A&J Restaurant

We’ve loved the decidedly Taiwanese and unpretentious A&J Restaurant since the first time we visited years ago, but openly acknowledge that it’s an experience best suited to two groups: People already familiar with Taiwanese food, and culinary adventurers who aren’t afraid to try things that may or may not match their expectations.

For years, A&J handed guests a pictureless, tersely translated piece of paper to order from, making it hard for new visitors to know where to start. In recent years, it introduced a menu with photos of many items, though the descriptive text alternates between overpromising and underpromising. As a result, dishes may be very different from what one expects, but in our experiences, the food is almost always delicious. Take for example the thousand-layer pancake shown above, which has an incredibly flaky texture – it’s not a pancake, but rather akin to shredded Indian roti bread, and unlike anything you’ll find at other restaurants.

Similarly “not love on first sight” items include dan dan sesame peanut noodles, which arrive so unadorned that you won’t realize they’re not just plain until you mix them with sauce hidden beneath; a fried pork chop that looks plain but packs strong, salty soy flavor; and a smoky black plum juice that was really unique. We can’t point to photos and tell people to confidently order these items – the proof is really in the flavors.