JMC Szechuan aka Szechwan JMC Chinese Kitchen

You should be aware of this little place. Pretty outstanding food and with the demise or decline of some old favorites this really stands out. So far everything I’ve tried has been really good. Chong Quing popcorn chicken( with fries mixed in) house special( green peppercorn) boiled fish and others. On the prowl for some MaLa mojo? This might be the spot.Worth seeking out.

243 W Cermak Rd
Chicago, IL 60616
(312) 929-2212

Was there last wk and agree.

I have been meaning to write about this place, but I am terrible at starting new threads. I really like the food here , it's supplanted Szechuan Cuisine, though it seems slightly more expensive than other options in the area for what is less "professional" decor and service.

I really like the mapo (the best this side of the Pacific I have tasted), the Dan Dan noodles (better than in Chengdu), and basically any cold chili oil dish (bang bang chicken and cucumber salad). I also quite like their string beans.

That said I they are much lighter on the "ma" here than other places, which suits my wife's palate. I personally could use a bit more in the mapo.

Strong second for the Dan Dan noodles. Certainly the best I’ve ever had. Also shouldn’t miss the house special lamb ribs both among the best dishes I’ve had this year.

this place sounds good

Went here on my birthday in August. I agree with everyone's assessment. Very good all around. But of the several dishes we had none were light on the "ma". The dan dan noodles were certainly the spiciest ones I've ever had. Which was a good thing to me but not to my wife or son.

Based on the reviews of others I must've been gringo-ed. I had the Dan Dan Noodles this past Fall while chasing the high from some I had in Hong Kong a week before. I felt like I was dealt oregano. Not bc of the fact it wasn't as good as this random Sichuan spot I found in HK but bc the noodles were nothing like I was hoping for and there wasnt much spice involved. Not to say they were bad but they were not anything remotely close to what I was hoping for.

Dan Dan Noodles

That said I've watched as this place has stayed packed with mostly young locals. So I was always planning on returning to try more. I'll leave a couple pics and people can tell me if this is what they got. If so I don't know. Not my preferred style. I realize I'll probably have to go back to China to get close to what I had there but I've had Dan Dan elsewhere in the US since then that I liked more than this.

Ready to slurp

Two of us had a really nice and filling lunch here recently . . .


Szechwan JMC Chinese Kitchen - 243 W Cermak, Chicago


Szechwan Style Noodles with Chili Sauce (cold)
We'd already ordered but when we saw this show up at a neighboring table, we decided to order it, too. Nicely chewy and flavorful noodles, with a sauce that was mildly hot with a slight touch of sweetness.


Lamb Ribs Pot
Deep, delicious flavors, moderately high spice level and ma la. The fatty knots of lamb, were tender and the meat, while not mushy, came away from the bone easily. The cabbage and clear noodles provided a great vehicle for slurping down more of the broth.


Dry Pot Aged Pork with Cauliflower
In this case, dry pot aged pork was essentially bacon and it was tasty, though I think there were only 3 small pieces of it in the entire bowl. But as a lover of cauliflower, I still really enjoyed this dish. The florets were just on the al dente side of tender and they carried a lot of the sauce, so every bite was really flavorful. And I loved the thick slices of fresh green chili, which I think were probably jalapeno (and reasonably spicy).


Ox Tendon & Maw in Chili Sauce
One of the best versions I can remember. I thought the chili oil was perfectly balanced; full of funky flavor and suitably spicy. The tendon and maw were pleasantly chewy. The celery leaves accentuated the dish really well and the sliced celery ribs, along with the peanuts, provided nice well-placed flavor counterpoints and satisfying textural contrast.

I wish we'd had a bigger group so we could have ordered more. As it was, we were stuffed and left a little bit of each dish behind. Looking forward to some return visits.

=R=

wesuilmo wrote:Went here on my birthday in August. I agree with everyone's assessment. Very good all around. But of the several dishes we had none were light on the "ma". The dan dan noodles were certainly the spiciest ones I've ever had. Which was a good thing to me but not to my wife or son.

When I refer to "ma" I mean the numbing peppercorn flavor. This place still brings the spice, but their mapo is a bit tame on the peppercorns IMO

I had JMC front of mind ever since reading the following in the Best Thing Eaten (lately) thread

Indianbadger wrote:Eggplant with String Beans at Szechwan JMC in Chinatown. I usually go to Mala Spicy Spirit almost exclusively because they are willing to make stuff off-menu for me that is vegetarian. … But this dish was awesome. You can clearly taste/smell the wok-hei in the dish. I am very glad that now I have two Szezhwan places that I can go to that are this vegetarian friendly and tasty!

so I bit the bullet and drove down for carry-out Monday night, and I'm very pleased I did.

