Sunshine Express

I actually ate there last week, but I didn't bother reviewing that one, so I went back.

I ordered S19: Chinese Kung Pao Chicken. There was also "Chicken in Kung Pao Sauce", which I didn't get; when I was asked if I realized I was getting "Chinese" food, I said I was sick of white people food. I guess "Chicken in Kung Pao Sauce" is more admittedly white people food.

I actually have no idea how far along on the authenticity meter this is (though this post does show something similar to what I got. The biggest difference between what I ordered and what I'd normally get with this name is that it had a lot of cucumber in it. Basically, it's chicken cubes, cucumber cubes, a lot of hot pepper bits, peanuts, and a salty/garlicky brown sauce on rice.

It's tasty. A little one-note, but tasty. The cucumber adds a good crunch to it. The recipe I linked to includes Sichuan peppercorns, which I think would help a lot (and, I expect, would make it closer to authentic, too.) The sauce is a little too cornstarchy, and the chicken is fine, but not brilliant.

Yeah, we're back to our old friend, meh.

[Oh, but do check out Pete Wells's choice takedown of a lousy looking restaurant in NYC. Yeah, I'm just a piker here.]

I had: Chinese Kung Pao Chicken
I paid: $8.25 including tax
Verdict:
Speed: Pretty good. I didn't finish the NYT article I was reading.
Quality: Okay. Too salty, and generically too much, "gloppy brown sauce on stuff" feel.
Value: Fine. I didn't finish it. Most of the crowd was students who were probably needing bigger lunches than I do.
Would go back: No, probably not.