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The Essentials: Ed's Potsticker House

The Essentials: Ed's Potsticker House
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  • Post #61 - October 5th, 2007, 1:47 pm
    Post #61 - October 5th, 2007, 1:47 pm Post #61 - October 5th, 2007, 1:47 pm
    It may seem like a mundane menu item to mention, but Ed's wonton soup is the best I've had. (Beijing style) The wontons are very flavorful, and there's bits of seaweed, pickley vegs, and a good touch of sesame oil. A small bowl with smoked pork cakes makes a great lunch.
    Does anyone know what the deal is with Ed's tea? Is it traditional for the region? I was told at some point it is from some type of plum product, and not "tea" as such. Really the only thing I don't like about Ed's.
    (Well there is that cold noodle salad dish...)
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  • Post #62 - November 4th, 2007, 11:41 am
    Post #62 - November 4th, 2007, 11:41 am Post #62 - November 4th, 2007, 11:41 am
    I took my mom to Ed's last night and, well, it was a mixed bag. We started with the soup dumplings, a dish I had been fantasizing about since I had them there this past summer. When they arrived, they looked somewhat deflated. I spooned one out, authoritatively instructing my mother in the technique for eating them without losing all the soup - but my instructions proved not to be necessary because... no soup! We punctured ours. I poked around in the basket. No sign of soup. The dumpling walls were somewhat thick and stiff, not the thin membrane that some prefer and the pork filling without the broth was kind of bland. Thinking they had given us the wrong order I gestured for the waiter. After taking stock of the situation (forgive the pun), he indicated that this was the right order, just bad dumplings. He offered to substitute some other dim sum dish. Ok. I can live with that. Its not his problem that I live 150 miles away and have been dreaming about these things for months. I'll try the smoked pork scallion pancakes that other folks on this board seem to love.

    So, our lamb with cumin and the garlic eggplant arrive. The lamb with cumin was fine. I'd prefer it spicier, maybe more flavors besides cumin and sesame seeds. But good. I've had the dish several times before and for some reason I wasn't excited by it. Maybe I just don't prefer their version. After my first bite of the garlic eggplant I think, "ugg, super sweet. I don't like super sweet." Then I try some more. And some more. And I find that even though my brain is saying, "this is way too sweet" it is also saying "let me get some more of that! Now!". Especially when covered with some chili oil. Even cold the next day!

    On to the pork cakes. They arrived already constructed into little sandwiches, rather than the platter shown earlier in the thread. I was pretty excited because I like scallion pancakes a lot and these looked to have a nice texture. I took a bite and --- oh my god....it was awful! I don't mean, "hmm, not the best dish I've tried," I mean not really edible. There was this very chemical-like taste that made it completely unpalatable for me. I poked around trying to isolate the source of this unpleasant flavor and it seemed to be coming from the pork but it also made the rest of the cake unpleasant. Sometimes it seemed to be mostly an extremely bitter flavor but really, it was a chemical taste - like turpentine or nail polish remover (but not exactly). At this point, there's no way I was going to send it back after already having sent back the dumplings (though I hadn't even intended to send them back so much as make sure we had the right order) because the people here are so nice and I want to be nice and everything should be nice, blah blah. And, so many well-respected palates love these things! My primary thought wasn't that I should send them back but - Is there something wrong with me? Do I have a medical condition that has just emerged that makes me taste food differently? My mom didn't like them either but she's not the sort of person to analyze why. (She doesn't even talk about her food experiences on the internet!)

    Not liking to waste anything, we took these things that we hate home. I had to give them another chance. Maybe it was just an acquired taste? I'm up for acquiring any and all tastes. I pride myself on acquiring tastes. But, I'm sad to report that the pork cakes have gotten progressively worse, the chemical taste even more intense.

    So, my point isn't to slam Ed's. I like the place and want them to do well. I've had good eating experiences there before and the other eaters in the restaurant looked happy, far as I could tell. But, I'd like to know, is this what the pork cakes normally taste like? Do I just have a palate that is unschooled in the delights of this particular smoked pork? Anyone else have this experience? Should I seek medical advice? Or was it just an off night?
  • Post #63 - November 4th, 2007, 12:13 pm
    Post #63 - November 4th, 2007, 12:13 pm Post #63 - November 4th, 2007, 12:13 pm
    Some people think that hoisin sauce (used liberally on the pork cakes) has a turpentine / chemical taste, but Ed's always tastes very rich and sweet to me with no off-flavor. I doubt you were getting the flavor from the pork (on which the texture is weird, but never the taste, in my experience) or the onions, unless that had just used oven-cleaner or another solvent in the wok, which I doubt. Every rendition I've had of the pancakes has been spot-on delicious.

