I'll check today and see if they're open. They may be on an extended New Year holiday, of course, but we ordered from them just a few weeks ago with no issue. They didn't appear to do dine-in, only delivery and phone-in carryout. They were busy, but they're also pretty pricey these days compared to others in the vicinity. We adore their fatty beef green pepper soup/noodle.

They claim to have had kitchen issues since Chinese New Years. I would definitely call before trying to venture there.

I don't think JMC is pricey compared to any newer entrants. Hunan Cuisine is at least as expensive (and very good in its own way). MCCB is the same price and much worse. Chef Xiong is a newer Sichuan entrant with about the same price point. The various fish places (Yao Yao, Tan Lu) will net you a bigger bill. Ken Kee is packed and serves $20 noodle bowls and high teens fried rice.

I am more surprised that a lot of the older establishments mostly along Wentworth are keeping prices down rather than thinking JMC is some kind of outlier. There is a clear divide between the newer and older restaurants in the area, but I would say people appear to be willing to pay the higher prices in the plaza area.

Americans are addicted to cheap. Good food, especially these days mainly is not. Time to understand what it takes both product and labor wise what the true costs of a dish are.

I stopped by, there is a sign in the door stating they're performing interior maintenance, no start or end dates, alas.

I'm well aware of what Chinatown costs these days, we live in walking distance and eat here and in Bridgeport all the time. JMC is great, but some portions are pretty small for a higher price than other places. For example, their Méi Mountain beef dish is a killer, like Spicy Hand Tear Beef Jerk meets Dry Chili Chicken. But there's hardly ever more than a few good nuggets of beef in it. We still go frequently, but our dollar goes further at Four Seasons Dumplings, for example.

They’ve been closed for something like 2 weeks at least now. I’m genuinely concerned. The last time I came here and it was open was end of January. But I didn’t visit at all in the first week of February.

My wife and I go here basically weekly. And they consistently have been closed without explanation other than internal maintenance. I’m not saying that it isn’t legit, but it can’t be good for a restaurant to not run for such a long time. I also remember PappaRoti in the loop closed after saying they kept saying they were fixing “technical issues”. And just weeks and weeks passed before they finally just disappeared. I’m not saying it’s the same thing but I wish I could hear more. They are by far my favorite restaurant

Just fyi, I noticed on Yelp it’s saying they expect to reopen by April 1st

Be still my heart (and tastebuds).

Just fyi, I noticed from Chowbus that the Richland center has a new spot called Sichuan bistro, and the menu looks suspiciously similar to Szechwan JMC and it’s currently opened. Maybe they’ve moved?

Suspicion confirmed. Szechuan bistro is run by former chef of jmc. Food is excellent. Pretty much exactly as it was. This is his personal endeavor. If/ when jmc re opens they will I think have a different chef. So will be a different restaurant.

You beat me by a day. Going tomorrow. Thanks.

Just came here, and got their Dan Dan noodles and chili oil cold chicken and they’re both just as good as I remembered

As good if not skewing slightly better. Started a thread. Thanks for the intel.
https://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=46795

Oh thank God! I was in a dark, dark place when JMC closed. Knowing Szechuan Bistro is the same chef has rejuvenated me fully. In my opinion, JMC was bar none the best restaurant in Chicago. I cannot express enough just how glad I was to find this information on this forum. Thank you all.

phmccann1 wrote:Oh thank God! I was in a dark, dark place when JMC closed. Knowing Szechuan Bistro is the same chef has rejuvenated me fully. In my opinion, JMC was bar none the best restaurant in Chicago. I cannot express enough just how glad I was to find this information on this forum. Thank you all.

You're definitely not alone.

=R=

phmccann1 wrote:Oh thank God! I was in a dark, dark place when JMC closed. Knowing Szechuan Bistro is the same chef has rejuvenated me fully. In my opinion, JMC was bar none the best restaurant in Chicago. I cannot express enough just how glad I was to find this information on this forum. Thank you all.

Totally agree, honestly by far my favorite Chinese spot and maybe even just in Chicago. Really wonder what happens to JMC now but at least all the good dishes are still there just at a new spot

keanedawg wrote:

phmccann1 wrote:Oh thank God! I was in a dark, dark place when JMC closed. Knowing Szechuan Bistro is the same chef has rejuvenated me fully. In my opinion, JMC was bar none the best restaurant in Chicago. I cannot express enough just how glad I was to find this information on this forum. Thank you all.

Totally agree, honestly by far my favorite Chinese spot and maybe even just in Chicago. Really wonder what happens to JMC now but at least all the good dishes are still there just at a new spot

Heartening to hear others say/feel this, as I feel like it’s undervaluing/pigeonholing the chef’s work to simply say it was the best, or among the best, Chinese restaurants in the city, when at peak performance I’d put it up there with Hermosa, Zaragoza, et al. as among the most essential dining treasures we have.

The only dish that I loved that didn't seem to make the cut at Bistro was the Hot and Spicy Fish Filet. Also, I'm no joke going to go in tomorrow, bring my JMC menu, meet the chef and have them autograph it, then take it to Seaberg to be framed.

I felt like the tenor of this thread was much less enthusiastic about this restaurant than I am hearing in the last few posts. With the departure of Homestyle Taste this is by a large margin my favorite restaurant in Chicago. There are a lot of places where I can put together high caliber dishes that match JMC once. But JMC manages to nail and elevate a large swathe of their menu such that I can order completely distinct things on the next visit with no diminishment in enjoyment. I always leave planning what I will order next time.

The real question in my mind is, is JMC going to open again at all and what will its food quality be considering Szechuan Bistro seems to have stolen the chef.

botd wrote:The real question in my mind is, is JMC going to open again at all and what will its food quality be considering Szechuan Bistro seems to have stolen the chef.

Did they really? I'd be curious to know the details. I just assumed that the chef moved on because he needed to work and JMC was closed for so long. I also assumed that chef was an at will employee -- not under contract -- and was free to seek employment elsewhere. Apparently, there's a lot I missed about this story (often the case). Was it actually the chef's departure that prompted JMC's prolonged hiatus?

=R=

Was under the impression he couldn't wait for them any longer. Snooze ya looze.

botd wrote:The real question in my mind is, is JMC going to open again at all and what will its food quality be considering Szechuan Bistro seems to have stolen the chef.

I [mis]interpreted keanedawg's 4/10/23 post as a reference to JMC, and that it was back open. If they haven't reopened at all yet, that's really troubling.

From what I understand they stole no chef. This is his place.

My wife and I both speak Chinese. We got a chance to talk the chef and asked about JMC. He said it was originally a partnership between him and someone else (probably one of the servers), but Szechuan Bistro is totally his own business. He also said JMC isn’t going to open again.

I think he left because he felt like he was doing most of the work and they had disagreements over how to run the business.

He’s a really nice guy btw. But I think he only speaks Chinese. Pretty crazy how much a business can depend on one person, and if the person goes then so does the business. If JMC does re-open, I would reckon it would be totally different.

Very common in the industry. Why the Lettuce model worked, they gave equity to key players (@ least early on) so they had a say and reason to stay.

The king is dead, long live the king.