Danwei Canting

By Matthew Korfhage
(Aubrey Gigandet)

Beijing-style counter-service spot Danwei Canting serves lovely dumplings ($8) and one of Szechuan province's most fiery trademarks. La zi ji chicken ($11), aka hot pepper chicken bath, buries delectable nuggets of fried chicken thigh under a firewall of red-hot peppers. Though it started out mild when the restaurant opened, Danwei chef Kyo Koo turned up the dish's heat by chopping up the fiery red chilies amid the scallion- and spice-crusted chicken, releasing the capsaicin that makes for pepper heat and toasting the seeds into warm smokiness.

GO: 803 SE Stark St., 503-236-6050, danweicanting.com, 11:30 am-9 pm Sunday-Thursday, 11:30 am-10 pm Friday-Saturday

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Matthew Korfhage

Matthew Korfhage

Matthew Korfhage has lived in St. Louis, Chicago, Munich and Bordeaux, but comes from Portland, where he makes guides to the city and writes about food, booze and books. He likes the Oxford comma but can't use it in the newspaper.

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