It doesn’t matter whether the restaurant is old or new, small or large… usually, there is some part that is really unique.
The old ones, that we would frequent as kids, had the time to test Americanize interpretation of “China”. This style probably goes all the way back to the 20s…. you know…. octagonal windows, bamboo everything, rice paper-covered room dividers, and jade… lots of Jade. To this point, Ryan and I were driving out the Quad Cities a few weeks ago and I decided to pass through Spring Vally on our way to Bureau Junction to see the Hennepin Canal. (If you haven’t figured out by now, I don’t go directly anywhere)… So anyway… We’re traveling through Spring Valley when I see this jade facade on side of a building off the main drag. I tap Ryan and ask him what he thinks this place used to be. Without a beat, he says, the Chinese restaurant. 13 years old, and the style is already ingrained. Here’s a street view of the joint.
