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The majority of things that advertise their supposed quality right in their moniker are bound to be a disappointment (is “world‘s best“ ever really?). Not so with Spicy & Tasty. Located on a back street in Flushing’s Chinatown, it’s long been known as the place to go for authentic Sichuan cuisine.

Located on the ground floor of an office building, with not much to distinguish it outside, Spicy & Tasty is also all business inside. Marble-tiled walls and some touches of brass ring the small dining space downstairs (upstairs is reserved for parties or overflow) that has several large tables flanked by substantial chairs. This is by necessity – you’re going to order a lot and to finish it, you’ll be sitting in those chairs for a long time. Lighting is cranked up to operating theater-level and only serves to accentuate the glint that comes off the chili-slicked dishes.

Sichuan food revolves around the concept of ma la – the words convey both numbing and hot, which is achieved through a combination of a variety of chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, fermented bean paste, garlic, salt and oil. Not everything is served in this fiery blaze, though. At Spicy & Tasty, you can go from unadventurous (lo mein) to thrill-seeker (pork blood and intestines with bean sprouts in hot sauce). With nearly 200 possibilities to choose from, your table will quickly be covered by small dishes, nearly all topped with a heaping helping of garlic.

Cold jelly Chengdu style is a textural experience. It arrives at the table as a sheen of translucent noodles luxuriating  in a pool of a vibrant, deep red sauce. One bite quickly disabuses you of the illusion that these are noodles in the traditional sense, though. There is much more tooth resistance, for one, and a great deal more sliminess. It’s to be expected if you’re aware that the noodles are an amalgam of mung bean starch and tapioca.

If you’re going to order any of the famed ma po tofu dishes – called “stinky tofu” on the menu in a bit of more truth in advertising – you might want to do so with a large group to maximize your dollar-to-tofu ratio. Ma po tofu is tofu that has been fermented with milk, meat and vegetables, and is about as delicious as it sounds. It’s an experience to taste it, but it’s unlikely you’re going to finish the whole dish, even though it’s swimming in otherwise delicious ma la sauce and flecked with pork.

Fish filet and sour cabbage in fresh hot pepper is one of those dishes that those in the know order on every visit. Poached to perfection, the fish is moist and just flavorful enough to add interest to its hot pepper bath while the cabbage prevents the whole from being a sopfest.  To maximize the crunch factor, you might want to order it along with some Chinese watercress with garlic that’s more crisp than you could ever imagine any cooked vegetable to be. The thin shoots and scraggly leaves make a perfect conduit for the garlicky liquid they’re bathed in.

Whatever you order, you might want to arrive dressed in layers so you can strip down as you chow down. Spicy & Tasty can bring on a hot flash, though it’s certainly no flash in the pan.

Spicy & Tasty
39-07 Prince St.
Flushing, NY 11354
(718) 359-1601