    I understand and share your soup dumpling concern - they've never been "there" for me either. Like the black pepper garlic beef at Double Li and Tony's Three Chile/i Chicken at Lao Sze Chuan, though, the garlic eggplant is the crack of its genre.
  • Post #64 - November 4th, 2007, 12:43 pm
    Post #64 - November 4th, 2007, 12:43 pm Post #64 - November 4th, 2007, 12:43 pm
    Santander wrote:Some people think that hoisin sauce (used liberally on the pork cakes) has a turpentine / chemical taste, but Ed's always tastes very rich and sweet to me with no off-flavor. I doubt you were getting the flavor from the pork (on which the texture is weird, but never the taste, in my experience) or the onions, unless that had just used oven-cleaner or another solvent in the wok, which I doubt. Every rendition I've had of the pancakes has been spot-on delicious.


    Your hoisin sauce theory sounded plausible so I had another go at the pork cakes. I tried a little hoisin, nothing. Seemed ok. A little more, still fine. I tried a little pork cake in an area untainted by hoisin and there it was, the turpentine taste. Only it seems to be getting stronger. I'm trying to wipe the grimace off my face as I type. hmm... mysterious.
  • Post #65 - February 16th, 2008, 1:23 pm
    Post #65 - February 16th, 2008, 1:23 pm Post #65 - February 16th, 2008, 1:23 pm
    Went to Ed's for the first time last night with my husband and a friend of ours, and I was certainly not disappointed.

    To begin with, the garlicky bean sprouts that they gave us as a little appetizer were addictively good--I couldn't stop popping them in my mouth.

    Using the suggestions from this thread, I had compiled a list of dishes we wanted to try (the husband & friend have long since learned to sit back and let me order, thanks to the info I get here ). I started by ordering the xiao long bao, which seemed to amuse the waitress no end. I wasn't sure which of the several dumplings on the menu were the soup dumplings I had in mind, and didn't want to get the pork dumplings with no soup someone else had mentioned, so I requested them as xiao long bao, catching the waitress off guard. She was very friendly, and seemed to get a kick out of my attempt. From there, she was very enthusiastic about everything else I requested--the potstickers (of course), garlic eggplant, lamb in cumin ("Very famous," she told me approvingly), the pork and scallion pancake, noodles with pork and string beans, and sauteed spinach with garlic. She wanted to know where I'd gotten the list of items, and when I told her LTH, she was again very approving.

    The potstickers came out first, crispy and light with a nice, clean porky flavor. I often find that potstickers contain so many ingredients ground up together that they can taste garbagey. These were perfect--they tasted like fresh, gingery pork. Then came the soup dumplings and the pancake. Both were delicious. One of the only odd points of the night, however, was that we didn't receive soup spoons with the soup dumplings, and had to request them. We received regular flatware spoons, which were difficult to balance the dumplings on for maximum soup-slurping potential. In any case, we managed. The pancake was good, but they cleared my appetizer plate out of the way while I was only halfway through mine. :cry:

    Out came the lamb, the eggplant, the noodles, and the spinach. All were fabulous. The eggplant was indescribable, but I'll try--pillowy soft but crispy and sticky on the outside; when you bite down on it, it sort of deflates in your mouth. Incredibly good--sweet and spicy (but not overly so) and garlicky.

    The lamb was also good. I've had this preparation before at Mandarin Kitchen, and this compared pretty favorably. Tender and loaded with cumin and sesame seeds. My only complaint was that they seemed to have toned down the spice level a lot. I could hardly complain too much, though, because the friend who was with me is spice-averse, and so this was something she could enjoy as well.

    The spinach was good--very tender and garlicky, it was delicious mixed in with the rice I had been eating with my lamb. Nothing groundbreaking, but spinach in garlic is a favorite of mine and of my friend, so we were happy.