The aforementioned Eggplant w/ String Beans was good, I just might not like it quite as much as Indianbadger. Be forewarned that it came off as really salty at first bite, but I like salty, so it was no problem. In fact, I had poured myself an IPA (Half Acre Bodem, fwiw) to have with dinner and the saltiness was a perfect match. It's really difficult to get the perfect texture on eggplant like this, so no big deal being a little softer than ideal. There's some garlic in there, and a small amount of heat.

Standout dish was Chef's Special Stir-fried Pork (ironically not in the Chef's Special menu section). This was a somewhat amped-up version of twice cooked pork. I had requested on the phone when ordering that everything be fully-hot, and this was nicely spicy, while not so extreme as to diminish from the dish.

Only other item was Dan Dan Noodles, and this was good, as expected. Maybe slightly better than I recalled at is the only one of the three I had on my only prior visit to JMC.

It's a good sign when the tiny place is packed with Asian/Chinese twenty-somethings at 9:45pm on a Monday. I had to wait so late to avoid traffic, and was lucky enough it took less than 30 minutes each way from Central/Green Bay. While waiting briefly for my order, a couple customers agreed that the hot dry pot was REALLY spicy, more than they anticipated. It was exactly what I hoped to hear.

JMC > MCCB for me.

JMC is always packed now and it is a tiny restaurant. The service is sporadic because of that and the large volume of take-out. However, I can't resist it. Top dishes after many visits:

Mapo
String beans and Eggplant
Napa Cabbage Dry Pot (not dry, but the broth is spicy and delicious)
Gong Bao Chicken (amazing peanuts)
Dan Dan Noodles (still think it is the best in town by a large margin)
Lamb Rib Hot Pot
Chef's Special Stir Fry Pork (better than the twice-cooked)
Cucumber Salad
Chicken Salad
Sichuan braised pork

The fatty beef in sour broth and house special dry pot are good but not exceptional, but you can't really go wrong here. Better than MCCB for everything but a fish terrine.

Also pro tip: there is a 10% cash discount.

botd wrote:Top dishes after many visits:
...
Also pro tip: there is a 10% cash discount.

My ego is sufficiently stroked knowing I went 3 for 3 on insider knowledge without advance notice.
Thanks for the cash-discount tip, well worth remembering.

Try the “chefs special lamb ribs” next time.Deep fried ,coated with cumin laced mala magic,this is probably my favorite dish on the menu,and one of the best and most unique lamb rib dishes I’ve had.

I went to JMC last night with my kids. We arrived around 7:00 and the plac e was hopping. Our party of four had to wait about 25 minutes to be seated. We ordered things which have been discussed by others here and I have little to add. In addition, we tried the fish filet with pickled pepper (menu item number 81). It was our favorite dish of the night. It's going to cause me to make another trip here very soon. Highly recommended.

An early visit last night prior to Beethoven, with Muti and the CSO at the Symphony Center. Chinatown is a convenient pre-concert location for dinner.

Only one small table for two next to the kitchen at 5:30, it was busy during our entire meal. Not a problem except I was inhaling my oily wok smelling clothes the entire concert.

Two winning entrees, eggplant with string beans and the house special fried noodles with vegetables. I liked the scallion pancake, but they were very greasy and were too much for my wife.

We misordered a dish. Wanted the dry pot, but ordered the clay pot mixed vegetables, which were not our thing and can't believe this dish is anyone's thing... I'll stop now.

After discussion with the waitress, who seemed to be the manager or owner, a hot pot without meat or seafood was not an option. She recommended the Spicy Hot Pot, minus the meat, shrimp, and egg, but no minus off the $18.95 for a vegetable stir fry. The bottom of the wok was filled half way up with oil.

While it may have been the dishes we ordered, we needed chili oil for every dish and used it liberally.

More misses than hits for us to return and I was really looking forward to another restaurant to add to the rotation.

Had my favorite meal of the yr here a wk or so ago w/lamb ribs w/cumin, beef and maw and fish filet w/pickled peppers (thanks deesher) among others. One I can't get out of my mind as I sit reading this while working out of town @ the moment.

Pro tip: Don't try to sub items in ma and pa places of another culture.

Al Ehrhardt wrote:While it may have been the dishes we ordered, we needed chili oil for every dish and used it liberally.

