Mission Street Chinese Food

Yum.  Pretty overblown but the food is so ridiculously good and spicy as all getup.

Those little flame-thrower icons on the side don't lie.

Not to mention the coolness factor of the restaurant itself, with trashy takeout facade,  Twin-Peaks themed bathrooms and a red-lit cozy dining room full of attractive cool diners.  There should be another word for "attractive, cool diners" besides hipsters & foodies, but that's all I've got.

Started in SF, as NYers hate to admit, but thanks for bringing that goodness this way, even if we have to wait a couple hours to eat.  Hold the phones, there's a keg of free beer while we wait!?




I wanted everything on the menu, but we stuck with the Tea Smoked Eel, the Rice Porridge, the Kung Pao Pastrami and the Sweet Peas.  The Pastrami was indeed explosive.  This menu is explosive with crazy fun things, and laminated in plastic because everything's about to get splattered with chili oil.  The ingredients are so fresh and expertly prepared, but sometimes the spice just kicks your tongue's butt.  We made it through with the help of the porridge, but kept going back for more.

And then, to top off an incredible meal, Aziz Ansari came in for some spicy tasty and I flipped my lid.  He had a pink umbrella, and I wished I had my menu autograph book.