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P.F. Chang’s China Bistro

By: The Lady of The Night Out

Why should you eat at P.F. Chang’s?

Few Chinese restaurants achieve cult status. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro has done exactly that. Its tony décor, inventive menu, reasonable prices, and delicious food have made it a favorite from coast to coast. Even though the food is Americanized, it’s still a wok on the wild side.

Who should you eat at P.F. Chang’s?

The Hungry. The offerings are served family-style, so the platters are mountainous. And the food comes out of the kitchen at mach speed: the average time is six minutes.
Eaters Who Aren’t Adventurous. P.F. Chang’s serves American food prepared Chinese style. That means there’s nothing squeamish on the menu. Yet the eatery strives to flavor its food with authenticity. It imports all its spices directly from China.
Folks on a Budget. The prices are remarkably reasonable. The most expensive item on the menu is the oolong sea bass at $17. Most entrees hover in the $10 to $12 range.
Vegetarians. Like your mother, the P.F. Chang’s menu encourages you to eat your vegetables. The menu explains the essence of a traditional Chinese meal is to achieve balance through fan and t’sai. (Vegetables belong in the t’sai column.) The brown rice – a hard to find commodity in this town -- is nutty and crunchy.
Diners Who Want It Their Way. All the dishes are made to order. If you don’t want onions or you want to turn up the heat with extra chilies, just say so. Ditto for the signature dipping sauce; it’s made at the table your way.
Folks Who Hate Circling the Lot Searching for a Parking Space. Every P.F. Chang’s has a valet.

Who shouldn’t eat at P.F. Chang’s?

Anyone in a hurry. Because this place is popular, the waits can be interminable if you like to lunch at noon or sup at 8. The restaurant has a new policy to help alleviate the wait: it’s called “priority list seating.” Phone the restaurant when you get in the car. The hostess will put your name on the list then. The hope is you’ll be near the top of the list by the time you arrive. But there’s no guarantee the next table’s yours.
Anyone searching for the authentic. P.F. Chang’s serves Chinese food through an American prism. Just look at the staff: most are Occidental. If you want the real thing, go to Chinatown.

Ok, so what’s the food like? The must have dish is the oolong sea bass. I’ve discovered some of the best seafood offerings in LVNV are not at seafood restaurants. The oolong sea bass is one example. The kitchen marinates the Chilean fish in the astringent tea to add grace notes to its delicate flavor. The kitchen broils the fish to seal in the juices and serves the filet in oyster sauce. The sweetness of the fish contrasts with the pungent sauce for one great dish.

Another eye opener was the salt and pepper calamari. Question: Why use the Italian name? Is the word squid too squeamish? No tubes or tentacles here. P.F. Chang’s takes a calamari steak and cuts it into julienned strips. The French fry-like rectangles are rubbed with kosher salt and coarse black pepper, dusted with cilantro, then wok seared. Not an ounce of grease on these babies. The delicious fries are ready for dunking in a chili paste that will awaken those taste buds.

I loved the Singapore street noodles. Chicken and shrimp nest in spicy rice noodles spiked with curry.

One of the most popular entrees is Chang’s spicy chicken. The first thing you notice is the gorgeous orange color. It’s the hue of the Sichuan sauce, a marmalade-like concoction of sugar, vinegar, and chili paste. The result: Sweet, spicy and tangy. The chicken chunks are polka dotted with hot pepper slices to add additional fire.

Perfectly crimped shrimp dumplings are stuffed with a shrimp mousse which share the cramped quarters with Chinese cabbage and lots of ginger. The steamed dumplings – oh so heart healthy – are covered with lotus leaves to keep them steaming at the table.

Vegetarians will love the Szechwan-style asparagus. Crunchy asparagii and white onions mix it up with preserved Sichuan vegetables. Just enough spice to prick up the ears.

P.F. Chang’s signature dish is its lettuce wraps. This entrée launched a culinary revolution; they’ve become so popular everybody except Denny’s seems to have copied them.

