Best Szechuan Food in the Five Boroughs??

[MarkG]

in oir out of the major chinatowns

[Chandavkl]

Normally you'd think the best Chinese food of any stripe might be in Flushing. However, for Sichuan style, quite possibly Szechuan Gourmet on 39th St. in Manhattan might be the best. Forget Manhattan Chinatown--that's only good for Cantonese, Fujianese and some Shanghai style.

[scoopG]

Can you provide any personal comparisons to the various Sichuan restaurants in NYC?

Horses of different colors - Manhattan's Chinatown vs. Flushing, that is. And that doesn't make either one any less a worthwhile visit. But not for Sichuan just yet. Manhattan's Chinatown is older (since 1840) and poorer while Flushing's is newer (since the 1950's) and richer. According to Peter Kwong and Dusanka Miscevic in "Chinese America" (The New Press, New York; 2005) 38% of Flushing’s Chinese-Americans are business professionals while only 14% are in Manhattan’s. 38% in Flushing have college degrees compared to Manhattan’s 7%.

60% of the Chinese in Chinatown are foreign born with only a high school education. Wages are 50% of the regional average and 20% live in poverty.

Manhattan Szechuan Gourmet:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/459240

Manhattan Sichuan:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/620374
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/568761
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/591930
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/627314

More recent threads on two new Manhattan spots, Lan Sheng and Szechuan Gourmet:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/673788
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/678674

Flushing:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/451804
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/651819
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/574582

[Chandavkl]

Actually the core Chinatown vs. outer Chinatown comparison holds up for most North American Chinatowns--core Chinatowns have a much lower socioeconomic profile and at least historically are Cantonese in origin. Outer Chinatowns are more affluent and have a lesser Cantonese/Hong Kong influence. Consequently there's a contrast between the cuisine in the core Chinatown and outer Chinatown. Manhattan Chinatown is a little odd because of all the Fujianese, who aren't anywhere to be found in Canadian or west coast Chinatowns. Plus it seems to me that there is a relatively small Hong Kong influence in both NY Chinatown and Flushing, compared to LA, SF, Vancouver and Toronto. Is this last point valid?

[scoopG]

I forgot to get back to you! I would say that Chinatowns are in urban areas (Sacramento, Manhattan, Philadelphia etc.) and that ethno-burbs are what can be found in Flushing or suburban LA. An ethno-burb is defined by the presence of multi-ethnic groups and higher income levels in a suburban area. Urban Chinatowns feature up to 60% foreign born Chinese with a high school level (or less) educational level who speak only Mandarin, Cantonese or Fujianese. Wages in Chinatowns are 50% below regional averages and as many as 20% of the population live in poverty. I would agree that there is more of a Hongkong influence in Toronto and Vancouver (not sure about CA.)

[Chandavkl]

Thanks for the interesting info. LA and SF definitely have a heavy Hong Kong culinary influence--that's what keeps the food evolving out here. I guess the question is whether the twain will meet sometime in the future between core Chinatowns and ethno-burbs. For example, in the San Gabriel Valley, the main artery of Valley Blvd. runs through a stretch of population which might be 50 percent Chinese for about 7 miles. However over that stretch there are dozens of Chinese restaurants, but only a handful of non-Asian restaurants. No McDonalds, no Burger King, one Wendy's, only one American supermarket. Or compare the stretch of Main St. Flushing which 15 years ago was probably half Chinese, half non-Chinese as far as businesses went. Now almost all the restaurants and most of the other businesses are Chinese.