A Strange Lunch in Chinatown ...
.... after the Portsmouth Square we walked a bit more, passing the Bank of America building which in Chinatown looks very Chinese. Especially since the top floor is occupied by what a huge sign proclaims as "Gold Mountain Sagely Monastery." Now why can't Episcopalians have urban monasteries like that with catchy names?
By now we were getting hungry but it was a bit difficult to find a restaurant since Pam is a vegetarian. So Dim Sum was out since none of us can tell what is in any of the little platters. We finally find a place, this place, called The Pot Sticker. I should have wondered what was up when I noticed that the red faced demon of The Pot Sticker looks a lot like Strong-Bad.
We got settled, spent a few extra minutes looking over the menu so we all knew what we wanted, and a sober, middle-aged waiter comes over. Carmen said she wanted the Chicken soup and pointed at the picture of it in the menu. The waiter burst out "No! Too big! Very big!" Carmen looked non-plussed and he flipped to the menu page with the lunch specials and said "You order lunch special?" He taps one picture emphatically, "You like Chicken and String Beans. Very good! Here!!"
Carmen, overwhelmed, gives in but thinks he said "Chicken and broccoli" so when a waitress brings her food she sends it back, thinking it is the wrong order. The waitress leaves and soon we hear a burst of some rapid Chinese and the waiter comes back. Carmen insists she ordered Chicken and broccoli. He says "No! Chicken and string beans. String beans good for you! Fresh! Very good! You like." And that was that. Carmen settled back to eat what she had been given.
Well, when I checked the handy dandy guide book we'd bought the day before at Japantown it did say that service in China town could be "abrupt." Twice. Chinese dining is all about the quality of the food and community - it has nothing to do with service or atmosphere.
We then walked through Chinatown and arrived at The City Lights bookstore. It was founded in 1953 by that guy who wrote the poem about the Green Street Mortuary Band. We had to go in, just to say we'd been there, but when we got there it was so hot and stuffy that we didn't even stay long enough to find something we just had to buy. Fortunately.
.... after the Portsmouth Square we walked a bit more, passing the Bank of America building which in Chinatown looks very Chinese. Especially since the top floor is occupied by what a huge sign proclaims as "Gold Mountain Sagely Monastery." Now why can't Episcopalians have urban monasteries like that with catchy names?
By now we were getting hungry but it was a bit difficult to find a restaurant since Pam is a vegetarian. So Dim Sum was out since none of us can tell what is in any of the little platters. We finally find a place, this place, called The Pot Sticker. I should have wondered what was up when I noticed that the red faced demon of The Pot Sticker looks a lot like Strong-Bad.
We got settled, spent a few extra minutes looking over the menu so we all knew what we wanted, and a sober, middle-aged waiter comes over. Carmen said she wanted the Chicken soup and pointed at the picture of it in the menu. The waiter burst out "No! Too big! Very big!" Carmen looked non-plussed and he flipped to the menu page with the lunch specials and said "You order lunch special?" He taps one picture emphatically, "You like Chicken and String Beans. Very good! Here!!"
Carmen, overwhelmed, gives in but thinks he said "Chicken and broccoli" so when a waitress brings her food she sends it back, thinking it is the wrong order. The waitress leaves and soon we hear a burst of some rapid Chinese and the waiter comes back. Carmen insists she ordered Chicken and broccoli. He says "No! Chicken and string beans. String beans good for you! Fresh! Very good! You like." And that was that. Carmen settled back to eat what she had been given.
Well, when I checked the handy dandy guide book we'd bought the day before at Japantown it did say that service in China town could be "abrupt." Twice. Chinese dining is all about the quality of the food and community - it has nothing to do with service or atmosphere.
We then walked through Chinatown and arrived at The City Lights bookstore. It was founded in 1953 by that guy who wrote the poem about the Green Street Mortuary Band. We had to go in, just to say we'd been there, but when we got there it was so hot and stuffy that we didn't even stay long enough to find something we just had to buy. Fortunately.
posted by Clemens | 6:47 PM
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