NOTE: THIS RESTAURANT HAS CLOSED.

The dependably comforting Chinese food you find in every town in the U.S. is as much American food as it is Chinese. Authentic Chinese cuisine that brings more adventurous flavor, spice levels and textures to the table, is still a rarer experience in our region.

Enter the new Lucky Dragon in Rhinebeck, New York. Opened in May, the self-proclaimed “farm-to-chopsticks” restaurant is a love letter to both Americanized and traditional Chinese food, composed by Howard and Chris Jacobs, the restaurateur husband and wife behind The Amsterdam just around the corner. The couple grew up in Toronto, where they first were influenced and inspired by the restaurants of the city’s large Chinese immigrant community.

The Jacobs have brought their commitment to local sourcing and their approach to thoughtful menu creation over from The Amsterdam to Lucky Dragon. What makes their new venture special, beyond its obvious reverence for this cultural cuisine, is that it manages to be as approachable as it is elevated.

The menu is filled with familiar dishes but the execution transcends expectations. Yes, they serve General Tso’s Chicken ($18), and it’s exactly what you expect, but the flavors are crisper and more well defined. Less syrupy and muddled, the individual ingredients and spices shine through, giving your taste buds an almost scholarly insight into why you always loved the dish in the first place.

That’s the trend for so many of the dishes here. The Szechuan chicken ($18) is an explosion of flavor made with the same expertly cooked local chicken, plus vegetables. Lucky Dragon also trusts that when you say you want something spicy, you mean it. And even if a dish is spicy, it’s done so with a vibrancy and intentionality that enhances the complexity of a dish rather than overpowers it.

The menu isn’t as long as a neighborhood Chinese joint’s (and it’s still pretty long!) but that’s because they are taking the time to put a truly noticeable level of effort into each dish. The Kung Pao shrimp ($19) is plump and perfectly cooked in its intoxicating peanut sauce. The house-made eggrolls ($5) are addictively crunchy. They have varieties of lo mein, with mushrooms and bok choy ($13) and pork or beef ($16). Other entrees include miso-marinated cod ($23); light yet deeply flavorful fried rice options ($12-$15) and so much more.

With the same attention they pay to making everything in house with the best local ingredients, they offer all the starters and sides you could ask for — from spring rolls ($5) and crab rangoon ($8) to scallion pancakes ($6) and BBQ pork short ribs ($12). They also offer a dim sum service, with its own menu of beautiful, delicate dumplings and even a full Peking duck preparation ($95) to wow your dinner party. (You do have to call ahead for that one.)

It’s also worth mentioning that for anyone who has to adhere to a gluten-free diet and mourns the absence of Chinese food in their life (alas, soy sauce has wheat in it), Lucky Dragon is a gift. The base sauce for many of their dishes is gluten free and a good number of the dishes can be easily modified to be so, all while maintaining their character and intended experience. The waitstaff is extremely attentive and willing to help where they can. For most, this might not seem like a big deal but to some, it’s a personally moving bit of business.

Upon entering the restaurant through a thick red door, you walk into a handsome barroom that flows straight up through a little paper-lantern-filled atrium to the second-floor dining room. It’s elegant, but you’re soon comforted by the familiar sight of placemats with the menu on them, paper-wrapped chopsticks and red-capped soy sauce bottles. Lucky Dragon is doing something special. It’s a complicated dance, to be cute yet sophisticated, edgy yet comfortable, and both relatable and exotic. The real trick is that they make it look easy.

Lucky Dragon
38 W. Market St., Rhinebeck, NY 
(845) 876-2214
Open Tuesday–Sunday from 5-10:30 p.m.

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Written by

Jamie Larson
Jamie Larson