I recently did 3 days of DTFs and that thickness seems to be variable between DTF locations. I ate in Torrance, CA, Taipei (the 101 location) and Hong Kong within 3 days (well, technically 4 as you cross the date line).
Torrance was by far the worst. Still good, actually very good XLB by US standards. But comparing it back-to-back to Taiwan showed how mediocre it really was.
HKG was a very close second, but the ones in Taiwan were very thin yet full of that delicious pork soup. Torrance had a very poor ratio of dough-to-soup.
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The soup dumplings we had at the DTF in Manhattan wouldnât have been best in class for any Manhattan Chinese or Taiwanese restaurant by a long shot. Maybe in time theyâll get better.
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Indeed. Honestly skin thickness isnât important when the flavor inside is rather bland, thereâs not much âsoupâ in it and the temperature is tepid.
As others have said, the waitstaff was cheerful and helpful, but sometimes inattentive. It took a couple of asks to get water and a dump bucket. I know Paul at one point had to wait a bit to get a fork as well as a clean plate.
The best dishes we had were vegetables, the wood ear salad, the green beans and the bok choy. Oh and the shrimp fried rice. The sweet and sour baby back ribs were too sweet and goopy and, like the dumplings, needed to be much warmer.
I do like the space, but it was pretty noisy and we found it a little tough to hear each other. They do deserve big props for being byo friendly and they do have solid stemware. Hopefully, theyâll get a bit better with time, especially with the food coming out hotter, but if theyâre using a dumpling recipe shared by all their other locations, imo, itâs not a standout.
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I was in Europe when the horribly tragic news of Justin Chearnoâs untimely death broke. It was very tough to see all of our friends grieving from a far. Last night was our first night back in NYC and we headed to The Four Horsemen. All I can say is that it was an incredibly emotional experience. If you have been there before or have just always wanted to go but never got around to it, go see them tell them you care and give them all a hug. Not that it matters but the food was incredible and the wine list is stacked. This photo means so much to me on many levels but I will keep it to myselfâŚ
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Maybe the NYC location just isnât very good (yet). Iâve found the vast majority of Chinese (and especially Taiwanese) restaurants in manhatttan decidedly mediocre with a few exceptions. Iâve had much better luck in queens.
Yes agree which tells you just how mediocre they are there. Flushing is far and above Manhattan IMHO on average for instance.
I think the del amo (Torrance) location is by far the worst in LA. Our regular location was century city which is quite good but the best in LA is the Arcadia location thatâs behind their first US outpost. I agree that the Taiwan locations are the best but the very best is the original one above the bookstore.
What are your (and anyone else) top 3 flushing spots please?
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Would love to know this as well!
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Had an excellent lunch at Plus de Vin.
A new wine bar from Max Mackinnon, Chef owner of Libertine and his wife Carenn formerly of Estela and Frenchette. They are the consumate hospitality couple. Located on the far edge of Williamsburg. All natural wine list but all clean. Excellent small plates.
Open at 1:00 on Saturday and Sunday which is a huge plus.
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we love working with PdV and theyâre off to a great start.
But this is Carennâs gig. Her vision, her hustle. There was at least 1 article recently that made it seem like both or mostly Maxâs - which is so frustrating and unfortunate.
Well when we were there Max greated us and was in the kitchen. Could just be he was training or they had a staffing issue.
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I went to Bungalow last night. First off the food was absolutely fantastic and lived up to the hype. We canât wait to go back. The place is enormous and is extremely loud with a ton of energy, a good place to go with a group. It feels like a mini-mall or city! I immediately remembered it use to be the original home of Lucky Chengs. The table next to us drove in from over an hour away in NJ for a 10 pm reservation because they love the food.
