I should no longer be surprised. I mean, come on - the best cheeseburger I've ever had was in Tokyo. Still, I was shocked at how juicy and delicious the dumplings were at Eton, a hole in the wall spot smack in the middle of leafy, brownstone Brooklyn. You can get good dumplings off Smith Street in Brooklyn? Yes, you actually can.
We came with no expectations - I'd never heard of the place, just caught a glimpse of it as I wandered up Smith St. We got an order of five dumplings - a mixture of beef and pork. They were so juicy that I nearly seared my leg. Here's a shot of the juice that seeped out as we ate them. They were really inexpensive - something like $3 or $4 in total.
The dumplings took a while to make so we got a couple of pork buns. They were ok, not oustanding. I've never quite found ones like Ippudo serves so I'm always kinda disappointed. Pingles pointed out that the Ippudo version are super-fatty and that's why I like them so much - no argument there.
During an earlier visit I had a Hawaiian-styled shaved ice. It's like a slurpee but with better flavor - I really enjoyed it. As you can see, the menu is small - dumplings, shaved ice and pork buns. I think they replace the shaved ice with ramen in the winter.
Can you find better dumplings in Chinatown? Perhaps. Though, for me, that's not the point. I'm happy to have something different than the norm on Smith Street, close to home.
359 Sackett St
Brooklyn
I have to say this lunch was really enjoyable :)
ReplyDeleteThey do take their dumplings very seriously - all dumplings are only prepared after you order and hence each dumpling order is abt 15 mins.
Definitely be coming back!!
Dumplings, yeah! One of my favorite things to eat; I almost don't care what's inside either. Do they come steamed and fried?
ReplyDelete@Sal - oh, I think you do care what comes in em or you wouldn't mind some nice brain dumplings, huh? How bout that?
ReplyDelete@Puffin - yep, you better not be in a hurry for your dumplings in this place, they take a while.
ReplyDelete