plan on exploring in detail. I'm giving the new chef time to get his sea-legs then will go 3-4 times and post here on my experience.

* For example cold Szechuan duck and chicken feet and cold Szechuan veg skewers pictured above.

Regards,
Gary

Thanks for the update Gary. I may swing by today to grab an updated menu. I really hope they haven't changed their fish dishes.

The food is so good, and Chloe is such a bright positive face to have at the front of the house, they seem to be perfectly suited for a mutually beneficial relationship with a PR/marketing/comms pro. Nevermind my enjoyment of the food, I want them to extract every penny out of their incredible, near-monopoly market share of authentic Szechuan on the northside northwest of Lincoln Park/Chengdu Impression.

UPDATE
I stopped by Sunday afternoon and got the new menu (they haven't done any laminating or binding, just a word doc on stapled white paper w/out pictures; so as described, it may still be fluid). It is certainly pared way down in terms of entrees. There is really no comfort-zone options for diners looking for an Americanized Chinese dish they are familiar with.

After a quick browse on the spot, I asked the son who I interact with if Fei Ten Yu & Spicy Fish Filet w/ Tofu were still available. He said they unfortunately are not.

In terms of added items that pique my interest, there is a section of 6 "Chengdu style Braised" dishes. Another possible go-to is the last page titled "Special Chengdu noodles (Lunch)". If these are available at dinner hours, I will definitely get them in my first order.

I think the best approach to evaluating ABoS is viewing the new menu as a tabula rasa, that shouldn't be faulted for not making the prior dishes I loved. If I go through it w/ an open mind, I may very well find items I like as much or more.

This is as intense of a Szechuan menu as you'll find anywhere in city or suburbs. If you're timid, there's a Panda Express a mile north on Lincoln! Nice knowin ya!

There is a menu on-line: https://www.beyondmenu.com/47036/chicag ... l-day-menu

Does that resemble the current menu for those who have been there since the change?

Looking forward to any updated reports on this place. We have really been enjoying the meals we have had there and are hopeful that this will continue to be a place we will enjoy. Just can't get there this week. "Aggressively" authentic does sound intriguing.

bw77 wrote:There is a menu on-line: https://www.beyondmenu.com/47036/chicag ... l-day-menu

Does that resemble the current menu for those who have been there since the change?

Yes, that is the current menu. Much smaller than before.

Looks like I can go have zhong dumplings and pork in garlic sauce, maybe the boneless chicken feet. Pretty much everything else looks utterly skippable.

sigh.

Guys, it's over.

I went there a couple days ago. Very excited. I ordered pick up -- on the phone I was told "oh we don't have that we have a new menu" -- which is weird. Most places, even if they get new cook, will keep old menu.

So I get there and ask what's up. Chloe didn't tell me about the situation. She was as vague as possible.

I ordered Zhong dumplings, boiled beef, popcorn chicken.

Each one of those delicious dishes, which used to bring me to narcotic-type highs, were now flat. Everything was different. From the vague explanation of Chloe, I had thought that it was the same chef who had just gotten bored with old menu. Now I was convinced -- there was a different, lesser man in the kitchen.

Depressing.

Oh this is what I feared most. How do you F up Zhong Dumplings??? And the pork in garlic sauce is a very simple dish. devastated.

HPGlutster2 wrote:Guys, it's over. ...
Depressing.

I should've read more into Chloe's body language when I went to pick up the new menu a week ago. She was sitting in a chair behind the register, back half-slid down. In retrospect it was a tell for the state of ABoS as a whole.

I've still got to personally verify the pot sticker, Dan Dan & vegetable (Mapo, Szechuan green beans) entree drop-off, but I can't knowingly continue to throw good money after bad.

My rebound fling will be One Four One Five Restaurant (http://1415.life, 1415 W Fullerton; menu isn't full on mobile browser, posted on Yelp). Looks like authentic Beijing cuisine, tweak from Chengdu/Szechuan.

I'm really bummed out!
I have no place for authentic Szechuan food.
ABOS is now out, LSC is Skokie gone also!
Yesterday I was in Wheeling so I thought I would try Hong Kong Chop Suey in Mundelein where the LTH North Group had a Lunch.
Kung Pao Chicken, not the hint of a pepper, chile oil or heat!
Actually chicken and vegetables woked with a slight char and some positively bland sauce.
Yu Xiang Pork, some ginger and enough sugar to make me Diabetic! No heat.
Mu Shoo Pork for my wife, she gave it 7/10.
Prices are low, ingredient quality is good but they use button mushrooms.
Seriously, there must be guide for these places that lists recipes and sells maybe pre-prepared ingredients as they are all the same. No heat, not a sign of a dried woked chile pepper, no chile oil, bland sauce and high sugar in some of the dishes, not a Shitake or Wood Ear mushroom to be seen!-Richard.