More misses than hits for us to return and I was really looking forward to another restaurant to add to the rotation.

Jazzfood wrote:Pro tip: Don't try to sub items in ma and pa places of another culture.

While I agree with Jazzfood that you're asking for trouble trying make substitutions across language barriers at small authentic restaurants, it looks like Al was doing it out of dietary needs/wants rather than pickiness. I think he was stuck between a rock and a hard place because pork, and meat (eg. Ox tendon and maw) generally, are so integral to what makes JMC great. Lesson learned, major compromise in quality when ordering vegetarian at JMC.

bweiny wrote:Lesson learned, major compromise in quality when ordering vegetarian at JMC.

That’s incorrect. There are plenty of excellent vegetarian-as-regularly-prepared dishes. About 35 in fact, including an entire Vegetarian section that isn’t just steam/stir fried veg/rice/noodles like a lot of places. Where you run into trouble is in trying to reconfigure the non-veg menu items. I don’t think that really works all that well anywhere.

I had lunch there earlier this week and was very impressed by the many interesting vegetarian choices, including a nice bamboo and cuke stir fry that we ordered to balance out some of the heavier meat dishes in our order. We saw almost every table order the corn with pine nuts—something I’ll definitely try when I go back with more ordering power. They also do a lot with pickled veg which, to me, makes for some really interesting choices.

I’d suggest going back and exploring the Veg designated options before writing off what seems like a fun and interesting place.

The reason doesn't matter. Find something else.

bweiny wrote:

Al Ehrhardt wrote:While it may have been the dishes we ordered, we needed chili oil for every dish and used it liberally.

More misses than hits for us to return and I was really looking forward to another restaurant to add to the rotation.

Jazzfood wrote:Pro tip: Don't try to sub items in ma and pa places of another culture.

While I agree with Jazzfood that you're asking for trouble trying make substitutions across language barriers at small authentic restaurants, it looks like Al was doing it out of dietary needs/wants rather than pickiness. I think he was stuck between a rock and a hard place because pork, and meat (eg. Ox tendon and maw) generally, are so integral to what makes JMC great. Lesson learned, major compromise in quality when ordering vegetarian at JMC.

boudreaulicious wrote:

bweiny wrote:Lesson learned, major compromise in quality when ordering vegetarian at JMC.

That’s incorrect. There are plenty of excellent vegetarian-as-regularly-prepared dishes. About 35 in fact, including an entire Vegetarian section that isn’t just steam/stir fried veg/rice/noodles like a lot of places.

Well, Mapo Tofu -- ordered by Al and pictured below -- appears in the Vegetarian section of JMC's menu and it clearly contains pork, even though the pork is not listed on the menu. And many of the dishes in the Vegetarian section appear to contain non-vegetarian ingredients (oyster oil, dried shrimp, etc.), so it isn't quite as easy as just ordering a vegetarian dish.

I don't want to over-generalize but this has been my experience at pretty much every Szechuan place in town, not just JMC. Perhaps it's due to the language barrier or other factors I don't quite understand. In fact, my vegetarian co-worker just sits it out when we have lunch at Szechuan places. It's become too much of a crap shoot for him.

Anyhoo . . . I was at the lunch described above by Jazzfood and it was one of my top 2 meals of 2019 so far. I'd been to JMC once before and enjoyed it but this time it was a 100% bullseye of meal . . .


Ox Tendon & Maw in Chili Sauce (#33)


Fish Filet with Pickled Pepper (#81 - thanks, Deesher!)


Double Cooked Pork (#55)


Mapo Tofu (#151)


House Special Lamb Ribs (#122)

=R=

boudreaulicious wrote:
That’s incorrect. There are plenty of excellent vegetarian-as-regularly-prepared dishes. About 35 in fact, including an entire Vegetarian section that isn’t just steam/stir fried veg/rice/noodles like a lot of places. Where you run into trouble is in trying to reconfigure the non-veg menu items. I don’t think that really works all that well anywhere.

This could actually get a pure vegetarian in trouble. At least according to my wife, sometimes even a dish with no meat in it could be cooked with animal-based oil. I think it varies on the region according to her - like where she grew up, not everyone could afford meat every single day, so they cooked vegetables with animal-based oils or fats (much cheaper than meat) to get some of the meat flavor in there.

