Baron's Xi'an Kitchen & Bar

Baron's Xi'an Kitchen & Bar Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant: Entering the dining room at Baron’s feels like poking one’s head into a palace ballroom, with its lavish decorations, lush seating and the fact that it seems to go on forever. An open kitchen runs nearly the length of the room, ending in what can only be called the “meat corner” where a chef mans the station focused on the specialty Peking duck (which needs to be reserved ahead of time).

Likes: Lion’s head meatball soup; big booths.
Dislikes: Noodles and dumplings don’t live up to the standard set by the proteins.

Food & Drinks: Diners do best to stick to the meat corner of the menu, too, as the kitchen’s fine touch shows best in protein-forward dishes such as the Sichuan rockfish, Chengdu spicy chicken and lion’s head meatball soup, each a luxurious re-creation of the traditional Chinese version. Come dessert, the black gold buns, stuffed with salted duck egg yolk, serve as the exception to the anti-carb rule. The surprisingly comprehensive though white-heavy wine list ranges around the world, bringing together big-name brands from Europe and the West Coast of the U.S., along with a few more intriguing bottles from the same region, under the menu heading of “interesting.”