    The noodles were perhaps half a step below Katy's, which is high praise indeed. Chewy and nobbly, with garlicky (is there a theme?), crisp-fried green beans, onions, and pork, they were the favorite dish of at least two of us. My husband never did give a clear answer, but I think his heaping helpings of eggplant probably speak for themselves.

    We ordered a ton of food, and were left with an impressive array of leftovers, but that's never a bad thing. I will definitely be back, despite the insanely long bus ride that is my only transportation option. :(
  • Post #66 - March 18th, 2008, 4:20 pm
    Post #66 - March 18th, 2008, 4:20 pm Post #66 - March 18th, 2008, 4:20 pm
    Despite the extensive attention paid to this place over the years, reading over this thread, it occurs to me that there are several things about it not mentioned here: It is not, in fact, called "Ed's Potsticker House" anywhere on its exterior or on the menu; the sign reads "Pot Sticker House." There are currently two menus, a fancier large one with photos and a smaller, laminated one, with more options; there is some duplication and I have not done detailed comparison, but both are in English, although the explanations can be sketchy. The interior is simply decorated, but compared to many Chinatown storefronts, pristine and positively elegant.

    On second thought, this probably wasn't the best place to go with my particular dining companions of the other day: One doesn't care for poultry. The other won't eat seafood, lamb, duck or mushrooms and tends to distrust vegetable mixtures (vegetables are OK, but only one at a time); offal, of course, is entirely out. Oh, and both of them dislike fatty foods and meat on the bone, particularly hacked up into bits as the Chinese commonly do. (Dining Companion #2 was frankly outraged the first time he encountered this, also in my company.)

    In fact, we had planned to go to Lao Sze Chuan, but they were lined up out the door and there wasn't a parking place to be had. I'm not sure that would have been much improvement, given the issues here.

    We started with the house potstickers, soup dumplings (called on the menu "Shanghai-style pork dumpling") and smoked-pork cake, which have all been written up here many times and were quite as expected, except that no one brought us any hoisin sauce for the pancakes. I'm a fan of the cigar-shaped potstickers, and while I agree with the folks who think the wrappers on the dumplings tend to be a bit thick and the filling a little bland, I don't know anywhere else in town that does better ones. DC1 and I enjoyed everything; DC2 liked the potstickers.

    Since many of my favorite dishes were ruled out, the entrees were all things that I hadn't tried before. The best dish, to my taste, was the stir-fried preserved pork and Chinese sausage Hunan-style, although it was not exactly what we expected, being mostly fresh lotus root and smoked tofu, with a sprinkling of black beans, bits of pickled vegetable and shavings of sweet Chinese sausage, a lovely combination of crunchy, soft, smoky, salty and sweet. (I'm not actually sure where the pork part came in and I wonder if that's a mistranslation.) DC2 wouldn't even try it until I told him the lotus root was a something like potato, but he remained unconvinced.

    DC2 was going to have twice-cooked pork, which he thought would be safe, but then the waitress told him it was pork belly and would be fatty, so he switched to shredded pork with onion and soybean paste, the next item on the list, which proved an unhappy choice. DC1 enjoyed it the most, but the sauce gave the pork a rather slimy mouthfeel that none of us liked, and the meat came atop a bed of long strips of raw scallions, green part only.

    DC1 prepared himself to lump it so we could order a third dish that DC2 would eat, so we got chicken with hot pepper and bamboo shoots, after first determining that it would not be chicken on the bone. Instead it is little nuggets of deep-fried white meat, mildly spicy, with bamboo shoots and chunks of squash, which I found a little dry and dull, but that's the type of chicken DC1 is most prepared to like, so he was happy enough and DC2 liked it as well, but something tells me he's going to be reluctant to eat Chinese food with me, ever again.
  • Post #67 - March 20th, 2008, 8:21 am
    Post #67 - March 20th, 2008, 8:21 am Post #67 - March 20th, 2008, 8:21 am
    LAZ.

    It's a little bit of Monday night quarterbacking, but do you think your DC2 would've gone for one of my favorites, the eggplant w/ garlic?

    By the way, I was in a similar situation about a year ago and wound up there with a very banal potato preparation and a plateful of boiled bitter melon. One of my worst meals ever (a carnivore's worst expectations re a vegetarian experience fulfilled)

    Which only goes to prove the truism: It ain't always where you go, but also what you order that counts.
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  • Post #68 - March 20th, 2008, 11:07 am
    Post #68 - March 20th, 2008, 11:07 am Post #68 - March 20th, 2008, 11:07 am
    jbw wrote:It's a little bit of Monday night quarterbacking, but do you think your DC2 would've gone for one of my favorites, the eggplant w/ garlic?

