Interesting at the least, delightful at their best.
Peter Cherches, who blogs about "food, travel, and the occasional dream" at Word of Mouth and who joined me and a half-dozen other diners at this Cantonese restaurant one recent evening, observed that it's enjoyable to explore new dishes for the sake of novelty and refreshing to find a waiter who won't warn you away. We got barely a blink when we ordered the appetizers, which might have offered our most unalloyed pleasure: a peppery, head-cheese-like Chinese salami with a tousle of crunchy jellyfish ($4.95) and baby octopus over seaweed salad ($4.95). I also really dug a spicy stir-fry of pork maw with hot peppers ($16.95); the hunks of pork maw, or stomach, were chewy, just this side of rubbery. The green-and-tan thatch called "Pride of Lucky Eight" ($14.95) was hard-pressed to match its rave reviews, but the flavors and textures of Chinese celery, scallions, chives, mushrooms, squid, and dried scallops (and other items I overlooked, no doubt) were very engaging.
Fried crispy chicken (half; $8.95) was solid but standard (Lucky Eight's garlic-enhanced version reportedly packs more punch); the braised tofu casserole ($9.95) was also unexceptional, though to be fair, it's not a dish I'm very fond of. Spare ribs with vinegar ($11.95) needed a touch more vinegar; meatier would be better, too. I'd pick my way again through a very bony bowl of fish necks with preserved olives ($11.95); as for the bamboo pith with snow peas ($14.95), next time, just give me the greens.
Emphasis on "next time": All quibbles aside, I like the easy-going atmosphere of Lucky Eight (our group was in the humbler downstairs dining area), and there's much more on the menu I'd like to try.
Lucky Eight
5204 Eighth Ave. (52nd-53rd Sts.), Sunset Park, Brooklyn
718-851-8862
