Chinatown

I’m always skeptical about restaurants with signed pictures of celebrities adorning the walls, particularly those in Chinatown. But what better thing to do during the storm of the century than hail a gypsy cab to a crossed off street below canal for dumplings and steamed pork buns....

The food at Joe’s Shanghai was unremarkable, but it did get me thinking about “ambiance” and I’m not just talking about it in the way suggested by “hip” spots with strange verbs and nouns for names like “Bed” or “Smash.” I’m talking about ambiance in the memorable sense that includes the look of the street, the company you dine with, the noise in the background, the way you are greeted. And all these reasons are why elements of the evening like falling in a snow drift and getting yelled at by the hostess in Chinese for having an odd number of people don’t discourage me, but rather laugh and consider the experience worth the while.

More dumplings for us...



All smiles on Mulberry Street