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Grab the Feed (RSS)don't know if this is new or not, but Tofu on 7th (226 7th Ave) now offers Szechuan style dishes, in addition to more run-of-the mill chinese food, and they're quite delicious. I'd say they're now the best chinese food in Park Slope.
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Don't name the best chinese yet... there's a brand new Szechuan in the neighborhood, Szechuan Garden on 7th ave and 16th. Got delivery the other night and was quite pleased. Was it the best Dan Dan noodles I've ever had? No. Was it Dan Dan noodles delivered to my door in park slope and quite tasty at that? YES! This is my new go-to chinese http://www.szechuangarden7ave.com/home/
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Gonna check that out.
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Yea, I've heard good things about Szechuan Garden. The fact that it is less than 1/2 a block from my apt makes it all the more appealing. But it's just so hard to not speed dial Hunan Delight on 6th and Union. Hands down the best delivery Chinese I've had anywhere, NYC or elsewhere.
Tofu on 7th was actually the very first delivery we had when we moved to Park Slope in 2002. That was the first and last time we ordered from them, if that tells you anything.
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Tofu sucks. New menu & all. Really greasy, tasteless food.
"Clamato! Straight Up! No chasah! -
I'll have to give Szechuan Garden a try, but I don't see any lamb & cumin dishes on the menu. I'll withdraw my "best" award temporarily.
8thandPrez: Hunan Delight has been our favorite in Park Slope for years, but that's not saying very much. It's decent, but not great, and somewhat overpriced.
Idlewild: I disagree.
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I tried tofu on 7th roughly 5 years ago. Perhaps the worst tofu I've ever had (and I'm a vegan).
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Anonymous
Posts: 2There is an extensive thread about Tofu on 7th on chowhound, an actual food-oriented website.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/820932
The Sichuan menu is new, and there is a new chef from Sichuan province in China. So whoever keeps saying how they tried it years ago, that's irrelevant.
This place is actually good and authentic. If you dont think so, you either ordered the wrong thing (they still have americanized chinese as well) or you just dont know real sichuan food. Tasteless food?? You must not have tastebuds.
And as the chowhound post notes, Szechuan Garden is NOT authentic sichuan food, and in my opinion, not very good at all. Tofu on 7th is ACTUAL real authentic sichuan food.
PS- Tofu on 7th DOES have Lamb and cumin dishes...as well as many other authentic sichuan dishes (however, the menus is kinda hard to navigate).
PPS- The dan dan noodles from Szechuan Garden were not inedible, but they were NOT dan dan noodles by any stretch of the imagination. That being said, the appetizers at Tofu on 7th are not the best either. But the entrees are great!
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So does this mean I should take red Hot off my speed dial? Hey, it aint wonderful but for those alone nights when I want some dumplings and one dish it works and it is hyper-speed fast. Note to self... Gotta try somewhere else for delivery.
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slim9871 said:
There is an extensive thread about Tofu on 7th on chowhound, an actual food-oriented website.http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/820932
The Sichuan menu is new, and there is a new chef from Sichuan province in China. So whoever keeps saying how they tried it years ago, that's irrelevant.
This place is actually good and authentic. If you dont think so, you either ordered the wrong thing (they still have americanized chinese as well) or you just dont know real sichuan food. Tasteless food?? You must not have tastebuds.
And as the chowhound post notes, Szechuan Garden is NOT authentic sichuan food, and in my opinion, not very good at all. Tofu on 7th is ACTUAL real authentic sichuan food.
PS- Tofu on 7th DOES have Lamb and cumin dishes...as well as many other authentic sichuan dishes (however, the menus is kinda hard to navigate).
PPS- The dan dan noodles from Szechuan Garden were not inedible, but they were NOT dan dan noodles by any stretch of the imagination. That being said, the appetizers at Tofu on 7th are not the best either. But the entrees are great!
Authentic Szechuan or not, their food still sucks. Whatever duck dish I ordered from their SZECHUAN menu, it was dry, crumbly, with absolutely no sense of seasonings. Just salt and a greasy sauce. Their sliced beef with chili sauce was barely passable. I remember some sort of cold sliced beef with chili sauce as well. Barely passable. That too, off their Szechuan menu. As far as me not knowing Szechuan food, I have never been to the Szechuan Province in China, admittedly. But I sincerely doubt that shit-on-a-stick tastes differently to people whom are experienced in the ways of international cuisine and culture, than people who are not. In regards to my not having any taste buds: I believe I have reviewed, recommended, and not recommended enough eateries on this forum and to individuals (members of this forum), to have earned my street cred. As an aside, usually when I hear/see some know-it-all defender, with one post to their name, try and put down someone with a difference of opinion with the ole "you must not know good food" reasoning, they're pretty much a shill and/or a troll. So, unless something miraculous has happened in Tofu's kitchen within the past month, where they have their act together, IMO, the food sucks. So please, by all means Boo, be my guest and enjoy your salty grease. Authentically Szechuan, of course.
"Clamato! Straight Up! No chasah! -
I read chowhound and I can safely say that I trust the regulars on this message board on their opinions of food/shops more then I do any Chow people.
Agreed Idlewild.
