These Are a Few of My Faaavorite Things: Enchanted Pork, Szechuan Gourmet, NYC

You read right! This is MAGIC pork, people...I stayed at a soul-crushing job months longer than I should have, for the sake of lunchtime proximity to Szechuan Gourmet's Enchanted Pork.

I stand by my decision.

Ed Levine and Midtown Lunch have weighed in on Enchanted Pork, but my co-cubical prisoners can testify that I was drowning my sorrows in piggy spiciness LONG before it was on the blogger radar.

Conjuring porcine magic involves wok-seared leeks, blistered green chilis, and thin strips of fat-ribboned side meat (think bacon), the whole brought together by a goodly dose of red chili oil.  Every mouthful is an eye-opening blend of rich, porky heat, best tempered with rice.

At lunch, Enchanted Pork is a screaming deal at $6.95, and if you eat-in, you get respectably vinegary hot-and-sour soup, too.  For those unwilling to deal with the lunch mob, SG does old-fashioned delivery AND Seamless Web.  The same dish is a little more expensive at night ($11.95), but the portions are bigger, and it's a mere pittance to eat your beast in peace. 

Alas, someone decided to re-write the menu in ultra-literal longhand, so now it's called "Stir-fried Fresh Pork Belly w. Chili Leeks", (AKA #L2 at lunch, and #46 at dinner).  To add to the confusion, there's also a Double-Cooked Pork version of the same dish that has its own devotees (AKA L1 at lunch, #47 at dinner), but for me, there's only ever been ONE Enchanted Pork.

Note: If you order it as "Enchanted Pork", the wait staff will know what you mean.  Plus, it's just more fun to say.

The Runners-Up for Favorite at Szechuan Gourmet:

• Smoked Tofu w. Asian Celery

(#16, $5.95)
Refreshing and gently spicy, this is a good way to start.

• Crispy Lamb w. Chili & Cumin

(#50, $14.95)
My man's favorite; an aromatic revelation, showered in crunchy slivers of garlic, scallions, Szechuan peppercorns and dried chilis.

• Mabo Tofu (#L11 at 6.95, #60 at $8.95): This is the real deal, all its napalm glory!!!!  NOT your grandma's tofu.

• Braised Frogs w. Napa Cabbage & Bamboo Shoots in Spiced Broth (#77 at  $18.95; for those a 'lil frog-shy, they do a version with fish fillets instead, #69): When Soft-Spoken Feisty-Lady and I make suicide-spice pact, this tear-inducing, bubbling pot of hell-broth is an inexplicably tasty way to scratch the itch.

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Szechuan Gourmet
21 W 39th St 
Between 5th & 6th Ave
Midtown / Bryant Park
NYC, NY 10018
P: 212-921-0233
F: 212-921-0232

Final Note/Disclaimer

This may be stating the obvious, but this is a Szechuan restaurant, people. 

So if you're jonesing for wontons, Sesame Chicken, Beef with Broccoli--hell ANYTHING of alleged Cantonese origin, or that can otherwise be fulfilled by your corner delivery place, you'll probably be disappointed by SG.  Just saying.    

Comments

[Laura]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmh. Enchanted pork!

[Reavinator]

Yes I can verify, foodiegal was a glutton for this dish before it became in.

[ashley lee]

ahhh i need to move to nyc and do nothing but eat.