Column: Wok N Tandoor’s Szechuan fries blend Americana and Indo-Chinese

At Orange’s Wok N Tandoor, an express version of the Artesia sit-down sister restaurant of the same name, you can eat your way through some of the best snacky chaat in the region.

Or, you can take the restaurant’s name as a hint as to its real cross-cultural expertise — a well-defined mash-up of Chinese and Indian food that’s been a staple in the latter country since a small community of Chinese settled in Calcutta more than 100 years ago.

Yet, even those who are familiar with the spicy noodles and masala-fied stir frys that define so-called Indo-Chinese cuisine will find Wok N Tandoor’s fast-food presentation a new adventure.

Take the shareable, forkable Szechuan fries, a heap of ordinary crinkle-cut fries tossed in a Silk Road’s worth of sweet and spicy sauce. It’s just an appetizer on Wok N Tandoor’s impressive menu, but its blending of America’s love for deep-fried potatoes with Indo-Chinese flavors could easily replace chili-cheese fries in O.C.’s inevitable diverse future.

Wok N Tandoor is at 1948 N. Tustin St., Orange. For more information, call (714) 782-7770 or visit wokntandoor.com.

SARAH BENNETT is a freelance journalist covering food, drink, music, culture and more. She is the former food editor at L.A. Weekly and a founding editor of Beer Paper L.A. Follow her on Twitter @thesarahbennett.

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