Lin's Cafe II Asian Cuisine

I pulled into Lin's Cafe II on a stormy Saturday and could barely find parking in the rain, which tells you everything before the food even lands. And the food backs it up: super fresh, hot, flavorful, vegetables that still snap, egg drop soup and fried potstickers and BBQ pork lo mein and lemon chicken all coming out of a clean kitchen in a new, bright room. The staff is quick to clear and clean, professional, kid-friendly, the kind of service that makes a strip-mall Chinese spot feel cared for.

It's not flawless. One bland lo mein and a hot-and-sour soup that was neither hot nor sour show up in the record, and the takeout bag came with no utensils, a small thing that stings when you're already home. But dine in, where the freshness and the service are firing, and this is a genuinely good neighborhood table. Bonus: all the chicken and shrimp dishes are gluten free, just ask.