At the end of the last century, who could have predicted Manhattan would someday be speckled with Sichuan restaurants? Cantonese carryouts were installed in every neighborhood back then, patronized by customers long accustomed to their wonderfully bland, greasy output and as addicted to egg rolls and stir-fries as to cheap prices and speedy delivery. But as old-school takeaways vanished, pricier Sichuan places appeared in Chelsea and Midtown, where the core menu was not only unfamiliar to most diners, but also hot as hell. Take Land of Plenty. It's one of four Sichuans I've visited on the Upper East Side and its outskirts, once a Cantonese stronghold. The establishment is situated east of Bloomingdale's in the Mia Dona space—where proprietress Donatella Arpaia sold meatballs from a pink pushcart on the front patio. Little has changed, decor-wise. Antique farm implements still splay on rough off-white walls. Swathed in fabrics, the interior is sumptuous in a starchy, Old Money sort of way. The staff speaks excellent English, and the dining rooms are quiet enough for a whispered conversation.
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