    Probably not. I don't think he likes eggplant, either. And DC1 usually has to be talked into eggplant, even though he usually winds up liking it when we get it.

    jbw wrote:Which only goes to prove the truism: It ain't always where you go, but also what you order that counts.

    Absolutely.

    Interestingly, enough I was just at another Chinese restaurant where we had ordering problems -- the main one being that there were only two of us, but it was difficult to get a balanced array of dishes from the selection that appealed to us without ordering too much food. That is, I really wanted a vegetable dish, but one protein-centered dish and one vegetable dish didn't seem like enough, and three entrees seemed like too many.
  • Post #69 - March 20th, 2008, 2:42 pm
    Post #69 - March 20th, 2008, 2:42 pm Post #69 - March 20th, 2008, 2:42 pm
    LAZ wrote:On second thought, this probably wasn't the best place to go with my particular dining companions of the other day: One doesn't care for poultry. The other won't eat seafood, lamb, duck or mushrooms and tends to distrust vegetable mixtures (vegetables are OK, but only one at a time); offal, of course, is entirely out. Oh, and both of them dislike fatty foods and meat on the bone, particularly hacked up into bits as the Chinese commonly do. (Dining Companion #2 was frankly outraged the first time he encountered this, also in my company.)

    DC2 wouldn't even try it until I told him the lotus root was a something like potato, but he remained unconvinced.

    DC2 was going to have twice-cooked pork, which he thought would be safe, but then the waitress told him it was pork belly and would be fatty, so he switched to shredded pork with onion and soybean paste, the next item on the list, which proved an unhappy choice. DC1 enjoyed it the most, but the sauce gave the pork a rather slimy mouthfeel that none of us liked, and the meat came atop a bed of long strips of raw scallions, green part only.

    DC1 prepared himself to lump it so we could order a third dish that DC2 would eat, so we got chicken with hot pepper and bamboo shoots, after first determining that it would not be chicken on the bone. Instead it is little nuggets of deep-fried white meat, mildly spicy, with bamboo shoots and chunks of squash, which I found a little dry and dull, but that's the type of chicken DC1 is most prepared to like, so he was happy enough and DC2 liked it as well, but something tells me he's going to be reluctant to eat Chinese food with me, ever again.


    I'm hoping DC1 & DC2 were children under the age of 7... either that or you went to dinner with Frasier and Niles.
  • Post #70 - March 21st, 2008, 10:52 am
    Post #70 - March 21st, 2008, 10:52 am Post #70 - March 21st, 2008, 10:52 am
    LAZ wrote:
    jbw wrote:It's a little bit of Monday night quarterbacking, but do you think your DC2 would've gone for one of my favorites, the eggplant w/ garlic?

    Probably not. I don't think he likes eggplant, either. And DC1 usually has to be talked into eggplant, even though he usually winds up liking it when we get it.


    Just a note--our picky 7-year-old who practically needs to be held down and force-fed in order to get him to try anything out of the ordinary, LOVES the eggplant w/ garlic sauce from Ed's and begs for it all the time with a fervor he normally reserves for macaroni and cheese or hot dogs. It's a surprising dish in many ways.
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  • Post #71 - March 22nd, 2008, 7:11 pm
    Post #71 - March 22nd, 2008, 7:11 pm Post #71 - March 22nd, 2008, 7:11 pm
    Since we all had a day off yesterday, and weren't expecting a blizzard, we headed into town to prove to Sparky that the Evanston Public Library was, indeed, not the largest library in the world as he posited. After spending a pleasant hour and a half at Harold Washington, we headed to Chinatown to kill the hour before dinner, where Sparky finally got his much sought-after Chinese robes just like Mario in the Cricket in Times Square (the hat of which came with a bonus braid of faux hair)
    Image
    We decided to make a meal of appetizers, but couldn't resist the siren call of salt-and-pepper shrimp. Ed's has an excellent rendition, quite different from LTH as the onion and chili are finely minced and the batter is a bit heavier but very, very good:
    Image
    We finally had soup dumplings from a source other than frozen at H-Mart (I was pleased to find that the frozen stack up pretty well; comparably to frozen potstickers vs fresh) We liked them quite a bit; if you want an idea of size, this is Sparky trying not to burst one too soon :D (note to parents: although they aren't served painfully hot, we did let Sparky's cool on his plate for quite a while before consumption)
    Image Image
    \

