Jimmy, the owner of Lan's, a Szechwan, Mandarin restaurant in Old Town, knows a thing or two about Chinese restaurants.

The original Lan's — which is named after his wife and his mother, and means "orchid" in the old country — opened in 1980 at Armitage and Sedgewick. Another Lan's was born in River North in 1988, and Jimmy opened Lan's Old Town in May 2009 after tiring of the commute between Chicago and Cabo San Lucas, where he ran yet another Chinese joint and worked three weeks there for every week in the Windy City. In Cabo, of course, he could fish for a fresh catch every day, whereas here he settles for fresh fish from the market on Thursdays and Fridays.

Lan's Old Town, which is BYOB, sports a classy interior with white linens, a wooden bar countertop and an orchid painting behind the bar. Much of his business, though, is takeout orders. Jimmy's neighborhood customers know him by his first name, and return again and again, for the perfect blend of spice and flavor in his MSG-free dishes.

The fish pot stickers ($5.95) are favorites (you'll never go back to pork after trying them, he insists), as are the Moo Shu pork, the Lan's Manchurian beef and the Szechwan beef (all $9.95). Lan's Old Town offers catering, and a bounty of affordable food.

Average cost: <$10

Centerstage Reviewer: Jacob Wheeler