Sichuan food is popular at many Chinese restaurants, but do you know where in New York a diplomat from the Sichuan province says you’ll find the real thing?
Ollie’s Sichuan Restaurant on West 42nd Street. (The full address is below.)
This recommendation came by way of a lunch Murray had with several Chinese diplomats a few months ago. When the topic first came up, one of the diplomats mentioned an area of Flushing as “the new Chinatown.” This definitely sounds worth investigating, and we will. But for right now, we’re sticking to Manhattan.
Of course, you can’t really say any restaurant serves “the most authentic Chinese cuisine,” because there is no singular Chinese cuisine, and all types are well represented in New York. The senior diplomat at Murray’s lunch provided his take on how to categorize Chinese food – “northern,” with primarily fried foods; “sweet and sour”; “southern,” with primarily steamed foods, especially fish; and Sichuan. That was when the diplomat from the Sichuan province piped in, stating emphatically that Ollie’s Sichuan Restaurant serves the real thing and is the most authentic Sichuan restaurant in New York.
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To avoid any confusion, I want to make clear that, yes, Ollie’s Sichuan is owned by the same people who operate other “Ollie’s” around the city (including Ollie’s Noodle Shop on the Upper West Side), but the diplomat’s recommendation for authentic Sichuan is specifically about the West 42nd Street location. With that cleared up, let me tell you about our experiences there ...
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In preparation for our first visit to Ollie’s, I did some research on Sichuan cuisine, and came up the following list of promising signature dishes, which I hoped to order:
Kung Pao Chicken
Tea Smoked Duck
Twice Cooked Pork
Mapo Dofu
Szechuan Hot Pot
Shuizhu
Murray does not enjoy very spicy, hot food, so on our first visit to Ollie's we avoided any items on the menu marked with three peppers (their hottest ranking). I know; I like hot food and was disappointed, too.
In trying to figure out what to order, we assumed some loose translations between Chinese and English, and I spent time in advance of our visit closely examining and comparing Chinese characters. Through this “research,” I decided that “Double Cook Fresh Bacon with Spicy Bean Sauce” on Ollie’s menu was the same as Twice Cooked Pork. I should have asked. The Double Cook Fresh Bacon ended up to be precisely what it says – bacon – and much too fatty for us.
We also ordered Shredded Tea Smoked Duck with Spring Ginger. This was delicious, a little fatty as well – but after all, it is duck. The flavor was heavenly – really “tea smoked” – I have no better vocabulary with which to describe it.
Both Double Cooked Fresh Bacon and Shredded Tea Smoked Duck were designated with one pepper, and neither dish was close to overwhelmingly spicy, even for Murray.
This led us to be a bit braver when we ventured back; that time, we selected one meal that was designated with three peppers, Szechuan Spicy Ma Po Tofu with Minced Pork and Black Bean, along with a safer, one-pepper dish, Kung Pao Chicken. Again, we enjoyed our meal and did not find the Ma Po Tofu too spicy at all – hot, yes; overwhelmingly so, definitely not.
I think everyone’s probably experienced at least one meal somewhere that was so hot as to be almost inedible. This appears not to be a worry at Ollie’s; the food there is well spiced, in an intriguing and enjoyable way.
Ollie’s is casual, quick, and a good bargain. The most expensive dish on the menu is under $20, and most are closer to $10. About half of the clientele when we visited were Chinese, which to us seems a good sign of its authenticity.
The walls of the dining room are lined with black and white photos (with small splashes of red) showing typically Chinese scenes, and the wait staff is garbed in black and red to match.
Good food and a convenient location, for us anyway – It’s very close to the Port Authority where we commute in and out of Manhattan. A pleasant experience, and reasonable prices. All major credit cards are accepted, and there is a full bar, with wine by the glass or bottle.
Where and When
Ollie’s Sichuan Restaurant
411 W 42nd Street (by 9th Avenue)
New York, NY 10036
(212) 868-6588
(212) 921-5988
Fax: (212) 868-7588
Monday through Thursday
11:30am – 11:00pm
Friday and Saturday
11:30am – 12:00am
Sunday
11:30am – 11:00pm
Note: After our visit, we were upset to see an article in about Ollie’s in The New York Times. Click the link to read the details yourselves. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the owner has made up for past behavior. But, if you go to this restaurant, keep this all in mind, and consider tipping especially well.
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