cold sesame noodles.
Are one of the best things on the face of the earth. My buddies and I made an excursion into Chinatown a few nights back when Epistrophy, Kenmare, La Esquina, and some other random Vietnamese place were all no-gos.
Anyway, a friendly inebriated stranger (who was not Elena Kagan much to my dismay) suggested 69 Bayard which is between Mott and Elizabeth. Portions: HUGE. Prices: low. Lots of options- a good Chinese 24 hour joint with dollar bills taped over every square in of wallspace.*
My friends got friend dumplings (which looked gross, but good enough to eat if one eats meat), egg drop soup, and bean curd w/ black beans. I clearly got the eponymous title dish.
Cold sesame noodles were introduced to me by a friend in 6th grade. My life has not been the same since. Sunny Garden (also a closed resto in my hometown) used to serve the best: sauce on top, lots of cucumber - you control the sauce mixing. But this other place, Tiger Noodles is also money in the bank. (Seriously, people lose their shit over their dumplings.) One time I’d like to make my own using soba noodles and maybe black sesame seeds? I think that’d be an interesting twist. Actually it looks like you can get something akin to it from Xi’an Famous Foods which has locations on St. Marks, midtown, and in Flushing. Anyway, in the summer it’s a refeshing dish and I’m quite peanut and sesame-partial, so there you have it. If you’re drunk in Chinatown, (or sober in Princeton because you’d have to drive/ they close early) check it out!
*I’d like to take a moment to belatedly mourn the passing of the Burmese Resto on 7th st. b/w 2nd and Cooper Union. Any place with a tree that has dollar bills taped to it should be in business forever. You will be sorely missed by many stomachs.
