I haven’t seen any write-ups of it hear, although there is a thorough one on Chowhound I saw the other day. But Legend of Taste is the most authentic and amazing Sichuan food I have had outside China. There are a few really good Sichuan places in NYC, and I’ve tried most of them. But Legend blows me away.
I’ve only been a few times over the past month since I live in Westchester County, but each time I have been blown away. If you can’t handle lots of MaLa, the server asks if you like spicy. Of course I am a total chile head and love the burn and tingle of MaLa, chiles and sichuan peppercorns. The Hot and Sour soup is the best rendition I have had. Not in the slightest way similar to Americanized Chinese hot and sour soup. Lighter, tangier, spicy, and depth of flavor; without the gloppy texture.
I have had mostly Cold Dishes since it is summer. Beef Tendon w/Spicy and Peppery is great. Paper thin slices of tendon in a fiery, numbing flavor packed sauce. The similar sauce comes of completely different in the Beef and Ox Tripe in Chili Sauce. The tripe is very clean and cooked soft, no crsipness left, and the Beef is meaty pieces of long braised beef, shank I think. Two different texture and flavors, then combined in the Sichuan sauce. I really like this dish. I’m not a kidney lover but even I really liked the cold Sliced Pork Kidney w/Hot & Spicy Sauce. Tear in Eyes is a thick gelatinous rice noodle in an insanely hot sauce. One of the 2-3 times in my life that a dish was too hot for me to have more than a small portion at a time. But very tasty.
I’ll report back in depth as I explore the menu in depth, but I highly recommend trying this place. They are fantastic.