Half the fun of the lettuce wraps is you, the diner, become part of the preparation. The waitress arrives with a bowl of sweet and sour sauce. You get to determine the spiciness of the brew; hot chili sauce is the thermostat. I looked at the chili pepper seeds suspended in the sauce and said “no way.” I did agree to a dollop of hot mustard. If you aren’t as brave as you thought and your mouth is on fire, there’s a bottle of white vinegar to douse the flames.

Seven picture perfect iceberg lettuce leaves – cut like seashells -- serve as wrappers. The filing – chicken breast chopped fine – was mixed with the usual suspects of Chinese cuisine -- black mushrooms, scallions, water chestnuts and bamboo shoots and topped with oyster sauce.

Building the lettuce wraps reminded me of playing with Legos. The coolness of the lettuce and the fire of the sauce definitely spelled “yin” and “yang.”

Dessert in the desert: The chocolate cake looked like an exquisite French confection. We opted to go more ethnic and try the banana spring rolls. Bananas, sprinkled with the heavenly mix of cinnamon and sugar, are rolled in won ton wrappers and then fried. The wrappers, which look like tree stumps, are arranged on the plate like petals of a flower; in the center is a mound of coconut pineapple ice cream. Caramel and vanilla sauce put the dessert over the top.

History: Legendary restaurateur Paul Fleming and friend Philip Chang started the chain in Scottsdale in 1993. The Paradise Road restaurant was number 5; today there are 80 nationwide. Fleming cut his teeth as a franchisee for Ruth Chris’ steak houses. He also launched the Fleming’s Steak house concept.

The last word: If you want a fress to impress dining experience at affordable prices, you can’t beat P.F. Chang’s. The eatery serves intensely flavored dishes familiar to the American palate; no “Fear Factor” stuff here. The new priority seating system should slash most of the waiting time at this enormously popular restaurant. The food arrives remarkably fast once you actually get to order.

Where is it? Currently there are three P.F. Chang’s in LVNV. I ate at the eatery at 4165 Paradise Road across the street from Terrible’s Casino. The phone there is 702.792.2207. The P.F. Chang’s in Summerlin is located at 1095 South Rampart. The phone there is 702.968.8885. The third location is in the Aladdin Casino and Resort, 3667 Las Vegas Boulevard South. The phone is 702.836.0955. The Web site is www.pfchangs.com.

By: The Culinary Curmudgeon Lady of the Night Out

New Year’s Eve is a great time to be in LVNV. You’ve got to thank the Chinese for taking Francis Albert’s philosophy of doing things “my way” by celebrating their New Year’s just a month later. Wow! Two major party events in a 30 day span. And the emphasis here is on eating, always a great reason for a national holiday. Why do you think Thanksgiving is a four day affair?

It’s now become déclassé to be seen drinking tap water at fine restaurants like P.F. Chang’s. When the waiter asks you if you want tap or bottled water, you have to ante up if you want to avoid the evil eye. Bottled water presents an existential problem at P.F. Chang’s since the Chinese don’t have well known springs like Perrier. Since Marco Polo really loved Chinese food, executives at P.F. Chang’s have wisely decided to serve Aqua Panna – water of Italian extraction – as its favorite form of H2O.

If you like the house dipping sauce at P.F. Chang’s, you’d better find out your waiter’s name if you want the same lovely experience the next time. It seems there are half a dozen different ingredients that the waiter can combine any way he chooses to create the dipping sauce. My sage advice is to make several visits until you find a waitperson who creates the concoction just the way you like it -- and then tip him or her generously so they remember who you are.

I hate to admit this in public, but I’ve been avoiding fried calamari because I just can’t stomach those squiggly tentacle thingies. The calamari at P.F. Chang’s look like French fries, a perfectly acceptable shape. I discovered those critters are tasty! What a revelation!

Being popular is a good thing, especially in this difficult economy. But with so many eateries in town, it’s against my religion to wait more than 15 minutes for a table. Show up at prime times and you can read an entire John Grisham novel before you receive a menu at P.F. Chang’s. Soon there will be a new one at Green Valley Ranch. Hopefully that will encourage hungry Hendersonians to eat closer to home instead of taking up space at my favorite haunt on Paradise Road. There’s plenty of parking at the Ranch, so you won’t be forced to tip the valet to avoid coming to blows with another hungry diner over a parking space.

Aired 31 January 2003

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