Tonight I was craving Chinese. I didn't want delivery, but I didn't want to have to go far, either. So, I decided to check out Bluefin on Sherman (formerly the Imperial Palace). Since I arrived at a little after nine on a Thursday night, I wasn't too surprised to see that the parking lot looked un-busy. I was a wee bit amused to discover that I was the only person in the dining room. Bluefin Nightclub, in the basement, opens at nine, so I got there right as the restuarant was simmering down, but before the club was really stirring.

There was a bit of a funky smell in the air--eau de old carpet or something similar. However, other than the smell (which I ceased to notice after a bit) and the sorry state of the carpeting itself, the interior was rather pleasing.

I ordered the sesame chicken, which came with a bowl of soup and a salad. The soup was a hot and sour that lived up to its name, but the salad was a sad little affair of iceberg lettuce, a single thin slice of tomato, baco-bits, and some flavorless croutons. It hardly seemed worth the effort to eat it, much less to have made it in the first place. The sesame chicken, however, was amazing. Served with rice of appropriate stickiness, it was a plate of chicken battered to a dark golden brown, speckled with sesame seeds, studded with chunks of brocolli, and lying in a pool of sauce.

The brocolli was a little on the tough side, though the flavor was alright. The chicken, oh the chicken. It was delightfully crisp, with an audible crunch when bit, yet it was not dry inside. The crispness and mouth-feel was one of the best I've had in quite awhile. Perhaps not the right entree if one is in the mood for something savory, it was a good dish for a sweethtooth; after a while I was reminded of carmel corn.

My waitress was very attentive, but that goes without saying, as I was her one and only customer at the time. On my way out the door, I picked up a flier for the nightclub, and perhaps I may get back there sometime soon to check it out.