Jimmy,

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Deveron Timberlake
Food & Drink Editor

Jason Roop
Editor in Chief

Well, just as abruptly as his disappearance from Taste of China in Charlottesville last year, he re-emerges in Charlottesville at Peter Chang's China Grill in the old Wild Greens spot at Barracks Road, opening today and taking reservations only. If the preview I was privy to last night is any indication of the future: Welcome back, Peter. 

Starting with Szechuan Bang Bang Shrimp, Hot and Numbing Dry Beef, and Broiled Chicken with a spicy red sauce, a balanced heat was prevalent through the entirety of the meal. Easily explained as Asian beef jerky, the marinated and dried beef flecked with sesame seeds was overtly but somehow pleasantly tough. The shrimp, fried lightly, and the sliced chicken, adroitly prepared, seemed like an afterthought to the dense beef with its in-your-face crunch.

Phyllo flake-like tofu skin (Shanghai tofu skin rolls) wrapped tightly and sliced, was drenched in a cooling sweet red sauce that broke the hot overtone. Fresh and crisp cilantro-laced fish rolls acted as a sneaky palate cleanser followed by a deceptively light (also cilantro-packed) fish and sour cabbage soup, broth-y and translucent. Transitioning into more meal-like dishes at what seemed like breakneck speed, we were brought clean plates and served Chang's rendition of Dan Dan noodles. Expecting spicy yet again, I was mildly taken aback by the vinegary taste and spagetti-like texture.

Next came a dry-fried eggplant and spicy fragrant duck -- easily my two favorite courses of the evening. Dry-frying is uniquely Sichuan. The technique is supremely difficult using medium heat and actually drying out the ingredient before adding spices. The method produces heavenly odors and a product that is devoid of any greasy feel. Eggplant, known to be wealthy in moisture, shines in this preparation. Duck, again notably fatty, gains heartiness prompting the question from a patron at our table to inquire if the meat was in fact, duck. 

Another stellar example of Chang's cooking prowess is the Pearl Ball. Picture the child-favorite sweet snowballs, replace the coconut with rice and the marshmallow with a whitefish and shrimp “meringue.” While the description sounds less than appetizing, the finished product virtually melts when eaten, a combination of sweet rice and salty, airy fish. Other samplings included a gorgeously presented whole fish, velvet shrimp and mushrooms and a tender baked lamb chop rounding out the savory portion of our meal.

Dessert consisted of red bean rice balls. Fluffy and so uniformly round it was almost comical, the sweet, barely present red bean paste was enough sugar to pop with the popcorn-like taste of the outer core.

Now, before your excitement grows to epic proportions, it is being said that Chang is only at this restaurant to consult briefly and will be moving on to other things in the near future. So if your goal is to eat cuisine prepared by Chang himself, I might head west with little haste.

A old Chinese saying claims: “China is the place for food, Sichuan is the place for flavor.” With last night in mind, I would be inclined to agree.

In the 60-minute countdown to a private unveiling of Lady N'awlins Cajun CafAc last night, co-owner Jake Crocker has paint brush in hand, touching up the canvas of a picture chipped during a hurried move-in. The sign guy appears at the door, ready to affix the new logo to the outside window, beneath the still-spinning, lighted bowl that was part of Friend or Pho's animated signage. And then there's the large drawing of a male appendage left over on the chalkboard ceiling that must be politely erased.

This is the Lady, after all.

When guests arrive at 8, all seems in order. Power tools are put away and Crocker is behind the bar with his partners, ready to serve. Down the steps of the restaurant at West Main Street and Stafford Avenue -- the White Dog in a past life -- a wall mural of the Lady herself greets you, glowing fleur-de-lis in hand, wearing a necklace symbolic of something (it slips my mind, but Crocker no doubt will churn out the mythology soon).

Here come the hot, slightly salty gator bites with the big chew and mustard dipping sauce. All surmise it's the only gator served locally. More tasting plates quickly come from the kitchen run by chef Sean Murphy, who also supervises the owners' business just across Stafford, F.W. Sullivan's. There are greens and roasted potatoes, beans and rice, slices of duck breast with Cajun sauce, oysters on the half shell with bacon and cheese, lightly crisp hush puppies and naturally, gumbo.

One guest marvels aloud, “I was just here,” when this was an entirely different concept. Rob Kaplan opened Friend or Pho in the summer, but worked a deal with the Sullivan's crew just after New Year's. He remains as an adviser, and says he'll have some new projects in the works. Sullivan's staff may float between the two venues, Crocker says. And indeed, tall bouncer Tim Harris makes dual appearances tonight.

The Lady is ready for public consumption this weekend.

Kaplan will stay on as an advisor as new owners unveil another theme for the business tomorrow. His across-the-street neighbors at popular bar F.W.Sullivan's have taken over, nicknaming the place The Lady, short for Lady N'awlins Cajun CafAc. Chef Sean Murphy, formerly of Metro Grill, will supervise both kitchens and a menu of po'boys, oysters, gumbo and jambalaya, crawfish fritters and eventually gator.

Jake Crocker, one of The Lady's new owners, says the deal came together just after New Year's, and the turnaround is one of the city's fastest. Repainting, a new faAade with decorative flags and a balcony, and a deployment of personnel (including a few from FanHouse) are underway, with a soft opening set for tomorrow.

Online commentary from often-anonymous critics is a challenge in an industry already fraught with headaches, Crocker says. “This isn't a hobby, it's a fricking lifestyle. It makes every other business I've been involved in look like a Sunday in the park compared to the restaurant business.  Everybody's a critic. We're getting critiqued [online by bloggers] before we even open. The shots get fired before the ink is even dry on the menu.”

Friend or Pho drew online jeers for its pho in particular, and long before mainstream media critics reviewed the place, commenters cast aspersions against the name and the menu. But bar business was good, particularly as overflow from Sullivan's, which will expand its empire into Fredericksburg by summer. A couple more places are in the works, Crocker says, but for now he and the Sullivan's partners are focusing on their little corner of Bourbon Street, hoping to avoid Friend's pitfalls.

Mediating and managing will be Jenna Sneed, the chef's daughter,  now divested of Carena's Jamaican Grille in south Richmond and putting her dietary ideals on the table. “I've had Jannequin's cookbook for eight years,” she says, and helped recruit Bennett for the 3-month consulting gig at Fresca.  Self-described happy vegan Sean Everett (Ellwood's) also works the kitchen, where stews, grains, salads, desserts and Illy coffee are menu mainstays.

Sneed's skill at drumming up interest is visible even in drive-by: quotes and come-ons and a (presumably vegetarian) mannequin have opened a dialogue with the neighborhood, which seems to be gaining critical mass among eaters.  22 S. Addison St.  frescaonaddison.com