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The words read “toothpick lamb.” It was a text message and, I thought, an auto-correct accident.
I’d asked a friend if he’d recently eaten anything exciting and new that I might like. Had he meant tempura lamb? Probably not. Turmeric lamb? Maybe.
“No, toothpick lamb,” Arun Savara says later, to my ears, not my eyes.
I’d never heard of toothpick-anything, much less toothpick-something-ono. What are we talking about here, mini kabobs?
“Not quite,” he says. “But it is lamb on a toothpick.”
It’s from a place called Chengdu Taste, Arun adds. I was as unfamiliar with the home of toothpick lamb as with the dish itself, maybe because it’s kind of hidden in plain sight on Sheridan Street, in that interesting building with the funky parking lift that takes your car to the second floor.
Chengdu Taste and its five-alarm Sichuan food is upstairs. You can see the sign from the street, but only if you’re really looking for it.
I like lamb, and I like spicy. So I decide I’ll bite.
But biting isn’t necessary. The half-inch morsels of meat are so small you just slide them off the toothpick with your teeth and chew.
And then you fall in love.
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The lamb’s distinct flavor holds up to what looks like an overwhelming amount of chile pepper and cilantro. Don’t be fooled by the massive number of red peppers, however. The primary taste booster is cumin.
People who enjoy lamb know it goes best with cumin, a combination that goes back to the very old days of Mongols and Silk Road merchants. Toothpick lamb is a lot younger, though. Tony Xu opened the first Chengdu Taste in Los Angeles in 2014 and is the inventor of the dish, says Johnnie You, manager at the Kakaako location.
Chengdu Taste’s popularity in Southern California exploded so quickly that there are now six locations, the newest opening in Seattle last year. Making all kinds of best-restaurant lists and a shiny review in the 2019 Michelin Guide certainly didn’t hurt.
When you’re done with the dish, you’ll be left with nearly as many dried chile husks as empty toothpicks. One of the latter might come in handy immediately. As for the chiles, I take Arun’s suggestion and repurpose them in future meals.
Regardless of those side benefits, it’s a superb, addictive pupu. “Perfect for the drinking,” You says. “It will hurt your tongue, but it is good.”
Not good, great. And — even though I’m not sure if the danger he refers to is from the spices or the toothpick — worth the risk of injury.
The serving is very large, around 35 nuggets of nirvana for $18.99. And the toothpicks make sharing easy, I guess. But sorry; if you’re with me you get one piece, then you gotta order your own.
Chengdu Taste is open for dining in and takeout daily from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at 808 Sheridan St., second floor. Call 589-1818 or go to chengdutastetogo.com.
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