#10 JOE'S SHANGHAI
Oh Joe's. Had I been making this list last year, this well-known Chinatown establishment would have easily been in the top two. Last year's memory of snagging a coveted table in the back of the restaurant, filling it up with our gang much to the chagrin of the parties of two waiting outside in the cold, and being introduced to the world of soup dumplings is such a happy one for me. Our New York locals explained that you bite a tiny hole in the soup dumpling so you can slurp all the delicious broth inside. And you must do this over your spoon so as to catch all that precious soup. Amazing!
But this is not last year. Just me and my sister this year, so we shared a big 10-seater table with another family. The waiter didn't even have to ask what we wanted. It was just, "How many you want?"
"One order of regular soup dumplings and green onion pancakes," we chirped, stomachs rumbling with great expectations.
But these were not the soup dumplings of my last year's memory. The dumplings got stuck to the cabbage leaves so by the time they made it to my plate, all the soup had fallen out. Also, the "famous" dumplings we ordered had pork (fine) and crab roe (I was trying to be adventurous). I think last time we may have ordered just the pork ones. Crab roe is not for everyone. Oh well.
Being that we were famished, when our order arrived, Steph and I decided we needed one more dish. Rather than go through the menu another time and delay gratification, we eyed the dishes our table mates were enjoying . . . lots of veggies, fish, beef broccoli (bleh!), shrimp and scallops -- ooh that's the one! We'll have one of those!
That's the last time I'm ordering from the table. When the check came, we found out that last dish was a "special" and cost $20. Lesson learned. Joe's Shanghai, you just squeezed your way into my top ten on a memory and because I like green onion pancakes so much! And that seafood dish was good . . . just not $20 good.
#9 EMPANADA MAMA
This is another one coming from last year's memories that I was looking forward to reliving. Last year's experience was so good that I scoured the internet for empanada recipes for days. I dreamed of empanadas, my mouth watered at the thought of them. So I had to go back.
I was alone on this day, so my one task of the afternoon was to conquer the mystery that is the New York subway and make my way to Hell's Kitchen, to a small but cheery little restaurant. When I got there, it was busy, so I felt a little awkward having a table of two for myself. To compensate, I ordered way too much:
Began with cassava and guacamole,
and went on to devour two Brasil empanadas filled with meat, onions, olives, and who knows what else.
Everything was really tasty, but I think eating alone put a damper on things. Being able to share the experience with someone makes all the difference in the world. So I ordered my dessert empanada (chocolate & banana) to go and enjoyed it in the comfort of Steph's apartment.
As in life, better things are still to come!
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