Tragic Sandwich

It’s Earth Day. Replace an incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent. Want to do something else? Here are some suggestions.

I haven’t gotten back to the pool, which is sad. However, I have been hitting the gym. Lots of treadmill work–and I started using the stationary bike, as well as doing strength work with machines and free weights a couple of times a week. I’m feeling good (well, at the moment, I’m feeling a little sore), and maybe this will finally result in that weight loss I’ve been talking about for too long.

If you don’t know that the best Chinese food in town is found in Monterey Park and surrounding areas, then you really haven’t been paying attention. So listen up!

NBC Seafood has been around for something like 20 years, which is an eternity in the restaurant business. My recent (first!) visit there helped explain why.

The restaurant is brightly lit, but not blinding. The menu focuses, as you might expect, on seafood–but there are terrestrial options as well. We had duck two ways (Peking and lettuce wraps; the latter was my favorite, but both were terrific), cashew chicken, lemon cod fillets (more on these in a moment), asparagus with black bean sauce, and some kind of beef that was delicious. Let’s say it was Mongolian, and move on with our lives.

Service was excellent. The waiter answered our questions and described the dishes well. The duck came out first, in two stages, which helped the later dishes fit on the table, and kept us from starving. (Hey, when you drive across town from the Westside, you’re going to be hungry. Sitting in traffic does not fill your stomach.) The prices weren’t amazing, but they were fair, particularly considering the quality of the food. Everything was really tasty, and the restaurant atmosphere was comfortable and welcoming.

My only disappointment was that I still have not found a replacement for the lemon cod fillets that were served at the now-defunct Dragon Regency. Those were wonderful, and I haven’t found anything that measures up. NBC’s are just a touch too sweet, and need to be a bit more lemony. Alas.

Still, if you’re looking for good Chinese food, NBC Seafood is a great place to try.