Afternoon Snack: Chicken Bun from Double Crispy Bakery

It's late afternoon and dinner is a few hours away. Where do you get a quick bite to carry you through the day? Afternoon Snack looks at quick bites to tide you over without spoiling dinner. Got a snack we should check out? Let us know. —The Mgmt.

[Photograph: Max Falkowitz]

This baked Chicken Bun ($.90) from Double Crispy Bakery in Chinatown isn't like your typical bakery bao—it's more like the Chinese rendition of a pot pie. The dough has the typical sweetness of steamed and baked buns, but with a more coarse, sandy crumb, a slightly nutty pie crust flavor, and crisp edges. The filling is mostly soft, sweet onions, not chicken, but the chicken-y gravy they're suspended in is a dead ringer for roux-thickened white sauce, with the same kind of soft, sweet-savory flavor.

In other words, this is a weird thing, but it's less sweet than most other savory bao in Chinatown, and on the large size for buns of its price, and totally satisfying in an American comfort food way without discounting its Chinese bakery roots. A must-buy for the Chinatown snacker who's looking for a different kind of bao.

Double Crispy Bakery

230 Grand Street, New York, NY 10013 (map) 212-966-6929