i'm suprised no one's commenting on Katy's article in the Trib from yesterday!!!!!!!!

I didn't see any article in the Tribne yesterday, but I went for lunch today with a client and I can report that Mr. Red Shirt (who was quite fetching in beige) was in fine spirits after having just returned from a family visit in Bejing. Everything was spot on today, including my new favorite dish, stir fried pork over pancake (I don't think this is the exact name of the dish, but it's close). The "pancake" actually turned out to be semi-crisp rice noodles that were cut to the size of matchstick potatoes and somwehat stuck togeher (hence the "pancake" name). I didn't have a camera with me or I'd be posting a picture of this dish now. I'll just have to go back soon to snap some fresh pictures.

It seems that I am not alone in singing the praises of shredded pork stir-fried with pancake.

Also earning raves was the shredded pork stir-fried with pancake, in which pancakes were julienned, turning them into flat, slightly stiff pseudo-noodles, a perfect complement to the tender, sweetish shredded pork.

mby385 wrote:i'm suprised no one's commenting on Katy's article in the Trib from yesterday!!!!!!!!

MYB,

3-stars, T Tsouderos seemed to like Katy's, except for the "sour yellow walls" and Dan Dan Noodles, which they found "one note". I'd give Katy's a straight up 4-stars, never really noticed the walls, and Dan Dan Noodles are what draws me there.

Overall a not-bad-at-all review

Enjoy,
Gary

As predicted. And as I said, good for Katy's.

[Edited to remove comments that go without saying regarding the apparent, but unnamed, source for the article]

mby385 wrote:i'm suprised no one's commenting on Katy's article in the Trib from yesterday!!!!!!!!

Hope it's not getting too popular as a result. I was there this evening and it was so crowded that I left without ordering. All tables were taken and there were 3-4 people in line at the counter. No one behind the counter as the owner was busy filling existing orders. The customers were mostly non-Chinese. One person was waiting for his carry out, and the owner was trying to figure out what that person had ordered in the first place. As I left, another large family came in. That place is not really designed for high volume, and I worry that if this continues, they may not be able to keep up.

G Wiv wrote:

mby385 wrote:i'm suprised no one's commenting on Katy's article in the Trib from yesterday!!!!!!!!

MYB,

3-stars, T Tsouderos seemed to like Katy's, except for the "sour yellow walls" and Dan Dan Noodles, which they found "one note". I'd give Katy's a straight up 4-stars, never really noticed the walls, and Dan Dan Noodles are what draws me there.

Overall a not-bad-at-all review

Enjoy,
Gary

Gary,

I agree. Typical of these entirely derivative reviews to add a sour note, as if to excuse being late to the fire, as it were. The criticism of the dan dan mein is particularly suspect. An exemplary dish with a complex profile, and the very dish that kicked off the Katy's discussion here. If that's intentional, it sucks.

As far as K's being too popular, I think its high time. My impression is that Mr Red will rise to the challenge and,I hope, create a big CA-type place.

PS, my mild indignation is based on the hard work that Sazerac did in his landmark post, which sums up why the present medium is superior for food discourse. My comments were easy to make but tough to follow up on considering Ks locale and physical plant. I'm anxiously awaiting the survey of carne en su jugo spots.

stevez wrote:I didn't see any article in the Tribne yesterday, but I went for lunch today with a client and I can report that Mr. Red Shirt (who was quite fetching in beige) was in fine spirits after having just returned from a family visit in Bejing. Everything was spot on today, including my new favorite dish, stir fried pork over pancake (I don't think this is the exact name of the dish, but it's close). The "pancake" actually turned out to be semi-crisp rice noodles that were cut to the size of matchstick potatoes and somwehat stuck togeher (hence the "pancake" name). I didn't have a camera with me or I'd be posting a picture of this dish now. I'll just have to go back soon to snap some fresh pictures.

