Szechuan Gourmet (Chinese (Szechuan/Hot Pot) / Murray Hill / $$)
21 W 39th Street (between 5th Ave & Avenue Of The Americas)
(212) 921-0233
www.SzechuanGourmetNYC.com
Szechuan Gourmet Restaurant New York
Although you can order General Tso’s Chicken and Beef with Broccoli, why would you? This is probably the best and most authentic Szechuan food in Manhattan. Recommended dishes include Half Camphor Tea Smoked Duck ($16), Braised Eel w/Fresh Garlic ($23) and Pickled Chili, Stir-Fried Frogs w/Baby Eggplant ($21), and Mung Bean Jello ($10). Prices for entrees range from $10 to $23 with seafood topping out the range. The biggest attraction, however, is the hot pot. Asian hot pots are the equivalent of the Americna fondue, except instead of dipping fruit into cheese, you dip raw meats and vegetables into broths. Different from Vietnamese hot pot, Japanese shabu shabu/sukiyaki, or even other Chinese hot pots, Szechuan hot pot can be order in a divided pot with chicken broth and vegetables on one side and spicy broth with red peppers and Szechuan peppercorns on the other. The all-you-can-eat hot pot costs $25 ($33 with tax and gratuity included) and offers up to 15 different types of vegetables and over 5 different proteins. Recommended items include: baby bok choy, shrimp, lamb and the mushrooms. Note that tongs and nets are provided and should definitely be used for the raw meats. In addition, the nets are helpful in separated the food to be eaten and the mouth-numbing peppercorns, which flavor the broth.
The restaurant is located near Bryant Park on the boundaries of Murray Hill and Times Square. The entryway is separated from the main dining room by a seating area and the entire restaurant is reminiscent of any Chinese restaurant you’d find in middle-America, at least by looking at the décor. Patrons are not packed together like you would be in a Chinatown restaurant and are given their own tables. In addition, the staff is friendly and prompt and speaks English proficiently, with only an accent to establish they were not born in America. The bathrooms, however, are not in spotless condition and using a paper towel to open doors and touch faucets is probably a wise idea.