Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A Chinatown Sweet Treat
When in Chinatown, after a dim sum banquet or a noodle
joint, skip the feeble dessert offerings and head to one of my
favorite ice cream shops in the city, the
Chinatown Ice Cream
Factory
, 65 Bayard St., between Mott and Elizabeth streets
(
&
212/608-4170
). The ice cream here features Asian flavors
such as almond cookie, litchi, and an incredible green tea.
Tips
But I'm greedy and wouldn't leave the restaurant without one of its
shrimp dishes, especially the salt-baked shrimp. If your hotel has a
good-size refrigerator, take the leftovers home—they'll make a great
snack the next day. New York Noodletown keeps long hours, which
makes it one of the best late-night bets in the neighborhood, too.
28
1
⁄
2
Bowery (at Bayard St.).
&
212/349-0923.
Reservations accepted. Main
courses $4-$15. No credit cards. Daily 9am-3:30am. Subway: N, R, 6 to Canal St.
Pho Viet Huong
VIETNAMESE Chinatown has its own
enclave of Vietnamese restaurants, and the best is Pho Viet Huong.
The menu is vast and needs intense perusing, but your waiter will
help you pare it down. The Vietnamese know soup, and
pho,
a beef-
based soup served with many ingredients, is the most famous, but
the hot-and-sour
canh
soup, with either shrimp or fish, is the real
deal. The small version is more than enough for two to share while
the large is more than enough for a family. The odd pairing of bar-
becued beef wrapped in grape leaves is another of the restaurant's
specialties and should not be missed, while the
bun,
various meats
and vegetables served over rice vermicelli, are simple, hearty, and
inexpensive. You'll even find Vietnamese sandwiches here: French
bread filled with ham, chicken, eggs, lamb, and even pâté. All of the
above is best washed down with an icy cold Saigon beer.
73 Mulberry St. (btwn Bayard and Canal sts.).
&
212/233-8988.
Appetizers
$3-$8.50; soups $6-$7; main courses $10-$25. AE, MC, V. Sun-Thurs 10am-10pm;
Fri-Sat 10am-11pm. Subway: 6, N, R, Q to Canal St.
Value
3 Lower East Side
EXPENSIVE
Rayuela
NUEVO LATINO Rayuela bills its cuisine as
estilo
libre Latino
, meaning “freestyle Latino.” So the menu features a
hodgepodge of Latino foods; a little Peruvian here, a dash of Mexi-
can there, maybe a dollop of Cuba with a scoop of Spain. Like so
