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Hester @ Bowery - Deep Fried Delicacies
Location: Hester Street at the Bowery, NW corner
Times: Lunch, Dinner
Days: 7 days/week
Items: deep-fried vegetables and tofu, fried noodles, fish balls, thick rice noodles, stewed squid
Prices: $1 for single serving, larger servings available
This is a madly popular pushcart, possibly the most popular in all of chinatown, so be prepared to wait at least 5-10 minutes to get your food. Like most of the long-menu chinatown carts, there are fried noodles, fish balls, rice noodles, and stewed squid. But what really draws the crowds, though, are the deep fried delicacies. Peppers, eggplants, tofu, and taro root are slathered with a savory paste (maybe gluten?) and fried until golden. The resulting delicacies are a perfect combination of crisp and chewy. A squirt of sweet and savory sauce completes the taste, and at one dollar for 8 pieces, you can see why the line stretches down the block.
Posted by Sam on February 21, 2006 10:14 PM
Comments
I live in the neighborhood and this was always my favorite for a dirt cheap meal. Unless they have moved back to this spot (which I haven't checked in a while), they moved to a permanent location on Chrystie above Hester or Grand, where I went once. Perhaps they have moved beyond the pushcart!
I have always wondered what exactly it is that they slather on the vegetables, and as I don't speak Chinese, I'm out of luck.
My only complaint is that the oil should be hotter - it can get rather greasy, but the texture is wonderfully chewy and crisp!
Posted by: Anonymous ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.kapshow.com/pushcartnyc/nav-commenters.gif)
at March 7, 2006 12:04 AM
They're still there -- I saw them only last week. I'll try to get my Chinese-speaking friend to find out what it is on the vegetables -- my current thinking is it's the same stuff the Chinese make vegetarian "iron steak" out of.
Posted by: Sam at March 7, 2006 11:58 PM
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