dresese

Rickshaw Dumpling Bar

There is a distinct lack of nice food in the 1-block radius of my office. All there is are chain restaurants. Maffei Pizza is good, but that's about it, and even there is almost exclusively take-out. So I was excited in November to hear that a new restaurant called Rickshaw Dumpling Bar is opening a block north of our office. Not only an interesting sounding restaurant, but dumplings! I love dumplings! And there is no dumpling activity even remotely near my office. I couldn't wait.

So, in November, I went over and checked it out. It was still closed. I went back in late November. Still closed. I went back a few times in December. Still closed. In January, it was still closed. Then I hear it is supposed to open in February on the first Monday. I go there with some coworkers, but it is closed. Someone with a video camera is there, and tells me it will be open at the end of the week. I go back on Friday, and there is a sign saying it will be open next week. I know other people are frustrated because when I'm looking at that sign, other people stop by, look at the sign, and mutter some curses. Then I hear definitely it will open on Thursday next week. So I go there, and it is indeed open, and the line is so long, they tell me it is closed for lunch due to the backup.

So, Friday, I went back early with coworkers and got there when there was no crowd. They had several types of dumplings, and you could get each dumpling steamed or fried, and with a salad or in a soup. I got vegetarian dumplings, fried, in a soup.

The dumplings were great, perfectly seasoned, with a thin well-made wrapping. They could have been more fried, but it was no big deal. The soup was less good, and needed more salt at the least. But the service was quick and efficient.

When we finished, the line was huge. Now I know, go before 12:30.

One more interesting thing. The woman I saw before with the camera was there today too, filming the workers. Evidently this is part of some MTV reality-show about immigrants' first years in the country, and they are filming one of the workers specifically.