Ridgefield Asian establishment Saturday's port in storm

For me a day stuck indoors because of a snowstorm demands a trip to "town" no matter how hideous the roads.

Hot tea, a couple of spicy rolls,  tuna and yellowtail, along with sweet potato roll, a pair of salmon sashimi pieces comprised Saturday night's dinner at Empire Szechuan restaurant in Ridgefield thankfully open despite the lousy weather.

Reliably laidback with expertly prepared dishes that include Southeast Asian, Chinese and Japanese, someone always exclaims about something when I take them to this establishment.

"I love this appetizer!" my date said as we speedily devoured every tender, bite-sized spicy wonton in a savory peanutty sublime sauce, an excellent beginning.

Service even when crowded is ideal at Empire, and of course, on a slow night like this one, especially accommodating.

I counted under 20 cars in the Copp's Hill lot when we arrived around 7 o'clock.

Empire is across from Kohl's and tucked cozily in this plaza usually teaming sun up to closing with local shoppers.

Lunch or dinner at Empire is a fair deal and there is free delivery service of this consistently delicious food.

It was wickedly cold I had noted moments earlier, walking across the lot from Stop & Shop, and thankfully, Empire had their heat sufficiently high, adding to the sense that we were going to be treated kind of special and I was right.

The staff seemed happy to see us. Moments after taking a table against a wall, our outgoing waitress brought over tea and it wasn't long after when the wontons arrived. Sensibly, we opted for sushi, mainly because the sushi chef would cater exclusively to our order given that, "We're the only ones here," my date was happy to note.

In deed, ours was the only occupied table among 8 evenly spaced rectangles in the comfortable dining room with parquet wood floor, pretty wall art, and sleek sushi bar.

"Ladies first then gentleman," our server said, placing the plate of sushi rolls before me, then bringing my date's sushi roll/sashimi combination next.

"Just a little bit to make it warm?" she then asked refilling our tea cups.

Jovial as I've noted before when I first reviewed this casual restaurant in April http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/New-Empire-Szechuan-is-a-laid-back-and-affordable-4457090.php she catered to our tea needs with a light-hearted joke or two throughout the meal.

So here's what you can expect: Two dozen or so "house specialties," on the Chinese menu like General Tsos chicken and chicken amazing, both $11.95 on the low priced end, with the most you'll pay being $18.95 for an impressive stir-fried fillet mignon which has snow peas, onion, mushroom and carrots, a tried and enjoyed meal I've had before.

Additionally, sushi and sashimi a la carte, hand rolls, sushi rolls, vegetable rolls and the "signature rolls," including Godzilla roll, crunchy spicy tuna topped with avocado and tobiko or Dynamite roll crab containing salmon and asparagus, both costing $10.95, are all available.

Southeast Asian dishes are chicken, tofu, shrimp or scallop served in spicy mango or Malaysian Red curry sauce, among choices.

However, my week's pick of Empire Szechuan is chosen foremost for its hospitality, ask any regular.

For more information, call 203-431-0488.