mc-dining-out

Behind the blackjack tables at Palace Station awaits a lesson for many Americans who think they like traditional Chinese food. At Food Express II, only the language on the menu concedes to Western influence. Here — as back in owner Chi Leung’s Cantonese hometown — pork is served with skin, rice is brown only because it’s fried, and chop suey … what’s that?

You try to avoid getting the least-expensive wine on the list, because you don’t want to look like a cheapskate. But maybe you shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss those rock-bottom bottles, because the wine directors and sommeliers who choose them give them the same consideration they give their more expensive wines.

If you’d like to make an authentic, slightly smoky, crisp-crusted pizza at home, you have a few options. You could build an authentic outdoor pizza oven yourself, if you’re extremely talented and astute enough to follow building codes. You could invest $2,000 to $5,000 — or more — to buy an off-the-rack model or have one professionally installed.