Standout Mapo, a Balkan Spinach Pie, and Bargain Chicken Shawarma

Three for the Weekend, April 25

Clockwise from lower left: ma po tofu, spicy beef noodle soup, Sichuan pickled vegetables

A neighborhood Chinese spot leans Sichuan

It’s sometimes helpful to think of a restaurant as a riddle. What makes it what it is? Take Four Season Joyful at 55 Driggs Street, just off Msgr. McGolrick Park in Greenpoint. It bills itself as a Sichuan restaurant, and I suppose it’s partly trying to capitalize on the popularity of restaurants like Birds Of A Feather and Antidote in adjacent Williamsburg.