Midtown lunch at Rickshaw Dumpling Bar

Though my day job requires that I spend my days in TriBeCa, a couple of weeks ago I found myself at a Midtown meeting. And anyone whose ever spent anytime in Midtown knows that lunch options are sparse. Aside from the salad bar bodegas, its pretty slim pickins. So you can imagine my excitement when a co-worker introduced me to Rickshaw Dumpling Bar, a fast food - Chinese take out hybrid located on 23rd between 5th & 6th Ave. Since dumplings are one of my favorite aspects of Asian cuisine, I was pretty over the moon about the new lunch find. Not to mention the fact that affordable TriBeCa lunch options are also pretty sparing and a girl can only have so many tomato soups and grilled cheese sandwiches a la 'wichcraft (ok, I'll be honest, I pretty much OD'd on this lunch combo during the cooler months, so anything new came as a refreshing change). Let's just say that if Rickshaw were closer to my place of employment, I'd be a frequent lunchtime visitor. Since I'm a sampler, it was quite enjoyable that I found two lunch companions with a penchant for sharing...and sampling.

The carnivorous and pork-deprived eater that I am gravitated directly to the Classic Pork dumplings. In my personal opinion, Asian food is really best when it features pork. Take the classics - moo shu, lo mein, dumplings - they're just not the same with chicken. Anyhow, I got myself an order of pork dumplings that did not disappoint.

My oh-so-generous colleagues offered up a taste of theirs and who was I to turn it down? That is, after all, how I got to sample the Peking Duck dumpling. I should interject here and tell you that I typically do not eat duck (and Shaun winces as I tell you this, since he and my sister Kim enjoyed what they refer to as the best meal of their lives when we traveled in Budapest with duck as the major star...but I digress...). It's a bit greasy for my taste, and this dumpling was no different. It was, however, rather tasty. And while I probably wouldn't order it on my own, if you like duck, you would probably like this little guy.

And for all of you vegetarians out there, we also sampled the Vegetarian Edamame dumpling. It was a fun twist on an Asian favorite. Would I substitute the pork variety for the edamame? No way, Jose. But for a vegetarian option? I'll take it. And no, it in no way comes remotely close to the wonder of the Land vegetable dumpling - yep, the ones that I claim changed my life and love so unconditionally that I even made a vid about 'em.

Lastly (and no, I usually do not eat this much for lunch, but when in Midtown...), I sampled the Chocolate Shanghai Soup Dumpling. This one was eaten with caution my friends. Filled with dark, liquidy chocolate, could you just imagine this thing exploding all over your clothes? Yeah, I've had nightmares about it. But it is pretty darn delightful and truly unique to boot.

So there you have it...a tale of my Midtown lunch. This is the only city locale, though I've heard stories of a Rickshaw Dumpling truck traveling around lower Manhattan. I haven't investigated this myself, but any info you could share would be greatly appreciated! But how about you...what do you eat for lunch at work? Any local faves? Any places that you wish were a smidge closer to the office?

Galanga Red Curry Chicken...in Cash

Last week, in addition to my cereal-topped Phileo Yogurt, I had dinner with Kimberly and Lindsey at Galanga, a teeny Thai restaurant in the Village. I know, I've been doing a lot of Village-ing, but when you are so close to a neighborhood so fabulous, why wouldn't I? Anyhow, like most Thai restaurants, Galanga is a low priced, cramped tabled casual joint with exposed brick and chairs that make your back and bootie hurt for the rest of the night. Depite those things, all of which are expected at a small Thai place, the food was goooood.

I dined on red curry chicken, one of my favorite Thai dishes. I'm always wary of heat levels in food, especially red curry, I took a chance on this one because...well, I was really, really in the mood for it. Just the right amount of spice and bamboo shoots a plenty made this dish a solid red curry that did not scream 'mass production'. The broth was more brothy and less creamy which hopefully meant a slightly healthier twist (though I'm always a fan of a creamier broth...who wouldn't be?).

My gripe on Galanga, aside from the uncozy seating? Their cash only policy. What up with that? I mean, really...I can swipe my debit card at the local bodega for a $1.50 cup of coffee, but a legit Thai restaurant in the Village is cash only? I don't mean to knock it, since I've been known to have a cash-carrying problem, but still...cash only? What are your thoughts on this? Are you ok with restaurants only accepting cash? Are you happy to pay cash only if it keeps you on a stricter budget? If the food's good enough...does cash only matter?

Phileo Yogurt

Earlier this week, my friend Lindsey introduced my sister Kim and me to Phileo Yogurt, a small fro-yo place in the Village. In what I've deemed a Pinkberry-Tasti Delite hybrid, Phileo kicks it up a notch on the fun meter with self-service yogurt stations. Don't I look like I'm having a blast?

With a wall of 10+ yogurt machines, there's really a flavor for everyone. While Tasti D is one of my all-time favorites, somehow I just haven't jumped on the Pinkberry bandwagon. Something about frozen tart yogurt seems less like a delicious treat and more like a mediocre healthy snack. But with many flavors to choose from, Phileo really hits it out of the proverbial park. And if you do like fro-yo of the tart variety, fear not, as that remains an option at Phileo.

With flavors including tart, strawberry, banana, coconut and my own personal favorites, cookies 'n cream and peanut butter, the options are really much wider than Pinkberry or Tasti D.

Though I have to give Phileo a bit less props since their yogurt pay system is based on weight of the yogurt and toppings. So they give you a giant cup that you are left to fill and could end up spending a whopping $7 on a cup of yogurt. A word to the wise - the cups are giant and you could probably get away with only filling them about half way.

The topping bar was of course the best part, especially when options include candy, cereal, chocolate chips, sprinkles and cookies...

Here's what I ended up with:

Let's get a little closer. What can I say? The 8 year old in me just couldn't resist the Cap'n Crunch and Fruity Pebbles topping on top of a half cookies 'n cream, half peanut butter fro-yo. Oh and I should mention that the delightful combination of Cap'n Crunch and peanut butter fro-yo really brought it back old school with reminiscent flavor of the childhood favorite Peanut Butter Crunch cereal. Ah the good old days.

So there you have it. My new favorite fro-yo combo. Oh, and the bonus is that it just so happens to be right near Keste Pizza & Vino, and we all know how I feel about that. But what about you? How do you like your fro-yo?