Great call Steve
Funny thing today, he was outta pork so it was pancake with chicken. I had my camera, but I forgot to take a picture until I was knee deep in 'cake. Note, the picture hardly does justice to the satisfyingness-ness of the dish. Moreover, one should see the huge mound that is this dish when it first come to the table--Mr. Red Shirt was a bit dissapointed when he was packing up our cold noodles and szechwan noodles, but how much could one eat after this

I tried the "pancake" on a whim in June, and fell in love instantly. Here is what I said back then:

I had a glimpse of perfection yesterday after eating lunch at Katy's again, and thought other people might want to try it as well. On a whim, I tried the "Stir-fried onion pancake with shredded pork" item listed under the Homemade noodle section of the menu. What I got was a thick, julienned-type of dough that had the same chewiness as the noodles, but even more so. It was mixed with shredded pork, onions, carrots, etc in a similar sauce as the stir-fried noodle dish. Added a lot of chili oil, and I found nirvana. If you really like the chewiness of the noodles here, try this dish to take it over the top!

After that great picture from VI, I need to go back immediately for some more!

borborigmy wrote:I tried the "pancake" on a whim in June, and fell in love instantly. Here is what I said back then:

I had a glimpse of perfection yesterday after eating lunch at Katy's again, and thought other people might want to try it as well. On a whim, I tried the "Stir-fried onion pancake with shredded pork" item listed under the Homemade noodle section of the menu. What I got was a thick, julienned-type of dough that had the same chewiness as the noodles, but even more so. It was mixed with shredded pork, onions, carrots, etc in a similar sauce as the stir-fried noodle dish. Added a lot of chili oil, and I found nirvana. If you really like the chewiness of the noodles here, try this dish to take it over the top!

After that great picture from VI, I need to go back immediately for some more!

Hey Matt, great call too. I guess I only had Steve's post on my mind.

When the waitress tonight suggested the stir-fried onion pancake with shredded pork, I couldn't remember if it was something people had talked about or not (few of the above use the key word combo of "onion pancake"). But we ordered it anyway and it quickly became one of our new favorites here:



Not a great photo, I know, but you can see the thick pancake slices. Not over-oniony, tastes like a lot of stir-fry dishes with a little onion, but the texture puts it over the top. I think we'll be seeing a lot of this dish in the future.

Especially since we kind of screwed up and ordered a stir-fried noodle dish not realizing it was rice noodles. Which, given the wonderfulness of Katy's homemade (flour) noodles, is the equivalent of going into Honey 1 and ordering the hamburger, I know. But it seemed to entertain the kids, so it wasn't a total loss:



I wasn't wild about the potstickers the other time I had them, either, but they were terrific tonight. Maybe because I ordered fried, not steamed. Anyway, as good as any I've had.

Oh, and by the way Mr. Red Shirt was in purple tonight. Go figure.

we were there saturday around 3ish and it was packed with all of the tables beings chinese clientle except for 1. i stated "it looks like business is good." he simply smiled and nodded. the last time i was there - he was blasting the waitress for giving me the wrong order. theres gotta be something to this restaurant when you drive all the way from the city to buy dumplings and some of the other prepackaged dishes. mr. katy even give me another bag of dumplings and it took me a minute or so to realize he was saying it was buy two get one free. yum.

I was in there yesterday to get lunch-I was extra glad to hear about Katy's since I live a mile or two up Cass. I had the seemingly very popular stir fried noodles with shrimp and an order of the pork dumplings. The noodles were of course delicious as everyone has noted, but the dish itself could have used more spice (I made sure to ask for spice), though it should be noted that they were very busy at around 12:30 when I was in there. I also made sure to ask for the chili oil to go, but the oil they give you doesn't have the seeds or kick that the spice containers on the tables in the restaurant do, which is a good reason to dine in. The pork dumplings were great, and come with a small container of soy sauce when you get them to go. I did see other patrons having some fried dumplings, though-with a nice oil-crisp brown exterior. Has anyone tried their fried dumplings? If so, what kind are the ones to go with?

Trampas, the dumplings are the fried potstickers I (and others) referred to, and they're excellent.

One thing I meant to mention is that there seems to be a newly printed menu there (at least they were passing copies around freely this time, which I hadn't noticed before). The good stuff is all together in one section of the menu, which is basically the same as the sign on the wall to the right of the cash register. Order from that list and avoid the Chinese-American food on the rest of the menu, and you can't go too far wrong.