    We also had the cigar-shaped potstickers; yes, unique only in shape - but the 'spouse pointed out that they were browned on two sides which is nice.
    Image
    Our last dish was the pork belly pancakes, which put the meal over the top - fragrant with plum sauce and scallion, tese were delicious but very, very filling.
    Image[/img]
  • Post #72 - March 22nd, 2008, 7:51 pm
    Post #72 - March 22nd, 2008, 7:51 pm Post #72 - March 22nd, 2008, 7:51 pm
    I used to order here once a week when I was in Bridgeport.

    The cumin lamb with red chiles is just fantastic and nothing like what I've seen on other Chinese menus. The beef and scallion cakes are amazing as well.

    This place makes me crave Chinese food when I otherwise never really did given the ubiquitous, bastardized nature of it all.

    The only negative is the prices are higher than most and the portions are smaller than most. In other words, you don't quite get the heaping pile of General Tao's that you'd get at your typical joint. So it diminishes the fun of Chinese leftovers.
  • Post #73 - March 22nd, 2008, 8:02 pm
    Post #73 - March 22nd, 2008, 8:02 pm Post #73 - March 22nd, 2008, 8:02 pm
    Mhays wrote:We finally had soup dumplings from a source other than frozen at H-Mart (I was pleased to find that the frozen stack up pretty well;

    I'm definitely a fan of Ed's, but this assessment can be taken in two ways. :)
  • Post #74 - March 23rd, 2008, 6:56 am
    Post #74 - March 23rd, 2008, 6:56 am Post #74 - March 23rd, 2008, 6:56 am
    Yes, well....I did quite enjoy Ed's! :D

    ...but I will say, since we'd had them at home, the soup dumplings weren't everything I hoped for - not that I think I was steered wrong (thank you, Stevez, for the soup dumpling guidance) they were pretty good, a good amount of soup and a tasty, if not paper-thin, noodly dumpling.

    Based on descriptions from people who've eaten them in Asia or in less Americanized settings, I'm guessing that my transcendant soup dumpling experience is still out there...
  • Post #75 - March 23rd, 2008, 6:25 pm
    Post #75 - March 23rd, 2008, 6:25 pm Post #75 - March 23rd, 2008, 6:25 pm
    Based on descriptions from people who've eaten them in Asia or in less Americanized settings, I'm guessing that my transcendant soup dumpling experience is still out there...


    I'm not sure what a less Americanized setting has to do with soup dumplings. I think these are real soup dumpling recognizable to any Chinese. Now we can quibble on choice of ingredients, method, skill and style, though these are not really American influenced.

    Probably the best soup dumplings are those made in the home by people whose only cost is ingredients. They will spend all the time necessary to make it just right for the people they love. Now to get access to that opportunity is a challenge.

    Regards,
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
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  • Post #76 - April 19th, 2008, 4:50 pm
    Post #76 - April 19th, 2008, 4:50 pm Post #76 - April 19th, 2008, 4:50 pm
    I'm meeting friends here for dinner and cannot wait, my first Ed's of 2008!!!
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  • Post #77 - April 19th, 2008, 10:45 pm
    Post #77 - April 19th, 2008, 10:45 pm Post #77 - April 19th, 2008, 10:45 pm
    We finally had soup dumplings from a source other than frozen at H-Mart


    I just had very good (for Chicago) xiao long bao at Spring World in addition to my $3.95 lunch. Better than Lao Shanghai, not quite as good as one excellent batch at Moon Palace years ago that was almost at the Shang Hai Cuisine (NYC) level.
  • Post #78 - June 15th, 2008, 7:57 am
    Post #78 - June 15th, 2008, 7:57 am Post #78 - June 15th, 2008, 7:57 am
    So, my Californian little sister is in town this weekend and she had the chance to choose our dinner location last night. She requested a place with "really good potstickers". I offered up Ed's, not necessarily as a place with the best potstickers, but at least with a style she's likely never tried before.

