Peter Chang

Washington DC

Szechuan Restaurant

$$$$

The salmon walls of this simple, 120-seat Chinese restaurant in Arlington's Lee Harrison Shopping Center act as a soothing backdrop for the not-at-all-soothing plates crafted by cult-favorite chef and namesake Peter Chang, who's known for his numbingly hot Sichuan cuisine. Dried chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns are the arsonists behind the flaming flavor of Chang's beloved dishes, including dry-fried eggplant, beef brisket stewed with tofu skins and leeks, and grandma's spicy Hunan flounder. Orders of rich bao and airy scallion bubble pancakes will help extinguish the heat -- but not your love of Chang's masterful work. You'll quickly become a devoted member of his fan club that's followed him from Virginia to Tennessee to Georgia and back to Virginia, at this, the seventh outpost of his acclaimed culinary network.