Sign O' The Day: Fading Millinery, No. 4F

Walking to the Union Square Greenmarket this morning, I spied this vanishing bit of Old New York on W. 22nd Street.

Truly Cheap Eats: Pork Buns In My Neighborhood

I spend so much time wandering around other parts of town that, sometimes, it takes me a while to discover things in my own backyard. Living on the edge of the Garment District, I know there are a handful of Chinese places that cater to the few garment workers left in the neighborhood's remaining factories. But somehow I've missed one particular gem--35th Street Bakery--which looks like it's been around for quite some time. It's a little divey hole-in-the-wall, but note its "A" rating from the Health Department(...), and most of the baked goods in the case look fab.

Running home from an assignment today--starving--I decided to pop in for a baked roast pork bun...which happened to be right from the oven. While it won't top my list, it's better than many I've had in Chinatown. There's lots of filling, the dough is light and fluffy, and it's only 75 cents, which is cheaper than most.

I'll be going back. Next on the list: red bean buns.

The address for 35th Street Bakery is 494 Eighth Avenue, but the shop is located around the corner, just east of Eighth. 

You Know It's Springtime In The City...

...when the trees bust out their bracelets.

Department of Bad Ideas?

Why do I think parking such a beautiful ship at the end of the Chelsea Piers driving range is just asking for trouble?

True New Yawk Pigeons

How to tell a pigeon is a native New Yorker: it folds its slice properly.

Truly Cheap Eats: Revisiting Sheng Wang

I've written about Sheng Wang on Eldridge Street before, but haven't visited in a while (especially after having discovered Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodle on Doyers). Last week I finally went back, and was surprised to see that they'd fixed up the joint! It's still pretty divy, but there are fresh walls and many more tables, which will probably make some sort of difference to people who may have been a little too scared to venture in. (Unfortunately, though, is that they've moved the kitchen to the back and added a door, so there's no watching the chef make the noodles anymore.)

It seems like the Sheng Wang folks have also upped their game a little bit--there were definitely more veggies in the soup, and my friend's dumplings were fresh and tasty. I stepped out a bit and ordered the rabbit soup, which was, of course, bony, but pretty good and had lots of meat. Regardless, I don't think I'll get it again...there's a spice in some Chinese cooking I don't really like (I haven't yet managed to place it), and this was chock full of it, alas...

I have to say I still favor the other fresh noodle joints--primarily because Sheng Wang still serves everything in disposable plastic--but it's worth a visit if you're interested in stepping out a bit and experimenting with the huge menu's truly unusual offerings.

There's A Pole-Wielding Chinatown Noodlemaker!

Via the newly-launched OurChinatown blog, a fascinating video about the Chen family's noodle shop on Madison Street. I think I may go buy some tomorrow!


The Noodle Makers from OurChinatown on Vimeo.

Spring's Springing on The High Line

Discovery: Chinese Chives!

Now that spring has arrived (finally!!) and thoughts of ramps have been dancing in my head, I've been obsessively craving some oniony/grassy goodness (I really should've gone to the Union Square Greenmarket this morning, but I still have a feeling the extended cold weather this year means it's still too early for ramps...and I don't want to wait in a long line of desperate people). So a few days ago, when I was killing time in a Chinatown vegetable market, I spied some beautiful Chinese chives. They're really inexpensive (a fraction of the price of the oh-so-hip ramps) and easy to use, so I thought I'd buy a bunch...a very, very large bunch...

Why haven't I played with these beauties before? If you're comparing them to ramps (which I am...) they're obviously more chivy and slightly less grassy, but the flavor's wonderful. They're simple to use in stir-fry: I've made a fabulous pseudo cold sesame noodle using the Chinese chives, a little almond butter, the Sichuan chili paste I discovered, and soy sauce (the version pictured has a little beef, too). Stir-fry everything over medium-low heat until the chives wilt, and it's a wonderful, eye-opening dish.

I had so many chives--I'd ended up with about two pounds--so I decided I'd try to make a purée similar to what I'd done with ramps last year. I roughly chopped about a pound of the chives, put them in the processor, added a generous pinch of salt and about a quarter-cup or so of olive oil, and blended everything together. Easy. It's not as sweet as the ramp pesto (believe it or not, I still have some scrapings in the bottom of the jar from last spring!), but I think it's going to be as incredibly useful. Pizza, pasta, stir fry, crepes...who knows?!

Turns out Chinese chives are a wonderful, wonderful discovery. I'll be less desperate for ramps, will be able to emulate a similar flavor year-round, and--most importantly for my friends--I'll be more willing to share the goodness!

Sign O' The Day