North Dumplings are affordable and awesome
North Dumplings is just another one of those dollar dumpling places that defy the laws of economics and delicious. At five dumplings for a dollar, North Dumplings is defying the laws of economics and offering up deals that anti-American tea baggers could love. A plain wrapper filled with some meat and vegetables, and then pan fried shouldn't be so good. And so cheap! Have I told you already that it's only ONE dollar for FIVE dumplings? Down on your luck and lost your manufacturing job to cheaper labor overseas? Have five dumplings for a dollar. Your union's powers are dwindling? Nestle your insecurities within the confines of this humble little dumping shack. Am I being too harsh? Yes. It's ok though. These dumplings are great.
North Dumpling is probably still a notch below Prosperity Dumplings but right up there with Vanessa's Dumpling House (Chinatown location only). The fried dumplings exhibit a crisp bottom that's often unmatched. The view from the Fork in the Road blog might show it better. Basically North Dumplings does a great job of browning the bottom of the dumplings. The wrapper seemed a little thicker than what you'd get at Prosperity, but it might just be me nitpicking against my favorite dollar dumpling place. The contents of the dumplings are pork and chive but they've got a vegetarian variant as well.
They also do steamed dumplings. Or maybe perhaps they're boiled? I'm not too sure. They are delicious just like the fried version. The only difference is that you have to buy ten dumplings at a time, so your minimum purchase is $2 for this type. No worries though because one person could easily polish off ten of these babies.
North Dumplings does a fried sesame bread thing ($1.25) that the other dumping houses do. The draw back is that since the sesame bread is not a big seller, it's not always fresh. These sesame bread things need to be super duper fresh because that's the only time when the exterior offers textural contrast to the fluffy innards. Vanessa's Dumpling House is still the king at this because they make it throughout the day and they offer fillings.
Even though North Dumplings is a little out of the way for most, if you're near the Hester Street Fair one of these days, keep North Dumpling in the back of your mind. Because five dumplings for a dollar is just an amazing thing to behold. It's delicious and I have no idea how they manage to eek out a profit like that. How much is revenue exists for a $0.20 dumpling? A nickel? I don't think about the industrial pigs slaughtered to make such a delicious treat. I just wait for the industry pig consumption to give me some freaky form of cancer and then thank to the high heavens that I don't believe in, that we got universal health care that tea bagger backed Republicans aren't trying to repeal. Wait a minute...
Anyway, I remember hearing about archeologists and chimps once. Basically the story is like this... archeologists discovered bones of chimps and they saw that some of the skulls had fractures that healed. It was evidence that the healthy ones helped out the injured one to recover and that's why you see the fracture had healed. It's the idea that in a community, we group together to help each other. Even chimps can do this. But Repulicans can't. It boggles my mind. So this means that if I get sick, in a Republican run and tea bagger backed world, I would be left to my own devices (and I'm lucky enough to have insurance at the present time but who knows in the future). If however I had been born a chimp?! Then it's baller time! Heal me baby! Seriously, I don't know what eating dollar dumplings would do to me in the long run, but I don't care. They taste good and they're affordable.
North Dumpling
27a Essex St.
New York, NY 10002
212-529-2760
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first.
love a good cheap dumpling.
Jonathan
November 10, 2010 4:28 pm
I like thinking of the mathematical possibilities when it comes to cheap dumplings. For a Benjamin, I could get 500 dumplings. That's more dumplings than I'd want to eat in a week!
Nicholas
November 11, 2010 12:43 am
@Jonathan,
Word. One must love a good cheap dumpling. And I heard that Paltrow singing on the CMA's. Wow. Terrible. I need dumplings just to get over how bad it is.
@Nicholas,
Wow, 500!! Can you eat 71 dumplings a day? I don't spend a benji on food a week though, so that's ok. Maybe half of that? I could do 35 dumplings a day... that's easy.
Danny
November 11, 2010 4:00 pm
I think I could do 71 a day. Split between 3 meals? Easy Peasy. Would I be disgusted and ashamed of myself? Yeah, I would.
Nicholas
November 11, 2010 7:24 pm
5 for $1 dumplings, SCORE!!! I love cheap dumplings. The only bad thing is after eating 20 cent dumplings, you just can't eat dumplings anywhere else. It feels like a rip.
bionicgrrrl
November 16, 2010 12:49 am
@Nicholas,
yea maybe 71 is doable... it has to be very close to my upper limit though. It'll be super tough. One of these days I should just try it. haha. If they're boiled as opposed to pan fried it'll be easier too.
@bionicgrrrl,
Hurray for cheap dumplings! The expensive dumpling that I'm willing to pay for are mandoos in k-town. I'm still a fan of mandoo bar even though one dumpling is like one dollar there.
Danny
November 17, 2010 1:23 pm