We're soup dumpling-mad. When we go to a Shanghai-style Chinese restaurant, all too often we order soup dumplings, perhaps before we even sit down. But sometimes it pays to slow down and pay attention to the rest of the dumpling menu. On a recent visit to the excellent Shanghai Café Deluxe, our eyes lit on something called rice ball with pork in soup ($3.95). What a novel idea—dumplings in soup, rather than dumplings with soup inside them. More

"I cannot believe this costs two dollars" was my first thought as we unwrapped the pancake with pork ($2) from Henan Flavor (full review here). More

You may know this place as "The Chatham Square restaurant next to the more famous Chatham Square." And I'll admit that were 6 Chatham Square not closed for renovations, I never would have stepped into Hop Shing next door. The place looks like its last redesign was in the 70's and they stopped halfway, but it's a charming (in its own way) little spot with some surprising bites if you're lucky. More

If you walk down Elizabeth Street towards Hester Street in Chinatown map, you could think, just for a minute, that you're seeing double. Or maybe there's a crack in the wall between parallel universes and you're getting a glimpse of the other side.* But yes, you are seeing straight. There's a rice roll cart (a lot like this) on the Northwest corner of the intersection—and a seemingly identical cart (down to the boxes and tarp that hold it together) on the Northeast corner. Last week, Robyn and I set out to see which cart should be crowned as the top rice roll on Elizabeth and Hester. More

I first became aware of the pancake with egg ($1.75) from Henan Flavor (full review here) when Dave Cook over at Eating in Translation jokingly called it a "Egg McHenan". A Henanese egg sandwich? Man, I was there. More

The grass sandwich ($8) is one of two veggie-friendly options on the menu, and it's good enough to compete with some of the more meaty options. Roasted beets, mashed butternut squash, fried goat cheese, and arugula is served on delicate, light flauto. The bread has just the right amount of crust to not overwhelm the rest of the sandwich, important for one built on simple ingredients. More

When we heard Los Angeles chef and street food lover Susan Feniger (Border Grill, Street) would be in town and wanted to meet up for lunch, we knew this wouldn't just be a one-stop lunch. Since SEHQ is located in that magical nexus of Chinatown and Little Italy, where it's actually difficult to spend more than three bucks for a hefty meal (or meal-sized snack), it becomes our civic duty to take out-of-towners on a roving lunch crawl. Especially true serious eaters like Susan. More

[Photograph: Max Falkowitz] If you're like me, having a salad for lunch tastes like defeat most of the time. I'll take green vegetables for lunch—even as my lunch—but I want them to have a little more heft than some... More

Sometimes small sandwiches can be the most satisfying, especially when they erupt with porky juice on first bite. This pork and cabbage pancake ($1.50) is an even more portable version of Tasty Dumpling's gorgeously juicy pork and cabbage potsticker filling. More

Look for the Apricot-Almond muffin ($3), a hearty number with toasty slivered almonds scattered over the top. The slightly crunchy exterior gives way to a moist interior, with a generous portion of dried apricots. More