I Discover Dragon Court in Chinatown

I Discover Dragon Court in Chinatown

Inspired by MikeG’s reminder that we should all be explorers (or something like that), I got off the 21 Bus at Cermak after having had a pleasant chat with fellow public transiter Gus of Wiener and Still Champion, who’s working on a sandwich named after a local personality (but that’s hush-hush and strictly on the QT) and walked through Chinatown in search of a place I’d never eaten before.

Prowling down side streets I cut back to Wentworth and ran into ReneG, another solitary predator, in search of new lands of deliciousness.



ReneG mentioned he’d never been to Dragon Court, right across the street from us, so I figured if he hadn’t been, no one had, so I went over for a snack. I wasn’t looking for a big dinner (basically something green and healthy to balance an afternoon of high protein/high fat snacks at NRA). Sitting down, I spotted a big table covered with pea shoots; it was love at first sight:



I ordered a plate, just the shoots and some garlic.



Now, this dish ran me almost $12, which at the time seemed like a lot, but it’s very labor intensive getting those shoots separated, tough lower stem from more tender upper shoots, and this big bowl of green crunchiness was a perfect counterbalance to an afternoon of eating nothing very fresh.

There were a few other items on the menu that caught my interest:
• Mustard with Salted Egg and Slice Pork Soup (I’m guessing that’s mustard greens, always a friend to pork)
• Beef Soup West Lake Style

Much of the rest of the menu was devoted to the predictable General Tso, Moo Shu, and so on – still, a belly full of pea shoots was a fine feeling.

My thrill of discovery was only slightly diminished by the recognition that one other had planted a flag before me.



Dragon Court
2414 S. Wentworth Avenue
Chicago, IL 60616

David Hammond wrote:My thrill of discovery was only slightly diminished by the recognition that one other had planted a flag before me.

At this point, he's basically like a compulsory deity; it does clutter the ba gua, but why rock the boat (the lesser-known sixth vital qi: Steve).

Note to U of C students - you have my permission to repurpose my abandoned EALC thesis title:

2005 wrote:The dao lin shi of Dolinsky: politics of patronage and visage in New Chinatown

Still, good find, David. You are truly the Robert Falcon Scott to his Roald Amundsen. I'm just going outside for a moment...