    This was my first visit to Ed's since learning that the head chef had moved to Lao Beijing. I was pleased to find most of what I enjoyed about Ed's was still intact, if not slightly better, with only one disappointing difference.

    --Ed's signature cigar-shaped potstickers were a big hit with my sister. To me they even seemed slightly better--crispier and lighter.

    --My sister had heard of soup dumplings but never tried them, so we ordered a batch. These dumplings are best eaten on a spoon to help raise them to your mouth from the bottom and catch any leaking broth. We had a very hard time getting the waitstaff to bring us proper spoons, as they couldn't understand why we wanted them. In the end, the soup dumplings were as I remembered them at Ed's: good but not great.

    --The outstanding, unique eggplant in garlic sauce was not nearly as I remembered it. It was still fried as before, but now drenched in a sweet/spicy sauce that had the viscosity of peanut butter. Cookie proclaimed it too spicy for her, my sister thought it was ok, but I felt it was inedible.

    --One of my favorite dishes at Ed's, salt and pepper fish fillet was as good as ever and a huge hit.

    --Finally, I had never had the noodles at Ed's before and I'm shocked that it had never been burned into my brain to try it. Stir fried noodles with pork and string beans was outstanding. GardenofEatin above notes the noodles as a "half-step below Katy's" which is accurate, although I'd just go ahead and say that they are in the same league as Katy's so as not to sound disparaging in any way. This dish is an easy substitute for a city-dweller's trip to Katy's. Fantastic noodles. Four-stars.

    So, if you haven't been to Ed's in a while, get there for some noodles. You won't be disappointed.

    Best,
    Michael
  • Post #79 - June 18th, 2008, 6:24 am
    Post #79 - June 18th, 2008, 6:24 am Post #79 - June 18th, 2008, 6:24 am
    eatchicago wrote:The outstanding, unique eggplant in garlic sauce was not nearly as I remembered it. It was still fried as before, but now drenched in a sweet/spicy sauce that had the viscosity of peanut butter. Cookie proclaimed it too spicy for her, my sister thought it was ok, but I felt it was inedible.

    Michael,

    I've found the eggplant in garlic sauce at Ed's variable even before the head chef moved to Lao Beijing. I'm wondering if this is more a matter of one cooks interpretation than a permanent shift in preparation. That said, the couple of times I've had the same dish at Lao Beijing, which they call Chef's Special Eggplant, it has been stellar. Crackling crisp hit of sweet outer layer encasing superheated meltingly tender eggplant.

    Note: Just to be certain there is no misinterpretation, I am was, am and remain a fan of Ed's Potsticker House.

    Enjoy,
    Gary
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #80 - June 18th, 2008, 7:28 am
    Post #80 - June 18th, 2008, 7:28 am Post #80 - June 18th, 2008, 7:28 am
    Hi,

    The Ed's owners are chef/cooks in their own right. I have had some Ed-ish menu items at Lao Beijing, it was very pale imitations of what I received at Ed's. While Ed's owners do hire people to cook for them, they also can cook their own menu. I have been there when they were shorthanded or filled to capacity. Ran was not doing front of the house, she was cooking in the kitchen.

    As a lady who has her pulse on Chinatown scene better than any one here told me, "If the owners are the chefs/cooks, then they are consistent. If the food relies solely on the employee chef/cook, then a restaurant can change overnight dramatically when the chef/cook goes to another job. There has been no noticeable changes in Ed's offerings beyond their usual inconsistencies. I cannot leave without fish flavored eggplant, because when it is just right it is fabulous.

    Regards,
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
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  • Post #81 - June 18th, 2008, 7:36 am
    Post #81 - June 18th, 2008, 7:36 am Post #81 - June 18th, 2008, 7:36 am
    Well, I'm somewhat comforted to hear that others have found inconsistency in the eggplant, although I never have seen it in many visits.

    I'm reluctant to accept the idea that what we ate was a simple riff on the dish. It was different enough, and far enough from the original that I'm used to, that I'm highly unlikely to order it again unless I'm in a larger group. What is normally an outstandingly flavored, unique dish was a sticky-sweet inedible mess.

    But why dwell on the negatives? How about those noodles!

    Best,
    Michael
  • Post #82 - June 18th, 2008, 7:45 am
    Post #82 - June 18th, 2008, 7:45 am Post #82 - June 18th, 2008, 7:45 am
    Hi,

    Ed's also makes a mung bean noodle dish that is divine. IT is a cold dish with those noodles slipping down your throat before you can finish chewing. It is an excellent hot weather dish.

