Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Nice guide and would make the following additions:

(1) New Southwind Restaurant on 21 Division Street has great room-temperature churng fun which is sized like an egg roll with sesame seed oil, dried shrimp and scallions. I think they're going for something like $.70 each.

(2) Banh Mi Saigon Bakery on 138 Mott Street by Grand. I know there are many competing banh mi places in the vicinity but this is my fave. At $3.75 for the pork banh mi, it's excellent.

(3) Wei Mei Pork Chop Fast Food on 190 Hester between Mulberry and Baxter has very good pork chop and chicken leg on rice. For $4.25, I know it's not "cheap" but not bad.

this isn't exactly a cart, although there's a nice cart right outside - 240 grand & bowery has super cheap chow fun & tofu & other stuff which is quite good. i've had very nice meals from there for about $3. plus you add in the spicy fish meatballs from the cart a tiny bit east on grand for like $1 & you've got yourself one cheap yummy meal. i make them put the chow fun on the bottom, the tofu (lots of sauce) over it & then the fish balls on top. don't let them give you one of the containers with rice pre-apportioned.

Nor is it original. Alice Waters invented this Dadaesque approach to desserts many years ago. I sat and watched the jaws of a young man and the girl he had intended to impress drop as the waiter (Probably Pigrim at that date) placed the $8 peach plus knife in front of them. "But," stammered the young man, "I thought it was a *dessert*. It's just a peach!." The waiter looked the length of his nose at the kid, pulled himself up to full height and hissed, "It's the *perfect* peach."

There are a number of birthday suit clad emperors prancing around in a Alice Land, where Gordon Pilgrim and Judy Rogers got earned their stripes. It's not surprising that they picked up a few tricks there. In fact, knowing what the cadre is willing to pay for "perfect", $8 may reflect the standard product markup.

Some of us have learned, however, that perfect is second to best tasting most times. Those of you who visit farmers' markets may have noticed that the better fruit you bring home is never quite as good as the sample..and if you look closely at the sample, it's usually one with a brown spot or two.

I love white fleshed nectarines though it seems a little pricey for one plain nectarine uncut to be served as a dessert. Presentation is sorely lacking in my book.

For the sum of $4.50 I would have preferred the nectarine slices fanned around the pit with a small dollop of flavored whipped cream. Flavorings could range from a crystallized ginger mixed in with the whipped cream or vanilla bean whipped cream or even a more traditional flavor which compliment nectarines such as cinammon whipped cream. It's not as if simply partially slicing a nectarine is all that labor intensive and it does make for a more visually appealing dessert whether it's whipped cream or simply heavy cream.

Now that I live alone I've found I enjoy a small amount of heavy cream which has been lightly sweetened with either sugar or honey and poured over fruits such as nectarines, strawberries or white fleshed cherries. (something I'd never had before until my small grocer purchased a flat of the white fleshed cherries).

@fuuchan- the lady has long since retired, she opened up shop to put her kids through college & when they all graduated (they're dr's and lawyers now) she closed. it was a very very sad day- I agree she was the best at those cakes too!

@fiestyfoodie- I agree that the cart by HKS on allen & east broadway has the best rice rolls! especially the pig skin and the tripe... makes me want to go there now! haha.

This was a great review!

The mini cake carts aren't what they used to be...there was only one place and one place only to get those Hong Kong egg cakes, and that was from the old lady in the red shed on Church Street off of Mott.

The place is boarded up now, it looks the same as ever, as if one day it'll spring open and again and the lady will be there, prizing apart vast trays of steaming egg cakes with her tongs, or slipping ethereal rolled cookies into little baggies.

But no, I have no idea where she went and its been years since the little red shack was open last.

The egg cake carts don't make as good a product, they seem to skimp on ingredients and add artificial citrus flavors so there is no unctuous eggy goodness, just a weird orange after taste.

I'm going to go mourn the loss (again) now.

What a thorough post! I've never been to Wah Fung, but I'll definitely be going now. The roast pork looks crazy good. Thanks for the tip. As for Lunch Buffet, I always skip the soup they give you. It's usually cold and tastes like dishwater.

i'll be up in NYC at thanksgiving so me and the fiance (who has never been to the northeast) will probably pass through the area on our way to Little Italy. She loves Chinese food and heck, you can't get any better than up in New York.