Last night my wife and I had dinner with Beth Donovan, She Who Will Be Obeyed! herself. We hit it off immediately and spent a wonderful evening chatting, laughing, and sampling some fantastic Chinese food.
It’s incredible that Beth’s and my paths haven’t crossed before. We grew up within miles of each other. Classmates of mine dated (and probably married) classmates of hers. She received her first kiss from a little boy who grew up to be a musician in Pavlov’s Dog, a rock band for whose lead singer, Dave Surkamp, I’d baby-sitted when he was small.
I’d expected we’d have a lot in common with our shared St. Louis background but this was more than just a “six degrees of separation†kind of thing—more like two degrees. A long-lost friend I’d met for the very first time.
When we’d decided to meet for dinner, I had little question where I’d wanted to go: Venus Szechuan and Mandarin Restaurant. Several of my clients have been bending my ear for some time about the place and it was quite convenient to both of us.
The restaurant is a tidy storefront in downtown Park Ridge, just around the corner from the landmark Art Deco Pickwick Theater. There’s convenient parking either on the street or in several nearby parking lots.
The decor of the restaurant is plain but attractive: black tables and chairs, white tablecloths and walls, gold-painted highlights. Service was attentive and friendly but not overbearing.
We ordered pot-stickers (I like pot-stickers), Szechuan beef, and chicken with black bean sauce and ate family-style. The pot-stickers were among the best I’ve ever had (including my own): the wrappers were apparently homemade and quite light, they were perfectly prepared with neither the gumminess nor the oiliness that’s common with pot-stickers, and there were distinct fresh flavors of pork, scallion, and ginger in the filling. Be wary of the accompanying chili sauce!
Vegetables in the entrees were (mostly) fresh and preserved their character. Flavors were well-balance with no element overbearing. I had ordered both dishes with “medium†heat (they were available in mild, medium, or hot). No MSG was used in the preparation. My wife (more sensitive than I) told me that the medium was right at the edge of her tolerance. My guess is that mild would be suitable for even very sensitive palates with hot acceptable to more stalwart souls. To my taste the medium was pleasantly spicy without actually being hot.
I can recommend this restaurant without qualification. We’ll be back.
