Famous Szechuan Pavilion

Famous Szechuan Pavilion owner and chef Xin Cin is a native of China’s Szechuan province, and at her University City restaurant (relocated from its original home inside a former snow-cone hut in Brentwood) she showcases that region’s fabled cuisine. The chile and the Szechuan peppercorn are the touchstones here, but while many dishes feature ferocious heat (try the yu shan pork) and the peppercorn’s floral flavor and the numbing sensation it imparts, the flavors are incredibly complex, as in the earthy ma po tofu, or the dan dan noodles with chicken or pork. Xin Cin runs her restaurant with only a very small staff, so be patient. It’s worth waiting for.