Case in point - at an authentic Chinese restaurant, always ask if the vegetarian dishes are cooked with animal-based oils or not if you are a vegetarian or vegan. There could be times where you are surprised and your vegetables are being cooked with animal-based oils.

marothisu wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:
That’s incorrect. There are plenty of excellent vegetarian-as-regularly-prepared dishes. About 35 in fact, including an entire Vegetarian section that isn’t just steam/stir fried veg/rice/noodles like a lot of places. Where you run into trouble is in trying to reconfigure the non-veg menu items. I don’t think that really works all that well anywhere.

This could actually get a pure vegetarian in trouble. At least according to my wife, sometimes even a dish with no meat in it could be cooked with animal-based oil. I think it varies on the region according to her - like where she grew up, not everyone could afford meat every single day, so they cooked vegetables with animal-based oils or fats (much cheaper than meat) to get some of the meat flavor in there.

Case in point - at an authentic Chinese restaurant, always ask if the vegetarian dishes are cooked with animal-based oils or not if you are a vegetarian or vegan. There could be times where you are surprised and your vegetables are being cooked with animal-based oils.

If I was a vegetarian, or kept kosher or any other restrictive food practice, I’d only feel comfortable eating where language and service attitude made me comfortable that my needs could be met. Anything else is a crapshoot. I grew up with friends who would eat (or turn a blind eye to eating) things out that they wouldn’t at home. But for those who want to ensure compliance, being able to request info about what’s in dishes is non-negotiable. I’m not a vegetarian and only ordered one “veg” dish when I was there and didn’t inquire as to its preparation, so can’t confirm if it was cooked in animal fat, though it didn’t taste like it.

That being said, in addition to the . . .


bamboo & cukes

a couple of dishes not previously mentioned that we really liked were the . . .


beef tenderloin with chilies

and what I think was the . . .


Chengdu Hot & Sour Beef w/rice noodle soup.


Ox Tendon & Maw in Chili Sauce

I have pics if a mod can add them in for me.

boudreaulicious wrote:I have pics if a mod can add them in for me.

More than happy to. Email them over to me, please.

Thanks!

=R=

boudreaulicious wrote:I have pics if a mod can add them in for me.

Jen,

I added your shots to your post above. Feel free to move them around as you see fit. Great shots - thanks!

=R=

Oddly I had already planned my next meal here to include lamb ribs with cumin and pickled fish fillet. Now I am very much looking forward to it.

ronnie_suburban wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:I have pics if a mod can add them in for me.

Jen,

I added your shots to your post above. Feel free to move them around as you see fit. Great shots - thanks!

=R=

thanks, Ronnie!

JMC changed their menu recently. The green fish fillet dish is called fish fillet with sour pickles and is I believe still #81. The fish fillet with pickled peppers is a thicker red sauce with red pickled chili paste more akin to those used in yu xiang dishes, more like sambal olek. Still very good, though I really enjoy green sour pickle whole fish terrine via MCCB. In general I find the generic white fish fillet in Chinese dishes bland and nontextured.

botd wrote:JMC changed their menu recently. The green fish fillet dish is called fish fillet with sour pickles and is I believe still #81. The fish fillet with pickled peppers is a thicker red sauce with red pickled chili paste more akin to those used in yu xiang dishes, more like sambal olek. Still very good, though I really enjoy green sour pickle whole fish terrine via MCCB. In general I find the generic white fish fillet in Chinese dishes bland and nontextured.

The fish in the version we had (#81, pictured above) was pillowy soft and almost felt like well-made quenelles on the palate. But flavorwise, it's essentially sea-faring tofu, in that it didn't have much flavor of its own. But it absorbed a lot of the broth, which was, by far, the star of the show.

=R=

Took some take out home recently.
Blood Cake w/Tofu, Lamb w/Cumin and Kung Pao Chicken.
The blood Cake w/Tofu was a stand in for the Beef Maw w/Blood Cake as it was half the price. Excellent with rice to dumb it down a little.
Lamb was also spot on.
Kung Pao had a little Sweet&Sour influence and only had green onions, peanuts and chicken?
Count me a fan except for the Kung Pao.
BTW the excellent China Place Liquor is now defunct.
The old Richland, now Park To Shop does not carry liquor anymore.
So where to get Chinese wines?
Need Mei Kuie Lu Chiew and Kweichow Moutai.
-Richard

The gong bao chicken here is definitely of the tang cu (literally sugar vinegar) sweet and sour camp. But this is actually the authentic version of the dish. The use of doubanjiang seems to be a mostly American invention that skews it more toward a yu xiang style. I really like JMC's version but sugar + zhenjiang vinegar is one of my favorite flavors and the peanuts at JMC are usually divine.