Judy's Sichuan Cuisine

Judy's Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant Review:

Couples, foursomes, and all parties greater or less than are welcomed graciously by Judy Sun at her eponymous authentic Szechuan restaurant. But corral a group of six or seven if possible so you can sit at a big round table centered with a lazy Susan and take a spin at everything from stir-fried water spinach and garlic to smoked tea duck. Still, even singletons feel like they’re feasting at a banquet, what with starters such as lettuce wraps with shrimp and xiao long bao (soup dumplings with pork), the dumplings twisted into garlic bulb-shapes that burst with broth when you pop them into your mouth. With prodigious peppers, many dishes, like twice-cooked pork and dan dan noodles, live up to the cuisine’s spicy and assertive reputation. But there are tamer options, too, including “Three Cup Chicken” stew, braised chicken in a cup of soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar, and you can always ask your server (staff is particularly accommodating) to turn down the piquancy a notch or two. Then again, maybe those tears in your eyes as you finish off your eggplant in “yu-shiang” sauce are just because the meal is near its end. For a finale, consider a cold, sweet dessert soup full of Chinese white mushrooms and fruit.