Has anyone else been back since the menu change? Anything to report? We're thinking about ordering takeout tonight, but I'm wary.

LPython wrote:Has anyone else been back since the menu change? Anything to report? We're thinking about ordering takeout tonight, but I'm wary.

I've been a couple of times, to give them a fair chance, but it's a totally different restaurant now. I didn't enjoy the cooking nearly as much as I did with the original chef, and most of my favorite dishes are no longer even on the menu, let alone being prepared to the same standard. Sadly, I've written the place off.

Thanks for the update.
Well now i have no place to go for Szechuan in the Northern Burbs again!
Any recommendations before i make the trip to Chinatown?-Richard

budrichard wrote:Well now i have no place to go for Szechuan in the Northern Burbs again!
Any recommendations before i make the trip to Chinatown?-Richard

Two things:

A. BoS is not in the Northern Burbs, it's in Chicago.

2. Give Asian Bistro a try. With careful ordering, you can have a really great meal.

Asian Bistro
65 West Golf Road
Arlington Heights, IL
847.439.5888

Peppercorns in Evanston is worth a try as well.

G Wiv wrote:

bweiny wrote:but clarity would be nice.

Far as I know at the moment there is no real clarity. The Cheng family patriarch and principle chef is 71-years-old and wanted a break from 14-hour work days, they brought in a chef from Chengdu who worked with Chef Cheng for a couple of weeks. Then on 8/1 Chef Cheng seemingly retired and the new chef took over with a pared down menu.

I concede that I'm personally bitter over the loss of the original ABoS, but viewing it as objectively as possible, the timeline of events makes no sense from a business perspective.

Chef Cheng was clearly great at cooking Szechuan food. But the idea that he didn't know what he was getting into when opening the restaurant in January of 2017, and would decide to retire just six months later, is ludicrous. Given that, however, it wouldn't be that big of a business misstep if he simply found someone he would train to keep doing what he had been doing so well. Instead, the entire momentum, buzz, and good will built up was essentially flushed down the toilet because the random guy they brought in decided to do something almost-entirely different (and in the view of the vast majority, worse).

This makes no fucking sense. He was a great chef, not Usain Bolt. He could teach somebody to do what he was doing. Even if his skill produced a greater reliability that translated on to thin margins, there appears to be no effort at keeping the good thing going. This is precisely the type of shit that makes people just say "Fuck it, lets go spend our hard earned money somewhere that makes Rich Melman's grandkids another fucking million dollars."

bweiny wrote:

G Wiv wrote:

bweiny wrote:but clarity would be nice.

Far as I know at the moment there is no real clarity. The Cheng family patriarch and principle chef is 71-years-old and wanted a break from 14-hour work days, they brought in a chef from Chengdu who worked with Chef Cheng for a couple of weeks. Then on 8/1 Chef Cheng seemingly retired and the new chef took over with a pared down menu.

I concede that I'm personally bitter over the loss of the original ABoS, but viewing it as objectively as possible, the timeline of events makes no sense from a business perspective.

Chef Cheng was clearly great at cooking Szechuan food. But the idea that he didn't know what he was getting into when opening the restaurant in January of 2017, and would decide to retire just six months later, is ludicrous. Given that, however, it wouldn't be that big of a business misstep if he simply found someone he would train to keep doing what he had been doing so well. Instead, the entire momentum, buzz, and good will built up was essentially flushed down the toilet because the random guy they brought in decided to do something almost-entirely different (and in the view of the vast majority, worse).

This makes no fucking sense. He was a great chef, not Usain Bolt. He could teach somebody to do what he was doing. Even if his skill produced a greater reliability that translated on to thin margins, there appears to be no effort at keeping the good thing going. This is precisely the type of shit that makes people just say "Fuck it, lets go spend our hard earned money somewhere that makes Rich Melman's grandkids another fucking million dollars."

So how do you really feel about it???

A lot of us are bummed, but they weren't here a year ago and life was still worth living. It will be again. Not everyone runs their restaurant or their life based on other's standards or needs. RIP BOS but we'll all be ok. I hope.