    Regards,
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #83 - June 19th, 2008, 12:11 pm
    Post #83 - June 19th, 2008, 12:11 pm Post #83 - June 19th, 2008, 12:11 pm
    I finally made it to Ed'S to today for a first time visit solo lunch. I tried the namesake potstickers, soup dumplings (are they called something else because I had to describe them to the waitress in order to get an order) and lamb with cumin.

    What a feast. Much to much for one person, so i will happily be eating lamb again for dinner :) I have to say that I was suprised to be the only person in the restaurant at lunch time 11:30-12:00ish. I guess I just expected the place to be hopping based on the descriptions ive read here. I will return with more people to sample a wider swath of menu at dinner soon. I am happy to be (finally) ed-converted
  • Post #84 - August 7th, 2008, 6:02 pm
    Post #84 - August 7th, 2008, 6:02 pm Post #84 - August 7th, 2008, 6:02 pm
    Returned to Ed's today for a followup visit. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy my meal as much as my solo visit last time. Started with the Potstickers, tasty but a little greasy and well done for my taste. Also had soup dumplings again which I enjoyed except the wrapper appeared to be thicker then before. The dumpling didnt tear which was nice, but they were also much chewier. We also had the crispy pancake which I enjoyed a lot.

    I think I may have chosen entrees unwisely. Lamb with cumin was tasty but the meat was much tougher and stringier then before. We also ordered the Ma Po Tofu which was a bust. The sauce tasted like bottled Frank's chicken wing sauce. There was no hint of pork at all. I would not order this again. The final two dishes ordered by my companions were Kung Pao Shrimp and Moo Shu Pork. The Kung Pao had the same sauce as the Ma Po Tofu and consisted of little itty bitty shrimp pieces and not many of them at that. The Moo Shu, while not my favorite dish anyway, was a not very well executed version. Since Moo Shu is a northern dish I expected a little more from Eds on this front. There was very little pork and mostly filler in the pre-rolled pancakes which appeared on the table. I was not impressed.

    Overall, 3 of the 4 entrees were really close to inedible. This was a dissapointment. :cry:
  • Post #85 - October 16th, 2008, 10:46 pm
    Post #85 - October 16th, 2008, 10:46 pm Post #85 - October 16th, 2008, 10:46 pm
    LTH,

    We returned to Ed's this evening after a hiatus of two years. We ordered five dishes: potsticker, smoked pork pancake, soup dumplings, garlic eggplant and kung pao chicken. Everything but the chicken we had previously enjoyed at Ed's.

    I have to say that we didn't really enjoy anything as much as we did a few years ago. Potctickers were bland and gristly. Eggplant a gloppy mess- sticky, sweet and unedible-just as eatchicago described upthread. Pork pancake doughy-almost raw inside but good flavor, soup dumplings ok, kung pao- not sure what the definitive version is, but this dish was mild and on the bland side. I guess I expected some spice like Spring World's very tasty rendition.

    We weren't served any rice, not that there weren't enough carbs on the table. Other tables nearby had it. just an oversight I guess. Perhaps this meal was a fluke, but I'm in no hurry to return.

    :twisted:
    If you aren't tasting, you aren't cooking.
  • Post #86 - December 8th, 2008, 3:55 pm
    Post #86 - December 8th, 2008, 3:55 pm Post #86 - December 8th, 2008, 3:55 pm
    I'm still loving this restaurant. The pork pancake today was as good as ever, which is to say, one of my favorite dishes in town.

    I'm hoping that some kind soul could help with a question about their lunch menu, which lists specials in English and Chinese. The English language lunch menu offers all kinds of American-Chinese standards, which do not hold much interest for me. On the other hand, I'm guessing that the Chinese language lunch menu contains lunch-sized portions of some items that I would more typically order at Ed's. Is anybody interested in translating this? I can post a scan if that would be helpful. Post here or PM me if you are able and willing to do a service for your friends on LTH.

    Best,

    Peter
    - Peter
  • Post #87 - December 9th, 2008, 3:44 pm
    Post #87 - December 9th, 2008, 3:44 pm Post #87 - December 9th, 2008, 3:44 pm
    Peter,

    Post the menu, then we will see who comes forth to help out.

