Where applicable, we have noted some of the limitations on the services offered by these establishments. Included are dumpling and noodle houses restaurants specializing in regional Chinese styles (Sichuan most commonly) and old-style Cantonese places serving dishes that have become popular with American diners over the years. In acknowledgement of the importance of Chinese - and Chinese-American - cuisine in our national diet, 24/7 Tempo has assembled a list of the best Chinese restaurants in every state, based on Yelp reviews and ratings.Ĭlick here for the best Chinese restaurants in every state. That category includes such ubiquitous dishes as chop suey, Chinese chicken salad, General Tso’s chicken, and of course fortune cookies - all prime examples of the many “foreign” foods that are really American.

The many regional cuisines of China are now well represented with at least some claim to credibility in some parts of the country (Southern California’s Orange County and the boroughs of New York City, for instance), but much of what is served might more fairly be called not authentic Chinese cuisine but rather authentic Chinese-American.

How authentic are America’s Chinese restaurants? Trying to define and quantify “authenticity” isn’t easy. Not surprisingly, when Chef’s Pencil, a website for chefs, analyzed Google Trends data last year, they found that Chinese was easily the most popular “ethnic” cuisine in America. There’s probably at least one example in virtually every city or town of any size in the nation. Today there are more than 40,000 Chinese eateries around the U.S., ranging from fast-food outlets and casual counter-service operations to elegant gourmet destinations. Both are long gone, of course, but Pekin Noodle Parlor, established in 1911 in what was then a bustling Chinatown in Butte, Montana, is still in business - making it the oldest continuously operated Chinese restaurant in the country. A second Chinese place, Macao and Woosung Restaurant, appeared later that year. Food historians generally agree that the first Chinese restaurant in America was Canton, opened in 1849 in San Francisco.

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