Editor’s note: Restaurant critic Merrill Shindler says there are many wonderful options for takeout food — cuisines that “travel well,” as he says. We asked him to highlight six of his favorites. … Previously, he wrote about barbecue. Here, it’s Chinese food. And in the days ahead, look for his 2020 restaurant picks serving fried chicken, sushi, Middle Eastern cuisine and pizza. Watch this space: www.dailybreeze.com/author/merrill-shindler
My favorite takeout Chinese food
Canton Low
439 Main St., El Segundo; 310-322-3163, www.cantonlow.com
Even the name smacks of the old days of Chinese-American cooking. And well it should, since Canton Low has been around since 1975 — 45 years. There were barbecued spareribs then…and there are barbecued spareribs now. And they sure are good, if you don’t mind a certain ingrained chewiness.
There also are egg rolls, fried shrimp, “Canton ravioli,” paper-wrapped chicken, fried wontons, barbecued pork — the list goes on, culminating in a combo platter that could pretty well serve as dinner for two. But then, that would keep you from hitting the good hot & sour soup, and the classic wor wonton.
You can choose between lemon chicken and orange peel chicken, along with a dozen other chicken dishes.
Under Chef’s Specialties, you’ll find General Tao’s Chicken, which I know better as General Tso’s Chicken — one of the most definitive Chinese dishes of the past half century. (It’s claimed by numerous restaurants, each of which says they introduced it to America — and in the process, introduced Hunanese cuisine. Except there’s no evidence that the dish is Hunanese — or even exists in China. Fun!)
There are sections on the menu dedicated as well to chow mein, to lo mein, to egg foo young, and — bless ’em — to chop suey (shrimp, pork, chicken, beef and “house special”). Seeing chop suey on the menu was like coming home.
Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email [email protected].
