Home of the best $1 dumpling deal in town, this Chinatown mainstay is looking a lot spiffier these days. Back when it was known only as Dumpling House, it was half as wide, twice as dirty, and usually steamy from the vats of cooking dumplings. The long line of locals waiting outside was the only sign that anything tasty was going going on in there, and speaking Chinese certainly helped in jockeying to be the next order. Now with snappy new signage and a relatively spacious seating area, this feels like a whole new place. Fortunately, the dumplings still rock.

They’re pricier now (4 for $1 instead of 5) but it’s worth it. Get the pork and chive dumplings–fried-crisp yet tender pockets of juicy pork (defuse an embarrassing squirt of juice by nibbling a hole in your dumpling first, instead of biting it in half, similar to eating a soup dumpling). The sesame pancake sandwiches, at $1.50-$2.00, are one of the best deals around. Sesame pancake is a fluffy, buttery wedge of flatbread studded with sesame seeds and stuffed with fillings, like fried egg and cucumber ($1.50) or pork, cucumber, carrots, and cilantro ($2.00). The pork sandwich was my favorite although ideally there would be more filling to balance out the thick, greasy bread. I thought the just-barely-spicy hot and sour soup with tofu and mushrooms was okay, but I loved the fact that a hefty bowl was only $1.25. The only thing I didn’t like was the steamed vegetable bun, which was oddly rubbery. Fried is obviously the way to go here.

The menu (expanded from the one on menupages) is packed with items that cost under $3, so no surprise it gets busy here during the evening rush and orders may take ten or fifteen minutes. But the pork dumplings are undeniably delicious and so cheap it feels like stealing. There’s also a 14th St. location, expect to pay more there.

Vanessa’s Dumpling House, 118a Eldridge Street between Grand and Broome
7:30am-10:30pm every day
Frozen dumplings available 50/$9.00

The words “Asian Chipotle” floated through my mind the first time I entered Rickshaw Dumpling Bar–and not just because it’s next door to one. There’s a spotless, minimalistic look to both haute fast food places, like they’re gunning for an Apple Store crowd that’s “evolved” past McNuggets. Actually in concept, Rickshaw reminds me a little of “Top Chef” judge Tom Colicchio’s sandwich bar ‘wichcraft in that a celebrity chef (in this case “Iron Chef” Anita Lo) ventures to elevate one lowly food item with fresh ingredients and sleek packaging.

Rickshaw’s perplexingly laid-out menu touts six varieties of dumplings, steamed or fried, paired with one of six dipping sauces ($5.55/6 pieces $7.77/9 pieces). For $3.33 extra you can add one of six salads or soups. On my first trip I was, admittedly, a little let down. The classic pork-and-chive dumplings were fine, but unmemorable in their bland soy sauce, and the steamed mustard green and tofu dumplings tasted like a ball of wet salad in a flaccid wrapper, with a strangely buttery herb sauce. But then, an unexpected twist–I kept getting dumpling urges, and I kept going back to Rickshaw. Maybe it was the severely undercooked chicken dumplings I had at old standby Dumpling Man, or maybe, as my workdays grew longer, going to Chinatown for dumplings seemed like too much of a pain in the ass. Sure, in Chinatown you can get six delicious dumplings for a dollar. But, in my experience, you’ll very likely stand in a long, steamy line, gazing at the occasional cockroach, while the counter-people do their damnedest not to notice you unless you’re Chinese.

Anyway, convenience and freshness can sometimes help my tastes fall into line, and I’m enjoying Rickshaw’s dumplings more the third and fourth times around–especially the fried Thai chicken dumplings with peanut dipping sauce and a serviceably large and fresh green side salad. True, this does set me back almost $10, but if my time is money, I probably just saved some by not venturing downtown. I plan to try the Peking duck dumplings next.

The real surprise was how much I liked the chocolate dumplings ($1.50/each). Although they sound (and posibly look) like a bad idea, these round balls of chewey rice dough, crusted in sesame seeds and filled with warm molten Callebut chocolate weren’t too sweet, and were definitely creamy and delicious. Be sure to diffuse the squirtyness by poking a hole in them, or use the Rickshaw-supplied chocolate dumpling bib.

Rickshaw Dumpling Bar, 53 East 8th Street between Greene and Mercer Mon-Sat 11:30-10pm Sun 11:30-9:30pm
Also in Chelsea: 61 West 23rd St between 5th and 6th Avenue Mon-Sat 11:30-9:30pm Sun 11:30-8:30pm