Alice's

Alice's Restaurant Review:

A warm glow shines onto the quiet sidewalk from this neighborhood restaurant's two corner picture windows. Inside, denim-clad servers hustle between the tables filled with local families, couples from the neighborhood and the occasional but wise visitor from another section of the city. Loaded with blooming orchids, colorful knick-knacks and bamboo plants, the cheery dining room is filled with the smell of Hunan and Mandarin cooking---though passed through a distinctly American filter. Reasonably inexpensive and considerably fresher than most similarly-styled neighborhood joints, Alice's offers food that will stress neither wallets nor palates. Orange chicken, one of the addictive house specials, infuses wedges of orange rind and whole Chinese peppers into the sweet and tangy sauce that clings to the juicy morsels of chicken. Alice's spicy eggplant is cut into thick slabs, then roasted and combined with chicken or shrimp, a dark, rich sauce and fresh basil.