P.F. Chang’s China Bistro

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Restaurant Review:

Serving neither authentically Chinese nor traditional Chinese-American fare, this family-owned national chain seems geared toward the tastes of MOR yuppies who like their Chinese food without taking chances. That's evidently a lot of diners, because Chang's everywhere are perennially packed. Décor is comfortably upscale, and dishes are largely the by-now comfortingly familiar items that have graced most modern American Chinese restaurant menus since the late 1970s---Mongolian beef, kung pao this-and-that, spring rolls---with a few favorite Chinese-American oldies, like egg rolls. Chang's most crowd-pleasing items include colossal Asian fusion entrée salads (especially duck); lettuce wraps filled with either signature chicken or surprisingly savory mock-meat made of tofu and mushrooms; and the place's special sauce, customized tableside (for spiciness, saltiness, and tartness) that Chang's fans apply liberally to everything. Best deal: a $40 four-course dinner for two (two soups, a shared starter, two entrées, two American mini-desserts). Note: Service is often spotty and slow at this location.