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Mamacita said:
I read chowhound and I can safely say that I trust the regulars on this message board on their opinions of food/shops more then I do any Chow people.Couldn't have said it any better. +1
Starting a list of users names who are actually the same person: west1440, DownwardPuppy, TruthandBeauty, Stretchy, RupaulRox, NarcolepticAbe, QuantumSilence, SoldierSantana, SouljaJuan, TrendPotter, THREEKxdz, HomeEida -
Anonymous
Posts: 2Idlewild said:
Authentic Szechuan or not, their food still sucks. Whatever duck dish I ordered from their SZECHUAN menu, it was dry, crumbly, with absolutely no sense of seasonings. Just salt and a greasy sauce. Their sliced beef with chili sauce was barely passable. I remember some sort of cold sliced beef with chili sauce as well. Barely passable. That too, off their Szechuan menu. As far as me not knowing Szechuan food, I have never been to the Szechuan Province in China, admittedly. But I sincerely doubt that shit-on-a-stick tastes differently to people whom are experienced in the ways of international cuisine and culture, than people who are not. In regards to my not having any taste buds: I believe I have reviewed, recommended, and not recommended enough eateries on this forum and to individuals (members of this forum), to have earned my street cred. As an aside, usually when I hear/see some know-it-all defender, with one post to their name, try and put down someone with a difference of opinion with the ole "you must not know good food" reasoning, they're pretty much a shill and/or a troll. So, unless something miraculous has happened in Tofu's kitchen within the past month, where they have their act together, IMO, the food sucks. So please, by all means Boo, be my guest and enjoy your salty grease. Authentically Szechuan, of course.Do you have a problem with me using the generally accepted correct anglicization of the Sichuan Province in China?? Okay. Thats not petty.
Now as for your other critiques..I find them humorous and ironic. Now admittedly you've had three dishes from this restaurant, which has two menus, and a total number of dishes numbering over 100. Find me a restaurant, and I'll find you a person who has had a bad experience there...especially a Chinese restaurant. Not every dish at every restaurant is going to appeal to every person. In my post I clearly stated that not everything on the menu is great. I said you may have "ordered the wrong thing." Translation: some things are not as good as others, and I wouldn't order them again.
Now, you resort to calling me names such as "troll." The original poster created this thread and said that they find the restaurant's dishes to be "quite delicious." You, after trying the place once, reply with "Tofu sucks." Now isnt that considered being a "troll" just as much as anything I said?? And as for being a shill...you got me!! I am actually the chef/owner/delivery guy at Tofu on 7th.. Youre good!
You may have "reviewed" restaurants on this site before, but after eating a couple dishes from chinese restaurant that you didn't enjoy, your review is that the entire menu and restaurant as a whole "sucks." Great review...Boo. Very comprehensive. And for the record, I've never been to SICHUAN province in China either, but I am very familiar with eating AND cooking SICHUAN food, and I know that this restaurant has both authentic AND delicious dishes, in my opinion. Admittedly, not all of them I enjoy equally. But was I claiming it was the best restaurant of all time? No. Not everything has to be expressed in hyperbole. Wow. Imagine that!
Now I completely understand why you other guys would respond this way... I'm new here...I linked you to a different forum... I told your resident no-life megaposter that he was wrong. You're butt hurt. I get it.
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PuckBrooklyn said:
Couldn't have said it any better. +1You folks now have me hungry for yummy tofu. I plan to make my monthly trip out of the basement apartment I share with my mother this weekend, and know where I am headed.
If I was an anthropologist I'd be concerned about authenticity, but I am just a hungry guy looking for a tasty meal.
For better or worse, the change on Nostrand is going to make the change on Franklin look minor. -
P.S. Does anyone know if this place has some cheap, tasteless Chinese beer?
Regular beer and Chinese food just doesn't seem to work together for me.
For better or worse, the change on Nostrand is going to make the change on Franklin look minor. -
whynot: I can't say if Tofu on 7th has cheap, tasteless Chinese beer, but they do have lots of Yao Wan duck sauce packages to slather all over the food so that it tastes more like what many are accustomed to.
I'm restoring the "best" award to Tofu for its Szechuan/Sichuan menu. By the way, they also throw in a container of wonderful pickled vegetables when you order Szechuan/Sichuan.
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What are the specific right dishes to order to take best advantage of the authentic Szechuan offerings?
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Daniel, if you're unsure as to whether or not this type of food is for you, I'd start off with their lunch specials as it's less expensive in case you find it's not your thing. One of the classic dishes is mabo tofu -- chunks of silken tofu and ground pork in a hot spicy mouth-numbing chili sauce. The oiliness and assertive spicing is how it should be prepared. If your mouth tingles, they're doing it correctly. The tingling is from roasted Sichuan peppercorns. If you find it too salty, eat more rice with it. The mabo tofu most people get in NYC Chinese restaurants is the Cantonese interpretation of the Szechuan dish. And the prepackaged mabo tofu sauce one buys at the Asian food stores bares no resemblance to the real thing. It's like comparing chef boyardee to Italian food. Their triple pepper chicken is also a winner IMO. And I really like their appetizer of wontons in chili oil. They do go a good version of the dish.
I'd probably hold off on ordering the cold appetizers like the beef and tripe in chili oil as I don't think the average American palate would dig it. But I think most people would enjoy the cold noodles.
Read the Chowhound report to see what else people liked. I hope some of you get to try the restaurant and appreciate it for what it is. If you don't like it -- oh well, I guess Red Hot and Hunan Delight will still be there to fulfill your needs.
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@missneedle Thanks! Here's to being adventurous!
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@DanielJ, here are the dishes I've enjoyed from Tofu on 7th:
- Cumin Style Lamb
- Dry Pot Style beef or chicken
- Chong Qing Spicy Chicken (#21 on the House Specialties)Of the appetizers, I've really liked the Cold Dish Cucumber, and the Scallion Pancakes are excellent - nice and light, not like the heavy "latkes" you find at most places around the slope.
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