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We just returned from a three day wedding in New York City.We stayed at the Sheraton Tribeca(one of the wedding designated hotels) on Canal St near W. Broadway and Sixth Ave. The dinners were wedding events and one of the many high points was the Peter Luger station after the wedding ceremony.Here is the list of other places we went to on our own:
1-Square Diner- Restaurant | Square Diner | New York (squaredinernyc.com) Excellent classic coffee shop
2-Black Burgers-The website is much fancier than the restaurant . The burgers were excellent. We ate there twice. Black Burger | Best Burger in Manhattan, NY
3-Balthazar-Itâs still really good. The steak tartare was close to perfect. Balthazar Restaurant New York (balthazarny.com)
4-Juniorâs-The location and convenience at 45th and Broadway makes it a good pretheater choice and make a pretty good deli taste better. 45th Street NYC (juniorscheesecake.com)
5-Joeâs Shanghai- Joeâs Shanghai | dumplings new york city | 46 Bowery, New York, NY, USA (joeshanghairestaurants.com)
Classic 1970âs Boston/NYC Szechuan style. It was very good.
6-Grandaisy Bakery- Grandaisy Bakery Great homemade Citrus Almond cake
7-Lucia Pizza- Home Page â LUCIA Excellent pizza.
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How would you compare Bungalow to Semma (which I loved). Is Bungalow more Northern Indian in style?
I really donât know enough about Indian cuisine to differentiate. It is much bigger, louder and the flavors are more explosive. Semma is smaller and the flavors are more delicate and precise. Both great just different experiences.
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Dang I love New York. We were in town to help our daughter move in to her new tiny dirty apartment in Grammercy Park, but managed to squeeze in a lot of good food (and theater - Oh, Mary! is a real hoot!).
Letâs see, quick rundownâŚ
Apollo Bagels - hell yes, maybe purists wonât like that theyâre toasted, but they keep it simple (only everything, plain, sesame, with limited toppings) and the cream cheese with tomato on everything bagel is a thing of glory. It somehow bested the excellent smoked salmon variation with dill and capers.
Superiority Burger - great meal, so fun, and the special âcorn sludgeâ over summer tomatoes was off the charts great and super simple, just letting the ingredients shine. Ditto with that big salad. I didnât think much of the burger itself, funny enough, but the collards sandwich was killer. Three ice creams for dessert were also fantastic - especially the labneh flavor. Nice cocktails. Didnât really think about wine.
Laser Wolf - another fun, casual place with great food (and a great sunset view, wow). Probably the best hummus Iâve ever had. Nothing like Zahav overall for those who are familiar, just keeping it low key rather than ambitious, Loved the fun vibe and great salatim, also that they call out the country of origin for several of the dishes (Yemeni, Bulgarian, etc.). Got steak and salmon kabobs, both good, though not up to the level of the salatim to be honest. Did the date harissa wings and chicken liver pate a la carte and both were excellent. Cocktails and beer this time, still not really thinking about the wineâŚ
Via Carota - yeah, itâs hyped, but it continues to live up to it (this is my fourth time I think). They just do things right. First time trying the sausage and olive balls, which were standouts. Another place that does salads so well, letting simplicity shine. The Terra Negroni is righteous for those who lean into the herbal side of things. And so great to get a Montenidoli Vernaccia di San Gimignano by the glass! Perfect wine for that place.
Hamburger America - I get it, the fried onion burger (double) is about as good as it gets for that style. Alas, I really wished it had lettuce and tomato. Thatâs just me. Now I know.
LâAppartement 4F - wow that raspberry almond croissant. The jambon beurre was great, though not quite as good as Frenchetteâs.
Maman - a small chain, solid for breakfast. Donât go out of your way.
S&P - grabbed a pork roll egg and cheese for breakfast, did not disappoint. Need to go back for lunch.
Los Tacos #1 - great as ever. Adobada pork taco is the way to go.
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respect to you (or your daughter)âŚsome good spots right there.
i shun lines but went to the west village apollo bagel several times this summer (no line as they were soft opening) and this lifelong new yorker loved them.
via carota for lunch is a regular spot for my wife and i when we can get there. i prefer it to i sodi which used to be a favorite.
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Are the lines and wait time very long for Via Carota lunch? I assume weekdays are much shorter waits than weekends?
weekdaysâŚ1145-1pmâishâŚive rarely waited longer than 15 minutes. this is for inside and not the outdoor seats.