Eton
At Eton, the focus isn't on interior design. "No consultant signed off on the dozen chairs, which might have been picked up from a repossessed pizzeria... But what Eton lacks in polish it makes up for in spirit. For dumpling eaters, the sight of its cooks forming, crimping and frying a pan of potstickers rivals any million-dollar open kitchen. And each time somebody orders a Hawaiian-style shave ice ($3.75 for a small, $4.75 for a large), the restaurant seems to discover its own private stash of colors," writes Pete Wells for the New York Times.
Dumplings are the draw here, and Time Out New York pushed Chinatown's pot-stickers aside to give Eton the 2009 Best New Dumplings award: "We watch workers stuff and crimp fresh, fist-size dumplings to order before selecting our preferred blend: beef, pork and cabbage, pan-crisped to a pleasing crunch and steamed for a chewy finish that kicks Canal-Street butt.
Eton also serves shave ice in the warm weather and hand-pulled noodles in the cold weather, and Nico's NYC reports that Eton is adding a Hawaiian plate lunch to the menu: "Inspired by his honeymoon to Hawaii, [owner Eton] Chan decided to bring back a few 'local kine grinds' to the Brooklyn. Traditional plate lunches will be replicated with an ETON spin (a.k.a. the beef teriyaki will grace your plate lunch in dumpling form)." What's your take on this place?
Reviews (12)
mshook wrote a review on April 29, 2009 12:39 PM
The noodle soup is really good, too.
CG_ups wrote a review on April 29, 2009 12:43 PM
I'll kick it off. The dumplings are awesome. Have had the chicken ones and the pork ones. They are enormous, 5-6 per order and about $3.50. If you're familiar with Rickshaw Dumplings, these are about 3x as big, 1/2 the price, and 100x tastier. You can also buy a pint of the sauce / marinade which makes a killer marinade for roast chicken or pork (that last tip from the owner of Love Thy Pet). The only downside is that I seem to get there when it's open. Not sure if the hours are a little irregular or it's me. Anyway, give them a call before you head over to make sure they're open, it's cheap and delicious.
Biff Champion wrote a review on April 29, 2009 12:55 PM
I've been DYING to try this place out since it opened and haven't yet. Based on the recommendations above, I'll have to find time this weekend.
jwald wrote a review on April 29, 2009 1:40 PM
Those are my neighbors in the photo! Eton's dumplings are amazing and he is a very nice guy to boot. A great addition to the neighborhood.
new2hood wrote a review on April 29, 2009 2:13 PM
I love this picture.
Brownstonerlogin wrote a review on April 29, 2009 2:23 PM
Funny, we walked by this place last weekend, and there were tons of people inside and out, which immediately made us curious. Not curious enough to actually cross the street and have a closer look--but after reading this, next time we will!
Left Hook wrote a review on April 29, 2009 3:02 PM
Eton is a super nice guy and the dumplings are really good. The ices are great too on a hot day but I find them to be a way too expensive for shaved ice and syrup.
advertmoron wrote a review on April 29, 2009 3:02 PM
i tried to go there once...they told me it would take 45 minutes to get their vegetable dumplings. i wasnt asking for anything special...they were on the menu.
turcod wrote a review on April 29, 2009 3:32 PM
Absolutely the best dumplings!!! You may have to wait a while for your order because they make their dumplings fresh but it is definitely worth it.
punko wrote a review on April 29, 2009 4:59 PM
If these were the best new dumplings according to TONY, I can hardly imagine what the worst new dumplings were. And the hand-pulled noodles are horrific. Eton is a great guy, but he's got to improve the food. Or maybe there enough people who don't care that the food sucks because it is cheap.
jessibaby wrote a review on April 29, 2009 5:26 PM
Punko, I totally agree about the hand-pulled noodles. I really wanted to like them, due to all of the effort, but the were pretty gross.
Dan76 wrote a review on May 6, 2009 5:32 PM
We went after reading the reviews here...I was expecting much better dumplings.
Soup dumpling places like Joes Shanghai are much much better as are Japanese gyoza style dumplings.
Eton meat dumplings were thick and not juicy, the pork dumpling was the consistency of a hot dog and tasted about the same,
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