Posted by Joe DiStefano, September 24, 2008 at 2:30 PM
Since I live so close to two of the city’s greatest Chinatowns, Elmhurst and Flushing, I hardly ever take the hour-plus subway ride out to the Brooklyn Chinatown in Sunset Park. But when someone raved to me about Yun Nan Flavour Snack I knew had to undertake the trek. After all I’m all about flavor and I love snacks. Plus I’d never heard of any spot in the city that offers fare from China’s southernmost province, which borders Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Even though it required two transfers and the D train was running slower than molasses, I’m glad I made the trip.
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Posted by Gordon Mark, September 18, 2008 at 1:00 PM
When I came across this article on "Eight Great Noodle Dishes In New York City," my interest piqued, to say the least. Running through the list, I wanted to try all three and of course, was hungry. One recommendation that surprised me was the "dry" Hu Tieu at Cong Ly.
"Cong Ly? I walk by that place all the time!" I thought. So I decided to check it out.
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Posted by Ed Levine, July 1, 2008 at 11:00 PM
Photographs by Robyn Lee
Matsugen
241 Church Street New York, NY 10013 (at Leonard Street; map); 212-925-0202
Service: Knowledgeable (which isn't easy given the intricacies of the menu) and attentive, with a refreshing lack of downtown attitude and cool
Setting: They have warmed up the all-white, Sleeper-like design of Richard Maier considerably
Compare It To: Nobu, Soto, Bar Masa
Must-Haves: Inaku soba with goma-dare (sesame sauce), sea urchin with yuzu jelly, Kurobuta pork loin shabu shabu, grilled Kurobuta pork belly, grapefruit jelly
Cost: This will vary wildly depending on what you order. It could be anywhere from $60 to $125 for three courses, including a glass of wine, tax, and tip
Grade: B+ overall. (Meals can range from an A to a B, depending on what you order)
There are so many misconceptions floating around about Matsugen that I feel compelled to debunk all of them before proceeding any further.
Misconception No. 1: Jean-Georges Vongerichten is the chef at Matsugen.
Fact: He didn't even consult on the menu, although because he was asked, he contributed his now-legendary molten chocolate cake recipe (albeit this time accompanied by green tea ice cream). Matsugen is the first mainland U.S. restaurant opened by the Matsushita brothers, high-end Japanese restaurateurs (three of whom are currently working here) who own restaurants in Japan and Hawaii. Vongerichten absolutely adores Japanese food, thinks very highly of the brothers and their restaurants, needed a concept to install at the old 66 space, and made a deal as a restaurateur to bring in Matsugen. If Matsugen were a movie, Vongerichten would be an executive producer or maybe the producer, not the director. The first title card of the Matsugen movie might read Jean-Georges Vongerichten Presents.
Misconception No. 2: Matsugen is a noodle bar.
Fact: Wrong, wrong, wrong, as my son used to say when he was seven. There are some truly amazing rough-grained soba noodles made in-house served at Matsugen, but most of the menu is not noodle-based. In fact, most of the menu at the restaurant looks surprisingly like your neighborhood Japanese restaurant. There's sushi, sashimi, tempura, and shabu-shabu. No ice cream tempura, thank God.
Misconception No. 3: Matsugen is ridiculously expensive and overpriced.
Fact: There are a few very expensive items at Matusgen (Japanese Wagyu beef, seared fatty bluefin tuna), but that's because the ingredients themselves are very expensive. If you order carefully, you can eat very well here for less than $60 a head. It may not be the most exciting meal of your life, but it may be the most authentic contemporary Japanese meal you can get in this country.
Now that we've gotten all of this out of the way, let's get to the food.
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Posted by Gordon Mark, May 27, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Editor's note: It's time for another guide from our intern extraordinaire and resident Manhattan Chinatown expert, Gordon Mark. You may remember his Guide to Bakeries in Manhattan's Chinatown, posted here last month. Now, he has set his sights on soup noodles, ladling out an equally impressive guide to navigating the food in Manhattan's Chinatown. —Zach
Manhattan's Chinatown is a huge neighborhood that just seems to keep growing. Although it's a good thing that the neighborhood offers a nearly endless number of eateries, you may be overwhelmed by all the choices. Where do you go on an empty stomach? What do you order? Sometimes, when you're faced with such a wealth of options, it's best to narrow your focus a bit. So, following that bit of advice, we're excited to present a guide to soup noodles in Chinatown. As in our guide to Chinatown bakeries, this post will cover what's available in the "main" part of Chinatown (between the Canal Street and Grand Street subway stations). Also, this guide doesn't cover pho or hand-pulled noodles—those tasty bowls of goodness will be dealt with in future Chinatown guides.
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Posted by Ed Levine, April 8, 2008 at 8:30 AM
Ippudo's Karaka-men, from Cocktailian on Flickr
For some serious eaters both here and especially in Japan, ramen noodles are a religion. They worship at the altar of firm noodles made in-house, intensely flavorful broth, and the porkiest of pork slices. I, on the other hand, am a ramen noodle agnostic. At least until now. Until this weekend, my favorite ramen noodles in New York have been the mighty tasty made-in-Chinatown noodles served with tender, delicious pork and wonderful broth at Momofuku. Ramen purists have scoffed at Momofuku's noodle preparations because the restaurant's chef-owner, David Chang, did not train as a legitimate ramen chef (though he did work briefly in a ramen shop in Tokyo).
Because I know it's not politically or culinarily correct to anoint ramen noodles not made in the restaurant they're served in, I decided to go ramen-hunting this weekend. What I found was surprising and delightful. I finally found ramen noodles made in-house served with killer broth and fantastically porky pork. In other words, I found ramen noodles worthy of worship and worth waiting for.
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