RISING STEAM – AND PRICES! (Vanessa’s Dumpling House)

I’ve always known that some of the big chain restaurants adjust their prices based on location. A sandwich at TGI Friday’s in Times Square is going to cost considerably more than it would at a location in Nebraska. And although I’ve never been to Nebraska, I’m guessing the prices are cheaper there than on Broadway.

I actually experienced this when I was in Scotland many years ago and we went into that familiar restaurant with the red and white striped awning looking for a taste of home (the Scottish food wasn’t great). We walked out before ordering when we discovered a burger would cost us the equivalent of 25 American dollars. Our first problem was walking into a TGI Friday’s. That was a long time ago and I have learned from my mistakes.

You can see the same phenomenon here in our great city with Vanessa’s Dumpling House. The original location is on the border of Chinatown on Eldridge Street and is a surprisingly roomy (for Chinatown) little spot with ridiculously cheap Chinese food. They’re known for their special $1 dumplings. Many bloggers and regular customers have recently cried about price increases because Vanessa’s used to sell 5 dumplings for a buck and now you only get 4. Is inflation the culprit or greedy restaurant owners? Either way it’s still one dollar!

But about twenty blocks north on 14th Street, you can find another Vanessa’s location and those five dumplings will cost you $1.99 (double the price!) What an outrage!! How could they charge $2!?! That’s unheard of. No wonder people say New York is so expensive!!

But seriously, it must be that the rent on 14th Street is more expensive than in Chinatown. Or they realize that most of the NYU students in the area are probably on a trust fund and can afford the extra dollar.

Because I don’t have a trust fund (but really because they were first), I made my way to the original location in the Lower East Side. I had been here before for one of my favorite dishes, the Sesame Pancake Sandwich, and I remember the line being daunting, but never quite like this.

I figured 3:00 was an off time since it’s after lunch and before dinner, but I forgot to take into account that this was a Sunday. When you don’t work the usual 9-5 (like me), weekends don’t seem to mean as much.

We got in line, placed our order, and then circled the tiny dining room like vultures looking for a place to chow down. After close to 30 minutes watching the factory-like cooking and waiting for our order to be called, I heard my number in broken English that required a repeating.

While I was watching them package up the orders (they wait until each one is complete to call the number), I realized my fried dumplings were ready long before my steamed ones.  This is important because I think it ultimately effected the quality of the little guys.

When I tore into them, I found the fried ones were not as hot as I had hoped – probably because they were sitting on the tray for so long. They still had a bit of a crunch, but a touch less lively than I expected. The dough was a little thicker and chewier but the pork and chive filling was rather tasty.

I liked the boiled dumplings much better. In fact, I thought they were great. The ground pork had lots of deep, rich flavor. You could tell these babies were just made (hence part of the waiting time). I loved that they were not watery at all, but firm, soft, and tender. A squirt of the vinegar based soy sauce and a dab or two of the red hot sauce and the marriage of flavors and textures came alive.

These were quality, homemade dumplings that really satisfied – especially considering the affordable price tag. This meal cost us just $5 (that included the aforementioned Sesame Pancake Sandwich). Can you imagine paying that little in Scotland? Or on 14th Street, for that matter?

Does Vanessa’s Dumpling House have the best dumplings in NY? They’re pretty darn good, although I bet the fried dumplings would have been even better if they were served a little faster. But they still get an 8 out of 10 since the steamed dumplings were well worth the wait.