It’s 2022, Chinatown’s old guard is slowly packing up, and five friends from the neighborhood open a place called Potluck Club. The restaurant keeps the party going, with scallion biscuits, salt & pepper fried chicken, and other imaginative takes on Cantonese American food. A few years later, the same friends launch a sequel, Phoenix Palace. It’s a little more ambitious, but similar in spirit and just down the road, with scalloped velvet booths, turquoise lanterns, and a bulb-lined marquee worthy of a Hitchcock premier. Cool story. Netflix will take two seasons. But it wouldn’t mean much if the food at Phoenix Palace didn't live up to the narrative. It does. In a windowless room with concrete floors, a vintage jukebox, and the occasional golden bird on the wall, you can have a fun group outing and eat delicious things you never thought about trying, because you didn’t know they exist. The food at Phoenix Palace is familiar, but new. It’s Cantonese, American, and even a little Italian. When you get some olive-freckled youtiao, or sticky rice mixed with bits of pancetta, it should feel experimental—but it doesn’t. Bok choy with pecorino? Cuttlefish and tomato jam? Sure, why not. It all works seamlessly. The fresh approach is so successful, it’s a shame there isn’t more to eat. With just four entrees (only one of which is less than $30), it’s easy to speed-run the menu and leave very little for a follow-up visit. The good news is those youtiao are just as exciting the second time around.