More so than the average Chinese noodle eatery, Nan Zhou, an almost hole-in-the-wall getaway, wants to give the impresion of both simplicity and fun.
Squished next to a garage and a slew of other establishments, the place is hardly homey. It doesn't seat more than two dozen people, and if you don't know how to use chopsticks you're fresh out of luck.
The menu carries just 15 entrees, but also features a slew of appetizers that few laymen would have the courage to order - beef tendons, marinated intestine, spicy pig ears and the like. But along with a list of noodle dishes that seems more exhaustive than it is, it's enough to keep things interesting. The main courses vary from the fundamental, like beef brisket noodle soup ($5.50) to the tangential, ox stomach noodle soup ($4.50), and most everything in between. The most expensive item is $7.
But you get what you pay for in terms of atmosphere. Nan Zhou is in Chinatown, and the TV in the corner of the restaurant won't do much for you if you don't speak Mandarin. There's no music and not much noise in general.
I enjoyed my trip there, though. I was in and out in 25 minutes, a rare luxury for a sit-down affair. And when I did leave, I had certainly gotten a more filling meal than $6 would buy at a campus joint.
For those looking for less, Nan Zhou does boast a small choice of soups and appetizers that I didn't have the chance to try.
The dish I did try didn't disappoint. A seafood noodle soup, it featured an intense clear broth and enough shrimp, clams and scallops to keep an Italian seafood-lover like me satisfied.
But the fact remains - this is no gourmet restaurant, and if you're looking for a place to impress a date or an acquaintance, you could probably do better elsewhere in Chinatown at a nice dim sum establishment.
Nan Zhou is what it is. There are few surprises, but when you leave, you wouldn't have had it any other way.
