The sesame pancake, and this eatery's recent makeover, left me flat.
After a half-dozen visits I've still never tried the namesake Northern Chinese dumplings, usually on account of the sesame beef pancake ($1.75), a wedge of bread sliced endwise and layered with beef, carrots, and cilantro. This time it was tired, even though the bread was fresh the griddle. As for Dumpling House itself, the previous digs (below, with the curved awning) always oozed energy, perhaps because there was seldom room for the customers or even the cooks. The expanded operation (at bottom) lacked finishing touches, like a sign out front, and most of the staff seemed to be in a haze.
On other occasions, before the renovation:
The chive and egg pancake (not shown; $1.25) was a half-moon similar to a sealed pita, lightly lined with glass vermicelli and stuffed with egg-flecked chives. A little oily, though the wrapper held up till the last bite.
Udon noodles with warm "mashed sesame sauce" ($2.75), decked out with a generous helping of sliced cucumber, were more elaborate than the "free noodles with your $10 delivery order," and certainly fresher — but how would they fare after a night in the fridge?
Dumpling House
118A Eldridge St. (Grand-Broome Sts.)
212-625-8008
