http://www.littleszechuan.com
Tonight, I ate at "Little Szechuan," which is officially the first restaurant I will be reviewing for this blog. This place is located in Frogtown, on University and Western. The neighborhood is minorly off-putting, as is the outside of the restaurant. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that a restaurant should never be judged by its exterior.
Inside, Little Szechuan is very well kept, and there's a very welcoming atmosphere. Inside, we're greeted by a cheery young lady who shows us to our table. Without any delay, our server comes over with a steel pot with oolong tea. After scanning the extensive menu, I knew at that point my dinner companion and I were in for quite treat. I ordered the Tofu with Shrimp and Wild Chili (or 山椒虾仁豆腐 if you will), and my friend ordered the Shrimp Lettuce Wraps, which is actually an appetizer. Our server, on a side note, was very friendly and attentive through-out the entire visit, and he deserves some sort of commendation.
Our food arrived, and it was love at first sight. A large portion of tofu and sizeable shrimp was placed in front of me, which was surrounded by a luscious looking broth, with evident pieces of ginger, garlic, and spur chilis throughout. The tofu had soaked up the rich flavor of the broth, and the slight burn of the chilis, which were hot but controlled. I'm a sucker for sinus searing food, and was expecting it a bit hotter, but I wasn't upset. The perfectly cooked shrimp and well seasoned broth well made up for the lack of chili induced palate pain. The serving was very large; for sure it was large enough for two full meals, as I am content at home now with a container of shrimp-y, tofu-y goodness awaiting my next stomach growl.
Overall, I had no complaints and I left with only good things to say about my experience.
I've decided I have to have some sort of rating scale for my reviews, so I'm employed the standard 1-10 rating system, one rating for service, food, ambiance, and an overall score.
Here are the final scores for my "Little Szechuan" experience.
Service: 10
You can get no better service than what we got at Little Szechuan. The food came quickly, our waiter was attentive and polite, and our check came promptly after finishing.
Food: 8
Although the food was great, I wasn't completely bowled over. I enjoyed it quite a bit, though.
Ambiance: 7
Nothing too fancy here, the inside was nice, but nothing to write home about. The outside was very uninteresting, but as I said, this isn't important as you only see it as you're coming and going.
Overall: 9
I would love to visit here again, as there are many dishes on the menu I found myself wanting. Little Szechuan just scored itself a new fan. Yay!