Reconsidering Ed's Potsticker House in Chicago
You’d think a place named Ed’s Potsticker House would have great potstickers, but you’d be wrong. They’re actually kind of the chewy and underseasoned, and my guess is Serious Eats founder Ed Levine could make better “Ed’s Potstickers” at home with one hand tied behind his back. But that’s the charm of Ed’s, a Northern Chinese spot, which requires not so much as a secret handshake or a golden key to unlock its glory, but rather a good bit of persistence to patiently work your way through the War and Peace-sized menu.
Consider that Ed’s was recently featured on Chicago’s popular Check, Please! restaurant review show and none of the folks (save the person who recommended it) who ate there picked any of the great dishes and, consequently, none of them actually liked it. Some part of me is okay with this, as Check, Please! is well-watched, and if everyone likes a restaurant on the show, that place inevitably ends up swamped with customers. The hubbub eventually dies down, but sometimes the old regulars get fed up with the swarm and don’t come back. The restaurant consequently suffers a grim fate, or at least a middling existence thereafter.
Although I dine there quite a bit, I’m not exactly the chief patron of the place. They’re entitled to whatever success they can achieve, as are all the “hidden gems” that get outed on Check Please. But, with Ed’s getting dissed recently, I started to worry: Would they be okay? Do they have enough customers to ensure I’ll be flush with the slightly charred sesame crusted C636 Cumin Flavor Lamb with Bone forever?
Just to be sure, I wanted to assure Chicagoans that Ed’s is awesome and they shouldn’t believe everything they see on TV. In addition to C636, you also want C009, the pan fried smoked pork cake, a crispy bubbly scallion pancake filled with crispy pork belly touched with a little maple sweetness, and C512, sweet glazed eggplant smothered in garlic sauce that is basically vegetable candy. I’m sure there are others, but only time and long tastings will tell. After all, the menu at Ed’s has 150 or so items listed, and dishes numbered as high as 820. On second thought, maybe there is a secret handshake after all to get at the 700 other dishes…hmmm.
Ed’s Potsticker House
3139 South Halsted Street, Chicago IL 60608 (map)
312-326-6898
About the author: Michael Nagrant writes for Serious Eats from Chicago, where he also publishes Hungry magazine. Michael never met an organ meat he didn't like. He hopes to meet many more.
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8 Comments:
I would have to agree. While I didn't seem them on Check Please, Ed's has some tasty food for a good price, and without the need to fight for Chinatown parking.
The "hand pulled dough" (sao zhwai bing) is quite good, and their soup dumplings or "Little Dragon Buns" (shao long bao) are really what I come here for.
As with most restaurants, knowing what to order plays an important part of the experience there.
ChicagoKid at 12:28PM on 03/19/09
Hey Michael, I was looking for a possible email address for you, I am looking for suggestions for quality places to eat downtown. I have some friends that have never been to Chicago coming this weekend and would love to take them someplace with a cool atmosphere and is easy on the budget. Let me know what you think! Thanks.
brichter45 at 12:42PM on 03/19/09
Didn't know about this place - thanks for sharing. My boyfriend and I love potstickers so we'll have to go here.
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 6:34PM on 03/19/09
Don't go there for pot stickers. I love pot stickers and have been eating them since I had teeth and when I saw this place in timeout Chicago I was excited. Went there. It sucked. Would never go there again.
styska1 at 11:11PM on 03/19/09
Ed's is great !!!
rubinow at 1:37AM on 03/20/09
@ChicagoKid - I've never been to Ed's but if the menu says "little dragon buns" then it isn't a very good translation. The "long" is not dragon, although it sound similar. The "long" is a cage or basket. When you order the dish in Chinese, you would ask for X long.
clapper at 12:55PM on 03/20/09
@Clapper - Thank you. The menu doesn't say it, rather it is my ABC (American Born Chinese) background that mistranslated it. For some reason, I thought the character used was "dragon", however I probably remembered incorrectly.
Thanks for the clarification!
ChicagoKid at 10:52AM on 03/23/09
@ChicagoKid - I'm ABC too and I'm illiterate, but I can understand Mandarin to a certain extent. Long is dragon, but in this case it is not. I'm sure they are written differently, but they have similar sounds.
clapper at 10:55AM on 03/23/09