Grand Sichuan is Authentic Chinese Cuisine in Jersey City, New Jersey

New Jersey finally has an authentic Chinese restaurant - no more Westernized fried food being passed off as Chinese cuisine. Jersey City has the real deal just around the corner from the Grove Street PATH station. It's not the most spacious of restaurants, but it provides amazing food in an intimate atmosphere.

Grand Sichuan (大四川) at 342 Grove St. (between Newark Ave. and Bay St.) in Jersey City provides a great Chinese meal for a reasonable price. They also have a few locations in New York City. It has been open at its current location for more than a year, and there's a good reason why patrons keep coming back. The restaurant specializes in delicacies from Sichuan Province, but also has a selection of dishes from other regions, including those Westernized version of Chinese food for the less adventurous diner.

We started with spicy sliced beef (麻辣牛肉) and some cold noodles. The rice noodles had a sweet flavor that is usually cut with the addition of vinegar or chili sauce, depending on the diner's tastes. The spicy sliced beef was great--it was not as neatly sliced as it usually is in China, but the beef was tender and the spices were just right. After tasting this staple of spicy Sichuan cuisine, the rest of the meal looked to be a success.

For the main course, we ordered sweet and sour fish (糖醋鱼片), dried string beans (干煸四季豆), braised sliced beef in chili sauce (水煮牛肉), spicy frog and vegetables, and smoked tea duck (樟茶鸭). Everything was great, but the fish wasn't quite the same as it was in China. It may not be as good as the sweet and sour fish in China, but it is still very good with a sauce that would make almost any dish taste wonderful. The frog is not what most diners would expect--it's not frog legs, but rather the whole chopped up frog. While the dish is good and lives up to its spicy billing, it does require a bit of effort eat the frog meat off the little bones. The beef in chili sauce is very spicy, especially when eating the vegetables that are mixed in, and it is a filling meal that should be shared. The dried string beans and smoked tea duck are some of the few dishes that aren't spicy, but have delightful flavors to please the diners' palates.

Grand Sichuan has a rather lengthy menu. It is advised that you eat with a larger group to get a taste of more variety. Even with a group, it may take a few visits to get through the most appealing of the restaurant's choices. Be prepared to enjoy the meal the Chinese way with dishes arriving at the table one by one instead of all at once.

In Jersey City, Grand Sichuan does not have a liquor license, but you can bring your own Tsingtao Beer (or baijiu if you really want it). During the week, the restaurant offers a lunch special--an entree with rice at a discounted price. They also have an "American Chinese" menu page for those who don't want anything really spicy or tasty. Grand Sichuan also offers take-out and delivery--you can contact them at (201) 451-1960.