Educate, don't legislate.
Riverdale Park, Maryland
YUCK
DEAR EDITOR:
I recently moved to L.A. from New York City and was hankering for some quality Peking duck. Now, anyone who's ever had Peking duck knows that if you want the real deal, you have to go to a restaurant that specializes in just that dish. Sure, almost every Chinese restaurant has it on the menu, but that doesn't mean that they really want to make it. Real Peking duck is a real pain to make, and an even bigger pain to serve correctly. Who has the time? With all this said, on the strength of Jonathan Gold's extremely positive comments, I visited Quanjude in Rosemead. There are no words to describe how disappointed I was (but I'll try). The duck was carved out of sight -- I have to take their word that it was fresh. It was dry and greasy at the same time, a unique trick. The crepes were thick and rubbery, much closer to tortillas than the wafer-thin steamed pancakes I am used to. The hoisin sauce seemed to be served straight from a can: It was a nasty, bitter, thick goop that bore little resemblance to the silky, tangy-sweet condiment I was expecting. I can forgive the poor service, since it was the food I really cared about; what I can't forgive is the fact that the servers offered food that was neither appealing nor appetizing -- and they had the nerve to claim it as their specialty! I'd hate to see the food that wasn't their specialty. Yuck! Care to try again, Mr. Gold? Your recommendations are usually right on.
Los Angeles
CORRECTION
In last week's restaurant issue the name Locanda Del Lago was misspelled.
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