Restaurant Review - Mr. Chen's Organic Chinese

I got some bad medical news this week, and though I feel fine physically I've been too out of sorts to cook or eat properly. Last night I basically had a pint of soy ice cream for dinner, which of course made me feel like crap, and today I ate cereal for breakfast and lunch. Ugh. In an effort to snap myself out of it I ordered delivery from Mr. Chen's, who is proving to be a great go-to dinner option when I don't want to cook for whatever reason.

Even though they use all organic vegetables, their prices are actually a bit cheaper than other Chinese places in my neighborhood. They have a big menu, but all I've tried so far is the steamed bean curd with vegetables. They offer various sauces on the side; I've stayed loyal to the ginger garlic cause it's sweet and flavorful (though if I ever order when I'm not feeling cranky I'll try out the kung pao sauce). It's obviously a very basic dish, but it's done right - the vegetables are fresh and steamed the perfect right amount, and there's a decent amount of tofu without it being overwhelming. I like having the sauce on the side so I can dip pieces in instead of drowning the whole thing in glop. Their vegetarian soups have egg but they leave it out for me. I tried the seaweed and tofu soup but it's a little too, uh, seaweed tasting for me. I know, what did I expect? But I love the tofu and spinach soup, so problem solved.

On a non-food note, I'm also trying to get out of my funk with the new Girl Talk album, Feed the Animals. It's available now for whatever price you want to pay here. Pretty darn awesome.

Restaurant Review - Joe's Noodle House

After the first time I ate at Joe's Noodle House, I haven't wanted to get Chinese food anywhere else. This is a home-style Chinese restaurant, meaning most of the menu isn't Americanized. They have a huge vegetarian menu, most of which is vegan (or can be made vegan upon request). Plus it's dirt cheap. What's not to love?

Tonight we got sauteed bean sprouts and a Szechuan style hot pot with tofu. The bean sprouts were on the specials board (they have about 6 or 7 seasonal vegetable specials). It was a nice simple dish, just bean sprouts and some scallions in a mild garlic sauce. Very light and refreshing. It made a great side dish for the hot pot, which is HOT. The menu describes it as numbing, and it doesn't lie. The first time we ordered it the waitress tried to talk us out of it. It's the best kind of spicy - flavorful, not (just) painful. I have no idea what is in the sauce, but it has multiple layers of flavors and spice, and is completely unlike anything I've had elsewhere. The big pieces of soft tofu soak it up wonderfully. It's a little light on the vegetables - just a carrot and piece of cabbage here and there - but that's a minor quibble (and what side dishes are for).
I've tried several other dishes here and have never been disappointed, but the hot pot is the best so far. Other stand-outs are the veggie moo shu and the Hunan style tofu.