East 50's chinese

[mwoodrowe]

i am going to be at 53rd & 3rd and was wondering if anyone knew of a good chinese in the area that will not break the bank? if not chinese, any other suggestions for a nice not expensive casual dinner? thanks!

[justauser]

I was just at Grand Sichuan and it is excellent, assuming you enjoy spicy food. One of the best Sichuan places I've ever eaten in and very authentic.

[comiendosiempre]

Grand Sichuan and Our Place are your two best options in the neighborhood. Shun Lee is there too but that's way more expensive, very different and subject to lots of varying reviews. (Excellent spring rolls and Hunan Lamb, however). The soup dumplings are generally very good at Our Place, along with the spicy wontons and slippery chicken. Grand Sichuan has good spicy chengdu dumplings and some good hard to find Sichuan dishes. For sushi, Takesushi, across the street from GSichuan, is very good, old school sushi and kusheagi.

[mwoodrowe]

thanks everyone!!

[Jane A.]

The local neighborhood place is Panda @ 54th & 2nd. they'll also deliver.

[erica]

Panda is on First and 54th. But if you are a Chinese food maven, and if you can eat spice, you might be much better off at Grand Sichuan. Phoenix Garden, Cantonese on East 40th between 1st and 2nd, has its fans, too. Depends on what kind of Chinese you are looking for...

http://www.thephoenixgarden.com/

Agree on Our Place if you want Shanghainese, but prices may be a bit higher than you are looking for, as it is a "nice" midtown place..

[smokeandapancake]

my reccos are GC and Panda.

[Jane A.]

My bad - Panda is definitely 54th & 1st. Our Place, shown above is a very nice space and used to have really good soup dumplings. If you're into duck, Peking Duck House is on 53rd bet. 3rd & 2nd Aves. Not sure how good it it for other things.

[E Eto]

Our Place Tea Garden (I'm not sure that's the right name) on 55th near Lex, is also a good option for Shanghainese.

[JungMann]

Our Place is my favorite in the area. Ambience is nice and prices are moderate. Grand Sichuan is next on the list.

[Bob Martinez]

I'd add that while Our Place is Shanghainese they also serve a broad range of standard Chinese dishes. When I used to work in the area I'd go frequently. It never let me down.

http://ourplace-teagarden.com/

The Grand Sichuan on 2nd Ave. is also very good.

[gutsofsteel]

Grand Sichuan on 2nd/55th is one of my favorites. But I don't know what your definition of "nice" is. It's definitely casual and not expensive. They do have tablecloths.

[mwoodrowe]

is Grand Sichuan still open?

[gutsofsteel]

The one on 2nd & 55th is open. I walked by there tonight.

[MMRuth]

Our favorite in the area is Chin Chin - 49th & Third. It's a nice place, not cheap, but I think they might have a good prix fixe available.

Edit: It is, I believe, more "Americanized" Chinese, but I'm not an expert on such matters! There's also Peking Duck House in the area - though I found the neon overhead lighting a bit unpleasant.