Duck soup
If the way to find good food on the road is to stop where all the trucks are parked, the way to find a good Chinese restaurant is to turn up where the Chinese people outnumber everyone else, even on a weeknight. This was the case when my parents and I went to Grand Shanghai, the no-frills eatery on Grand Avenue in St. Paul that is notable for its selection of Peking duck dishes.
If you serve up well-loved Chinese food items that Chinese people themselves don’t ever cook at home, you’ve just written your ticket to success. If you give diners the option to go all-out and consume one duck in three ways (in pancakes with scallions, in stir-fry with broccoli rabe, and in soup with leafy greens), you have just carved out a small slice of food heaven. Nom nom nom.
