JamieEats

Eating Meat

My son is 16. To him it is all about the meat. When he is needing a fix we go to Big Wong in Chinatown on Mott Street. Big Wong is the epitome of Chinese roasted duck, pork, and ribs. If you are man/woman enough to love juicy fatty meat then this is the place for you. Among those who make a study of this Big Wong is well known for their ribs. They are nothing like the usual take out fair the average Chinese takeout dishes out. No red dye here. Just slow roasted tasty goodness.
The ribs are very good but I usually order the trio of roasted duck, roasted pork, and ribs. I can't decide what I like the most. The roasted pork is really good.

 
No extra sauce needed. Don't forget the duck which is roasted, meaty, and fatty all at the same time.

 
By now, your arteries should be sufficiently coated inside and out but it sure was good going down. Naturally, I cannot do this place too often but once in a while it hits the spot! By the way, you have to get here by 8pm. I have been there when they were sold out of ribs and duck. They bang the doors shut at 9pm.

Big Wong

67 Mott St
(between Bayard St & Canal St)
New York, NY 10013
Neighborhood: Chinatown

(212) 964-0540

Rice, Rice, Rice

 
It's still raining out and cold. We left Food Sing 88 and walked around the corner to A-Wah known for their Bo Zai Fan rice pot. This is a clay pot rice casserole with various toppings. I was attracted because of the comparison to Korean bim bam bop which I love. For rice lovers, the rice close to the pan or pot gets hard and crunchy and mixed in with the various add ins makes it especially good. It's hard to describe unless you've had it.
We ordered three varieties to try. Below is the House Special Chinese Sausage & Mixed Pork .
We also had the chicken and mushrooms. Notice the scallions as well.

While this was an interesting foray it was not a keeper. I still prefer the comfort of Korean Bim Bam Bop.

A-Wah

5 Catherine St
New York, NY 10038

 

Warm Soup on a Cold Day

It's hard to talk about hardy beef soup when it is 80 degrees outside. However, two weeks ago we hit this place in Chinatown on a cold rainy Saturday afternoon. It was perfect. I heard somewhere, that Food Sing 88 Co. has amazing broth. At this point, I think all the sources I use are just mixing together in my head. I hope no one gets upset I don't credit them. Anyway, this place is another one of my holes in the wall with good, cheap food. We ordered the beef noodle soup.
It was a very good soup and everything in the bowl was tasty. Is it worth going out of your way for? Depends on the weather. In the winter it is. If you are in chinatown on a cold day drop in and warm up.

Food Sing 88 Corp.

2 E. Broadway, New York, NY 10038  212-219-8223

 

Stuff yourself for 10 bucks

There are those that are into quantity and those that are into quality and those that are into cheap. It's rare that the combination all comes together. Vanessa dumpling has been one of my secrets for a while. Why was it a secret? I had no pictures. I corrected that last week when I spent a Saturday in the city hitting a list. 
As you can see Vanessa's is at 118 Eldridge St. This place is an institution. Fried pork and chive dumplings for $1.99. Spicy wonton's for $1.99. Unfortunately, success has gone to their head. The dumplings used to be $1.00.

 
Actually, I have never had anything that tasted bad here. The food is good. The chicken corn soup is pretty darn good for $1.49 for a small. But my favorite are the sesame pancakes stuffed with pork or duck. A little hoisin, shredded carrots, shredded cucumbers, and meat for $2.99.  

Vanessa Dumpling House

118 Eldridge St
(between Grand St & Broome St)
New York, NY 10002
Neighborhood: Lower East Side

(212) 625-8008

Eddie Huang is the Man! An up and coming superchef.

On Thursday, I listened to Eddie on WOR talk about becoming a lawyer at Cardozo Law School at Yeshiva University.   He also discussed growing up and learning everything he knows from his mom. What a good son! However, he shines in his creativity in the kithchen. He took her recipe for red cooked pork shoulder and applied it to hanger steak. The rest is history as he became a finalist on the food channel Ultimate Recipe Showdown with that dish. Now he is famous for his Bao Haus hole in the wall on Rivington Street. I have had the pleasure of trying both the beef and the pork bao. Eddie's meats are sourced from Pat Le Frieda whom we all know is a high end product. The meats are organic and hormone free. The Bao is a steamed bun with meat, crushed peanuts, cilantro, Eddie's own relish, and Taiwanese red sugar. Below is the Chairman Bao made with Pork Belly.