Mike G wrote: Order from that list and avoid the Chinese-American food on the rest of the menu, and you can't go too far wrong.

I actually saw two women order egg rolls last time I was there.

Frank Herbert fans, I guess.

Tried the stir-fried onion pancake with shredded pork today for the first time. It was good but a little oily I thought. I prefer the stir fried noodles with dry chili (which can also be a little oily sometimes). Also had the pot stickers, which were outstanding as usual. They were so filled with liquid that if I tried to bite into them, the liquid would fly all over. Had to resort to putting the whole pot sticker into my mouth, which could only be done after they had cooled off sufficiently. They are too hot when they arrive at the table. I admire the fact that they make the pot stickers fresh after you order them (i.e. steam the frozen ones and then pan fry them). In other Chinese places, the pot stickers are lying around for who knows how long. Katy's is amazing.

You guys have to stop! Some of this stuff is just too good.

Had a chance to stop and get some shredded pork stirfry on pancake, dumplings and beef noodle soup to go last night.

The dumplings are outstanding! You bite in and the wonderful juice fills your mouth. The lightly sharp taste of the onion and fresh garlic... My wife thinks there is a touch of curry in there too.

I didn't try the shredded pork until late and reheated but that was good too. Soup is still in the fridge.

It was tough to put the dumplings down and 10 for $4.

Life is good.

Wow. I haven't been to Katy's in like a year or 2, can't remember, and just stumbled upon this thread, raving about it. The place is so divey looking, but man, the spicy cold noodles rock my world! I have to go back, soon. Definitely worth the 30 minute drive!

LTH,

Flip presented Katy's Dumpling House with the LTHForum GNR Award yesterday at lunch, pictures may be found here.

Mr. 'Red Shirt' seemed to enjoy the moment.


Enjoy,
Gary

looking at the pictures in the GNR presentation thread, did they recently get new plates?

dudefella wrote:looking at the pictures in the GNR presentation thread, did they recently get new plates?

Yes, new plates and new bowls since they returned from their China trip.

I am finding that the food here is getting a little oily nowadays. I have had the stir fried noodles with dry chilli and the shredded pancake with onion a few times recently, and every time I have felt that there should have been a little less oil.

I swung by Katy's for my no-more-Thanksgiving-leftovers dinner last night, and it was fantastic as always, greasy yes, but the onion pancake and the stir-fried noodles were terrific.

One complaint: the door is now plastered with stuff, the Trib review, Dolinsky's photo and certificate, the Time Out blurb... everything, of course, except the one from the place that started it all, the LTHForum Great Neighborhood Restaurants award.

What we need to do is, every time we go into Katy's, congratulate Mr. Red Shirt on winning it and tell him he should put it up. He knows it's a big deal for someone to be on the TV, he doesn't know it's a big deal to be on the Internet, yet realistically which do you think has driven more business to his place? (At least he probably wouldn't have been in the other media without the love he got here.) Let's put people power to work-- eat at Katy's this week, and then LTH-love-bomb them.

I did my best to walk the staff through this the weekend before T-Giving. I'm not sure that the owners know that the LTH award is different from one of the others on the door. The language barrier can be tough there, once you aren't talking about food.

12.12.06

Red Shirt -Yes
LTHForum GNR -No
Food terrific -Yes

Behold, the serenity attained with a bowl of Katy’s soup.

Menu's for your pre-dining pleasure



Menu front

Menu page 1
Menu page 2
Menu page 3
.

Katy’s menu for the lunch specials (menu page 2 above) is not accurate. I was there and they told me that they no longer give you crab Rangoon, but an egg roll.

My problem: they told me this when they gave me the egg roll and I asked about the crab. I had the shrimp in garlic sauce extra hot. It was great. The egg roll was not.

D.

dodger wrote:Katy’s menu for the lunch specials (menu page 2 above) is not accurate. I was there and they told me that they no longer give you crab Rangoon, but an egg roll.

My problem: they told me this when they gave me the egg roll and I asked about the crab. I had the shrimp in garlic sauce extra hot. It was great. The egg roll was not.

D.

It always amazes me when I go to Katy's and see someone eating either carb rangoon or egg rolls. I even saw a woman order chop suey once.