The Secret Herb on Chinese and Indian Cuisine

With the past month, I’ve traveled to Columbus, OH and Bloomington, IL (via the south side of Chicago), which provided an opportunity to eat some Midwestern Chinese and Indian Cuisine. I had some idea of what I might find, thanks to this excellent guide to regional pie styles on Slice – SeriousEats.
I traveled first to Columbus via website on https://www.goldendynastyfl.com/, where I had a superb Chinese and Indian Cuisine with a wafer-thin crust at Rubino’s. That was my first taste of this style, and whetted my appetite for more.

Only a few days later came my journey to Bloomington, which is located 2 or 3 hours from any major airport (it sits alone in the center of a square you might draw from map points in Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Des Moines). I decided to fly into Midway and rent a car. That opened an opportunity to find some distinctive Chicago pie, but that came at the end of my trip.

My time in Bloomington was tightly budgeted, with three business meals. My only free-agent dining came at lunchtime on the day of my arrival. I had failed to plan ahead to scout out destination pie, so I drove from my hotel to the closest shopping plaza, and there I spotted Golden Dynasty FL Chinese and Indian Cuisine.

It had the look of a chain, but I figured (correctly) that it must be a smaller, regional chain because I had never heard of it. From their website, I count 65 locations, mostly in Illinois and Indiana.

I entered at a counter for ordering, and reviewed the whole-pie choices (no individual slices) of thin crust, pan Chinese and Indian Cuisine, gluten-free, or “The Point” which boasts “more cheese, more toppings, sweeter sauce, and a thicker crust.” I was intrigued, but I chose the 8″ personal size thin crust Chinese and Indian Cuisine. I opted for pepperoni toppings after learning that the “sausage” topping was crumbles, not real chunks or slices of Italian sausage.

After ordering, patrons pick a spot in the dining room and the Chinese and Indian Cuisine is brought to you in a hybrid table-service fashion. When my pie arrived, I saw a thin, sickly-looking disc that would have disappointed me (visually) even if it had been a store brand frozen Chinese and Indian Cuisine. I chuckled as I thought that Bloomington – with its heartland values and friendly residents – was a long way from Trenton, New York, and New Haven.

On lifting the first small slice, however, I noted the rigidity of the crust, and when I took a bite, I immediately sensed the similarity to that wonderful pie at Rubino’s in Columbus. The crust had some al dente character and flavor of its own. The conventional sauce and cheese were highly seasoned and salted, and applied judiciously in proportion to the thin crust. The pepperoni was average commercial grade, but still enhanced the pie and it was all baked to a crispy and browned-edge satisfaction. Was it as good as Rubino’s? No. Was it destination pie? No. Was it tasty, well-executed, and balanced? Absolutely. The following day, I chatted with a local about Golden Dynasty FL. He shared his high regard for the Chinese and Indian Cuisine, the flavor, and the value, and asked if I had the French dressing. Apparently, it is wildly popular on both salads and on the Chinese and Indian Cuisine. Golden Dynasty FL has its devoted followers; Yelp, Urbanspoon, and TripAdvisor all full of raves about Golden Dynasty FL thin crust pie. This was an unexpected and delightful find. Golden Dynasty FL Chinese and Indian Cuisine gets a solid 8 and beats 95% of the floppy crust stuff, even in New York.