    Regards,
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #88 - January 1st, 2009, 6:03 pm
    Post #88 - January 1st, 2009, 6:03 pm Post #88 - January 1st, 2009, 6:03 pm
    My family - growing up in South Dakota - would always spluge on a New Year's Eve meal at our most authentic Chinese restaurant. It was a lovely little restaurant great at pleasing mid-American palates, called "The Great Wall." We felt very adventurous with our Mu Shu Pork and Garlic Chicken and Mongolian Beef and fried rice.

    Luckily, my children know none of this. They think Ed's has the best potstickers and soup dumplings and noodles with pork and green beans, they like the BBQ pork at Sun Wah on Argyle and they enjoy the soft shell crab specials with bubble tea at Joy Yee's Noodles. They are under the distinct impression that there is not ONE way to enjoy Chinese food. And to me, that is priceless!

    So the reason for my post is that it is New Year's Day and I found out Ed's is open... We are going in about 30 minutes, and I thought that if anyone available right now had a suggestion for something NEW to try, I would take you up on your recommendation!

    We must get:
    Potstickers
    Soup Dumplings
    Pork & Scallion Cakes
    Noodles with Pork & String Beans

    We have also enjoyed Lamb with Cumin, Potato/Eggplant/Green Pepper (Can't remember it's name), Whole Fish with sauce (last year's Chinese New Year's special), etc. etc.

    Do you have any recommendations for other things to try? The kids will be pleased with what we're already ordering, so it's ok to push us a little further out for the Mr. and myself.

    Thanks. And happy new year!!
    "Whatever you are, be a good one." -Abraham Lincoln
  • Post #89 - January 5th, 2009, 6:43 pm
    Post #89 - January 5th, 2009, 6:43 pm Post #89 - January 5th, 2009, 6:43 pm
    Even though we live in close proximity, I had never tried Ed's until Saturday. We decided to give it a go and are all the better for it.

    We did try the potstickers (veg) and the vegetable bao - unfortunately these were one in the same other than the potstickers having crispy pan fried skin. I was hoping for the thicker, doughier bao/bun packaging I've had before rather than a dumpling wrapper. But, both were good though and got eaten :mrgreen: In a translation snafu we ended up with egg drop soup that was just okay. Then, even though we had already ordered enough to fill ourselves (entrees still coming), we saw an strange egg wrapped pastry looking thing on another table. We asked our server what it was and even though she had a hard time explaining in English she did say it was an off-menu item available for the new year. That was enough for us so we ordered a batch. Well, it ended up being something like a bunuelo or fried flaky dough with cinnamon-sugar wrapped in an egg battered rice paper skin. It did have some green onion and elements of savoriness along with the cinnamon-sugar that made it almost seem dessert like. Interesting and full of fried delicousness.

    figjustin ordered the green beans which were well prepared, retained some of their crisp and had bunches of hot pepper. I ordered the vegetable noodles which looked pedestrian when they first arrived tableside, but ended up being delicious. Homemade noodles with just the right amount of chew. Our other eating partner, we'll call him figbrian, ordered the mixed seafood (a salt and pepper fried preparation) that included flavorful head on shrimp, scallops and squid that both lacked any unpleasant chewy texture and were perfectly fried. The dish also included what we called a "Chinese giardiniera" that contained hot peppers, onions, celery and vinegar. A great foil for the crispy seafood.

    Didn't remember or immediately see the soup dumplings so we missed out on those. Oh well, a reason to go back.
  • Post #90 - January 28th, 2009, 10:14 pm
    Post #90 - January 28th, 2009, 10:14 pm Post #90 - January 28th, 2009, 10:14 pm
    Had my first Ed's experience today, and it certainly was all it's cracked up to be in this forum.

    We didn't have a whole lot of time to spare, so my GF and I used the LTH suggestions to make the decisions for us: soup dumplings, house potstickers, pork pancakes and lamb with cumin.

    I think the real winners were the pork pancakes and the soup dumplings (which, of course, I couldn't wait for and immediately scalded my tongue - didn't slow me down, though). The house potstickers are good, but the same pork filling shines better in the soup dumplings. The lamb with cumin was very tasty and a needed break from all the doughy dim-sum goodness.

    We'll certainly go back, and we'll bring friends next time in order to order far more dishes.

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