This unprepossessive, unpretentious little restaurant serves some of the most lovingly made dumplings in the city.
It's true that I was wearing a loud Hawaiian shirt, a straw fedora, and carrying a large camera. So I was not shocked when the owner's wife came up to me and asked, "Are you the tourist?" I explained that I was born in Brooklyn, and that I was a lifelong New Yorker.
The place was not mobbed, despite the New York Times review that came out this morning. In fact, it was mostly regulars who came in for takeout. I ordered the pork belly gwa bao, an order of dry-aged beef potstickers, an order of juicy pork dumplings and, to go, sweet chili ribs.
The potstickers and dumplings, which come without dipping sauce, were both lovingly made, fresh, hot, and perfectly seasoned. The potstickers have intense beef flavor while the dumplings are more delicate. The gwa bao is basically a Momofuku pork bun laid flat with these differences: the pork is darker with deeper flavor and the pickle is topped with dry seasonings including sesame seeds. The bun, which was extremely fresh (I saw it come up from the basement uncooked moments earlier) could have been slightly more svelte, but then again, I try to take it easy on the carbs. The ribs, which I had later, were tender, "candied," and satisfying.
The owner, who is quite suave and experienced for someone running a snack shop, was welcoming and charming. He talked about how he wanted his cooking to be like the food one would cook for one's family, as opposed to the "business dumplings" sold in many Chinese restaurants, which are mostly gummy dough and "mystery meat."
Grade: A
471 16th Street, Park Slope, Brooklyn 929-295-0188
eastwindsnackshop.com
eastwind471@gmail.com
I had the same things and had similar thoughts. I also had the spring roll which was better than the average fare-- a bit greasy but delicate with better than the standard vegetables.
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