dishes that last

I was out in DC last week for work and stayed the weekend to play--an experience that happy_stomach described in this thread. The night before hs arrived, I made my way from my hotel over to Dupont Circle and went to City Lights of China, a very good Chinese restaurant that's nowhere near DC's tiny Chinatown but is very authentic and unpretentious. I ordered a dish that I had probably first tasted in 1992: shredded pork with hot pepper. It was just as good as it had been in 1992 and as good as the time I had last had it in 2000 or so. The pork was flavorful and the peppers provided real heat. It got me thinking about how many chefs had worked at the same restaurant over the years and how many different people had created an experience that to me was the same and wonderful each time. I know McDonald's is the same over time, but it got me wondering about what the life span of stalwart independent restaurant is. I hope City Lights is still around and serving shredded pork with hot pepper in 2024.

Funny, but reading your post, the first place that came to mind was a restaurant I ate at when I was about 13 and then again at age 21 (this is a few decades ago), but haven't been to since, as it's a five-hour drive. But I did a search, and the rave reviews it's still getting suggest I wouldn't be disappointed if I went back. It's Gabatoni's in Springfield, IL. The first time I ate there (I was visiting historic sites with my family), it was the best pizza I'd ever had. When I had it again 8 years later (on a trip to the state fair with a friend), my memory of the pizza did not exceed the reality. It was fabulous. Now, after reading your post, I want to go back and check it again -- especially since all the online reviews say it's the same.

Other than that, the only place I can think of that I liked as a kid that's even still in business is Walker Brothers -- at least on this continent. In London, Simpson's in the Strand and Rules have never left me down -- though I've got a longer history with Simpson's, which I first enjoyed when I was 14. (I've got a copy of the menu from back then -- prices have climbed considerably since my first visit!) At Simpson's, I always have roast beef. At Rules, I always have the Stilton soup followed by wild highland red deer. Wonderful.

I can think of a few such dishes that I have had over the years. All interestingly enough, are from Chinese or Cuban Chinese places. Maybe it's my youth I long for more than these particular dishes.

The first is (was) a Szechuan Chili Chicken dish served at the Greenwich Village outpost of "Mama Buddah", a Chinese American joint on Hudson Street in the West Village of NYC which sadly closed in late 2007. It was essentially a really crispy hot version of Tony's Three Chili Chicken without the somewhat sweet glaze that the dish gets at Lao Sze Schuan. It was definitely a more savory dish than the one served here n Chicago. The place was an unpretentious, dumbed down Ameri-Chinese place that served more Americans than Asians on a given night. If I was ever in New York for more than a couple of days , I made a point to stop by for lunch or dinner. I ate that dish for almost twenty years in that location before the restaurant closed this year.

The second was a different but enjoyable version of Ropa Viejo served at La Chinita Linda on Eight Avenue inn Chelsea. The soft simmered beef was served with a somewhat thick tomato based sauce and a huge pile of fluffy yellow rice and beans. It was one of my great dining our treats in my poorer and hungrier days of my 20s. It is a dish that I would gladly eat today if |I could only find a place that served it. La Chinita Linda was pushed out of business by rising Eighth Avenue Rents in 2007.

Growing up as a kid in a rather unsophisticated southern town, eating out usually meant Chinese after church on Sunday. For me that meant a big dish of Wor Su Gai, deep fried, battered chicken over a bed of iceberg, covered with a brown sauce and sliced toasted almonds. When i returned for my grandmother's funeral ten years ago, and was asked to choose where to have a family meal after, I chose the place where we had shared so may Sunday lunches many years ago and chose the dish that was representative iof what we often ate at those meals.

I'd love to find Wor Su Gai today. But, it, like pressed almond duck, seems to be from a past era on Chinese American menus.

about eight or nine years ago I ate at NY's Union Square Cafe. I was on one of my first trips to NY and while it was business, I was staying on for a bit to see some of the town. I had just seen my first Broadway musical (Bernadette Peters in Annie Get Your Gun) and was looking for a place to eat afterwards and I had wanted very badly to try this restaurant. That whole meal was magical to me but the highlight (besides the lovely dessert wine the bartender from Michigan gave me gratis (I was sitting at the bar alone and we bonded over our midwest roots) was a simple dish of Tuscan beans -- dripping with lovely oil and garlic and sage. I had never eaten beans that good before and frankly, haven't had them that good since. They were luscious and fragrant and hearty -- i think it was one of the first times I had ever really understood what the glory of eating simple food done brilliantly was all about. Silly me.

My very first baguette from Paris was like that too - and that was long before artisanal bread was popular here in the States.

YourPalWill wrote:I'd love to find Wor Su Gai today. But, it, like pressed almond duck, seems to be from a past era on Chinese American menus.

Wor Su Gai used to be on the menu at Far East on Diversey (pre fire). You might want to check there in case they are still serving it. If not, their sister restaurant, Pekin House on Devon probably still serves it. Their menu hasn't changed since the 50's (except for the prices).

Far East
514 W Diversey Pkwy
Chicago, IL
773-935-6550

Pekin House
2311 W Devon Ave
Chicago, IL
773-465-1630