  Looks good, huh? It was.Not bad for $4.I also have picture of the hanger steak.

Phone: 646 684 3835 HOURS: Sun-Thurs: Noon-11pm Fri&Sat: Noon-2am  

Address: 137 Rivington Street (near Norfolk), NY, NY 10002

 

   

The best buns I ever sunk my teeth into

You never know when you are going to run across something tasty. Sunday my wife and I took our daughter into New York for some eating as I conduct my tasting for the future food tours I would like to start. Actually, my daughter was leaving for Florence for a semester abroad and she wanted to get one more bite out of the Big Apple before she started on a steady diet of Italian. Sunday 
was freezing and my usually routine is to walk everywhere so I don't have to re-park the car. We started out for the Lower East Side from Nolita by way of Chinatown but bailed and ducked into a bun place that was on my radar.

 

 I have to tell you a secret. I cannot stand Almond Joy. I hate coconut. So when my notes dictated getting the coconut buns I was a little concerned. No need. Even I can appreciate a good, fresh, warm, succulent, round, chewy, coconut bun. These things were fresh!

 

I don't know if I would make a special trip for these things but if you are in the area definitely worth it for something a little different and good.

 
64 Bayard St
(between Elizabeth St & Mott St)
New York, NY 10013
(212) 966-7866

Major buzz at this noodle place. Is it worth it?

 Hung Ry opened recently on Bond Street. It immediately got a lot of food buzz from all over because of the original noodle soups made from organic ingredients and high end sourcing of the meats and fish. It was put on my list to try and lo and behold my daughter and I stumbled in about 2:30 the other afternoon. I understand the wait to eat at night can be painful and I have a low threshold for waiting in line. My recent wait at the Shake Shack of 45 minutes is not to be repeated.

 Anyway, I sat down with my notes instructing me to taste the tongue appetizer and the duck noodle soup.

 
Let me just say, I love beef tongue. I don't like it, I love it so this dish was right up my alley. There is a certain queasiness that a lot of people have about tongue. Too bad. More for me. The dish is described as Beef tongue, black chickpeas, carrots, in pickled garlic broth. The tongue melted in my mouth is was so tender. Unfortunately, the flavor was cooked away at the same time and it did not have that rich taste I crave. The soup was flavorful but I just felt that my expectations were too high.

 
The Duck Breast Soup fared a little better I thought. We ordered the thick noodles and I found the broth better than the tongue soup. The duck was done just the way I like it and was very good. I would like to try a few more dishes at Hung Ry. I found the food interesting and original but I don't know if I'm going to run back. Especially if I have to wait. I did notice that the menu changes often and there are new selections. Worth a trip at some point if you're in the area.

 

 

Time to get down to business

 

My first post mentions my desire to start a food touring business. The concept is to take a group of people around an area of their choosing and eat only the best items at 4 or 5 places. The tour should take about 2-3 hours and cost about $68 including food. I would throw in my own wisecracks for free. Tell me, is this too much to charge or too little? I could use the feedback so I price things properly. What areas would you be interested in? Please drop comments.

Another one of my many holes-in-the-wall

To those that know me I am the ultimate fan of cheap eats. I love the places that are totally elbow to elbow in space but have good food. I was always a fan of the saying, "You can't eat the atmosphere". While I have friends who wouldn't be caught dead in these places I consider it their loss.

One of my favorite stories is the time I took my neice to a Chinatown place for their soup. I considered the stuff outstanding and I wanted her to try it. Unfortunately, she went to the lady's room at the end of the meal. It happened to be down a flight of stairs and you had to walk by the kitchen to get there. It is 5 years later now and she has yet to eat meat since that day. She is now a vegetarian. Oh well. I say what you don't know can't hurt you.

 Today's place is Prosperity Dumpling on Eldrige St.

 
It doesn't get more down and dirty than this place. However, if you want to fill up for about $4.50 or less and walk out feeling like it was really good then this is the place. Their Dumplings are 5 for $1 and delicious. I like them fried. The pork and chive are made fresh regularly since this place has a lot of turnover and they are fried to order. Yummy. No way like NJ dumplings that's for sure. By the way, try the sesame pancakes also with the meat topping. For $1.50 you can't go wrong.

  Prosperity Dumpling

46 Eldridge St.

New York, NY