There’s no need to fly in your Chinese food now that Jimmy Chew’s at the Hen House is open!
Locals Jim Agnew, Hen House owner Michael Gilles, and painter and aikido instructor Lou Guarnaccia came up with the concept this winter, and in early April they opened the doors to Nantucket’s Chinese restaurant. The Hen House still serves its bountiful breakfasts and popular lunches daily till 2 pm, but at 5 pm the restaurant caters to a different palate. The decor is still Hen House comfy and casual, but the aromas wafting from the open kitchen are dominated by garlic and ginger instead of sausage and coffee.
Jimmy handles the front of the house; Lou does the cooking. Lou learned the art of Chinese wok cooking at the famous Blessings Restaurant in Connecticut while putting himself through art school. “[Cooking] does eat into my painting day, but I just make the paintings smaller,” Lou quipped. “It’s all a creative process.” At Blessings, he worked his way up from dish washer through nearly every station, learning just enough Mandarin along the way, until he became “the only round-eye cook in the history of the restaurant.”
Lou describes the food at Jimmy Chew’s as “the old style of cooking,” the sort you’d be served in a private home in China. “This style requires more skill and both hands: it’s all done in a large wok at a very high heat, making for a faster stir-fry...it’s not contact cooking [food against metal]; it’s cooking in the hot oil. Timing is crucial.” We watched as Lou moved the food faster and faster, tossing it in the smoking-hot wok. In just a few minutes, the colorful stir-fry was ready to serve.
The cuisine is primarily Szechuan, with some Beijing and Hunan dishes. Freshness is key and something Lou insists upon. He manages to impart a tremendous amount of taste in dishes that contain just a few ingredients. Every element retains its texture and integrity, resulting in flavors that are bold and spicy without being fiery hot.
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Appetizers offered at Jimmy Chew’s are the favorite finger-food standbys that make Chinese fun to share. Plump Dumplings — pork or vegetable, steamed or fried — are full of moist filling.
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Ever popular Crab Rangoons are served piping hot, their shatteringly crisp, tucked shells enclosing rich, creamy filling.
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And the Egg Rolls are chock full of a mix of crunchy diced vegetables.
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You can order any drink you like at Jimmy Chew’s, but the drinks with the tiny umbrellas, Mai Tai and Blue Hawaiian, are such fun! Though we prefer a chilled bottle of clean, crisp Tsingtao Beer to accompany the flavorful food at Jimmy Chew’s.
Main course choices are listed by number on the menu, but this is anything but “cook-by-number cuisine” — all the entrees are prepared fresh to order.
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For our introductory meal at Jimmy Chew’s, we trusted in the chef’s choice of dishes. Lou named the Kung Pao Chicken as one of his favorites. A textural delight, this stir-fry features moist chicken, chunks of red and green pepper, seared whole peanuts, and dried hot chili peppers. The light, gingery sauce enhances the flavors instead of hiding them and adds a little spark of heat. The menu cautions against eating the chili peppers “unless you like it really hot,” but two of our braver companions each scooped one up and thought it made the dish.
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Shrimp Lo Mein is another dish of bright color and many textures. The shrimp are cooked to perfection: curled and crisp. Plenty of snow peas add a fresh crunch, and the water chestnuts, red pepper, and Chinese vegetables in a tangle of toothsome noodles are tossed in a mellow sauce of ginger and soy.
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Lou’s Moo-Shu Pork was a table favorite. He stir-fries tender strips of pork with cabbage, eggs, spinach, and wood ear mushrooms in a fragrant soy-ginger sauce and, when he can get them, garnishes the dish with crunchy lily buds. A plate of warm, soft moo-shu pancakes and a dish of slightly sweet plum sauce with sesame oil are served with the dish. Assembly is typically done by the diner, burrito-style: first spread some sauce across a pancake followed by several spoonfuls of the pork mixture, and then the pancake is folded upwards and side-over-side. There’s more than enough pork to fill four pancakes.
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Lou is liberal with the garlic and the ginger in his vegetarian Eggplant with Garlic Sauce. The aroma is enticing and the flavors don’t disappoint.
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Open just a month, Jimmy and Lou are planning to expand the menu at Jimmy Chew’s as well as the hours (they’re currently open five nights a week). Additional entrees will feature local Nantucket ingredients: lobster, scallops, striped bass. Lou treated us to a surprise preview of one of the many new entrees he has planned—Asian Fish Packets. This dish stole the show! Locally caught whitefish is dredged in curry powder, a dash of hot pepper, and other spices unrevealed. Then it’s topped with scallions and cilantro, wrapped in a very thin rice pancake, and fried. The fish tucked inside each very crisp packet is perfectly moist and flaky and deliciously seasoned—the warm curry flavoring filling your mouth with just a tinge of heat.
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With generous portions and most entrees $15 and under, Jimmy Chew’s offers terrific value as well as delicious food. Everything on the menu is available for takeout, and delivery could be offered in the near future.
Lou’s secret wish for the restaurant? “I want someone from Hyannis to call in an order and fly it over there from here.” With food this good, it could happen!
Jimmy Chew’s at the Hen House
Chin’s Way • 508-228-2212
Wed., Thurs., Sun. 5 to 9:30 p.m. • Fri. & Sat. 5 to 10 p.m.
Closed Monday & Tuesday for spring
entree prices range from $9.95 to $17.95
Full menu available for take-out • Specialty cocktails and Full Bar
Visa, MasterCard accepted
