Another season, another collection of pro tips from the Real Cheap Eats crew! This Spring, we’re focused on New York’s chinatowns, with 22 highlights in Manhattan and Flushing. Recommendations range from a porchetta Sandwich on the Chinatown border to one of Queens’ top slices (and all manner of Chinese food in between). Click here to [...]
Dear readers, A while back, Layne Mosler of Taxi Gourmet approached J.O. and me with her newest project: a series of self-guided food tours, written by local experts and sold through a mobile app used to explore good food throughout the world. I signed on because Layne’s approach to food is very much like my [...]
Hours after a recent trip to Flushing’s newest destination food court, J.O. and I exchanged the following over SMS: “These food malls are like chucky cheeses for us.” “You are right. I definitely peed in the ball pit at Savor Fusion.” “Omg” Who said what isn’t nearly as important as the analogy. I’ve been to [...]
The egg tart is perhaps not as lionized as the soup dumpling, but it can be just as much the subject of fantasy. Praises have been sung. Lists have been compiled. At least one film has been made. A good egg tart – not too sweet, barely savory and held together by a tender, flaky [...]
My first conversation on xiaolongbao was one-way. As I recall, it consisted of Boykji explaining to me: “You’ve never had xiaolongbao? They’re the bomb.” Typically, when “the bomb” is used is a predicate, I expect disproportionate amounts of irony or gravity. Not so in this instance: When Boykji drops “the bomb,” the delivery mechanism tends [...]
Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe that this blog has been alive for four years. It’s even harder to believe that in 2010 and 2009 I was able to bring on contributors from dining destinations are far-flung as Shanghai, Tokyo, Bonn, Majorca and even the American midwest. 2011 wasn’t quite as robust, since The [...]
First tastes are special. But the first taste of a favorite food – the first taste of a dish that gets everything right, lighting up an appetite unknown until that bite – is irreplaceable. It’s like watching the first scene of The Wire. The experience will always be enjoyable, but the thrill of being thrown [...]
He went from zero to vermicelli in 60 seconds. With two small white cords buoyantly stretched between his hands, a quick turn of the wrist swung one end towards the other. Fingers silently grappled the dough, producing strands that swept over the table below. Strands became noodles, noodles became strings, and for a brief moment [...]
Every good meal deserves a show stopper. The immediate clacking of chopsticks – springing back into pointed motion after twelve dishes and two cases of Tsingtao – was my sign that the lazy Susan had one last spin during an extensive supper at downtown Flushing’s Fu Run. Taking a victory lap around the table was [...]
Is $8.00 too much for this meal? The answer might depend on whether you’re the type of person to fork over $6 for bánh mì. After walking away from Bian Dang‘s stall at the still fresh Food Gallery 32, I proclaimed that their chicken leg dish was a tasty boatload of food for eight bucks. [...]
