What's the Score?

Saturday, May 21, 2022 

It is 9:40 AM and NYTimes.com has not a word about the Rangers/Hurricanes game that ended last night at about 10:30 PM.  Of course, the print edition delivered to our door is also silent on this subject, but it may have been put to bed too early.

 

Thinking about this raises a broader issue.  While I wouldn’t spend a nickel on the New York Post, the malodorous Murdoch mouthpiece, I sometimes go to its online sports section for its abundant reporting and analysis of the New York Rangers.  Is the failure of the Democratic Party to gain support among a significant population bloc, once loyal men in non-professional capacities, due to diverting its focus from everyday concerns, as the newspaper of record has done?  Lots of tennis, lots of golf, but, as Stony Brook Steve first brought to my attention, the daily New York Times has even stopped printing league standings, how are the teams doing. 

Skipping these simple details for the sports fan is akin to failing to hammer home to the voters, all the voters, the tangible benefits of Democratic policy.  It’s far from a flawless record, but it has benefited more of the people more of the time than what they have gotten from the opposition.  

Sunday, May 22, 2022

Is it a (mal)function of age or character that makes someone chase down memories from his past?  This question arose when I noticed an article about the upcoming movie “Top Gun: Maverick” taking up a lot of space in today’s business section, because of its anticipated boost to motion picture revenue.

It is a sequel to “Top Gun,” a 1986 movie that I’ve never seen and will probably never see.  However, I feel a connection.  In 1986, I took my first trip to Israel under especially auspicious circumstances.  As a byproduct of business travel when I was still in the commercial world, I was able to get a free first-class ticket to Tel Aviv on TWA, of blessed memory.  It was a wonderful experience, sitting right up front in a 747, high quality food and beverage at my fingertips.  

What made the trip even more memorable was the man sitting next to me, sifting through a collection of newspaper and magazine clippings.  His name was Ehud Yonay, an Israeli native, who had written a magazine article on military fighter pilots in 1983 that became the basis for the original “Top Gun,” a very big hit.  When we met, he had moved to Beverly Hills and was working on a history of the Israeli Air Force, “No Margin for Error: The Making of the Israeli Air Force,” published in 1993.

I enjoyed the hours together, but never had any future contact.  Today, however, the article about the movie sequel that began with his reporting led me to the Internet.  Sadly, I learned that he died of cancer in 2012.

This story doesn’t go anywhere, but maybe it serves as a warning to all of you young folk under 60 as to how your mind will wander in future years.

Monday, May 23, 2022

We have been considering getting a new television set for the bedroom.  Those large, flat screen, wall-hung models seem to be cheaper than a paint job.  We thought that a 55” set would be the right size, so I went to Best Buy’s website to comparison shop while sitting down.

Was I surprised?  Yes, I was surprised.  Samsung had 10 different 55” television sets for sale, priced from $499.99 to $2,999.99.  Sony had 10 also, LG 8 and Toshiba 5.  What a wide choice, but what did Admiral, Philco, Dumont, Emerson, Sylvania and Capehart have to offer?

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Wo Hop, 17 Mott Street, is always a desirable destination, but the mild weather was an added incentive for the troops to gather for lunch.  The four of us amounted to more of a patrol than a troop, but our intake belied our numbers.  We shared duck chow fun, Singapore chow fun, honey crispy chicken, beef with scallions and pork fried rice.  The bill came to $22 each, including a generous tip, as always, because we sat around so long.  But, that's what old men do.

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Pious conservatives offer thoughts and prayers after a mass murder; pious liberals offer facts and figures.  “The 45,222 total gun deaths in 2020 [in the U.S.A.] were by far the most on record, representing a 14% increase from the year before, a 25% increase from five years earlier and a 43% increase from a decade prior.”  https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/02/03/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s

Of course, for the America Firsters, there is still room for improvement.  "[T]he [murder] rate in the U.S. was much lower than in El Salvador (39.2 per 100,000 people), Venezuela (38.7), Guatemala (32.3), Colombia (25.9) and Honduras (22.5)."  https://www.healthdata.org/news-release/six-countries-americas-account-half-all-firearm-deaths

. . .

Today is our wedding anniversary, in case you forgot.  There will be no excuse for missing it next year.  To celebrate, we saw “Hamilton,” that very inventive reimagination of American history, this time on American soil.  In October 2019, we saw “Hamilton” in London, in the company of Lady and Lord Kennington.  That was a very special evening and tonight even more so.

Thursday, May 26, 2022

Reactions to the school shootings are another example of the right-wing belief that the right to life ends at birth.

. . .

A bright spot: "Gun makers’ stocks, which often rise after mass shootings, jump."
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/25/business/gun-makers-stock.html?referringSource=articleShare

. . .

The east side of Amsterdam Avenue between West 72nd Street and West 73rd Street has been in the deep shadow of scaffolding for years.  As a result, it is not a particularly attractive location for a restaurant.  #267, a narrow storefront, has seen several come and go in a hurry.  On July 13, 2021, for instance, Stony Brook Steve and I had lunch at Kitakata Ramen Bannai, then on the premises. Today, I ate alone there at Simply Noodles, although a few other people were seated at several of the eight two-tops in the small space.

True to its name, the joint serves mostly noodles, in or out of soup, along with some dumplings and buns. I enjoyed the Dan Dan noodles, vermicelli, scallions, chopped peanuts and enoki mushrooms in a spicy hot sesame oil ($13). Although I handled my chopsticks with dexterity, I tucked a napkin under my chin to protect the white polo shirt that I was wearing, the one with the New York Rangers emblem over my heart.

Happiness Is a Warm Gun

Sunday, May 15, 2022

From 1955 to 1966, a local New York television channel showed the “Million Dollar Movie” twice a night, the same one for one week at a time.  Of course, the crummiest film today costs many times that.  However, it was another market that reminded me of this.  “A Record 8% of U.S. Homes Are Worth At Least $1 Million.”   https://www.redfin.com/news/million-dollar-homes-february-2022/

Once upon a time, a million dollar home was far removed from most of us physically and aspirationally.  Now, an extraordinary number of homes in some locales reach and exceed that number, starting with 88.7% of homes in San Francisco through 31.2% in Oxnard, California in the top 10.  We in the Holy Land may feel poor by comparison, placing ninth, with only 32.1% of our homes pegged at $1 million or more.  I’ll tell you, it’s a long way from Pitkin Avenue.

. . .

Poor, confused Robert Donald, owner of Vintage Firearms in Endicott, N.Y., who sold a Bushmaster assault weapon to the Buffalo supermarket mass murderer.  “I just can’t believe it.  I don’t understand why an 18-year-old would even do this,” said Mr. Donald, 75.  “I know I didn’t do anything wrong, but I feel terrible about it.”  https://vnexplorer.net/ny-gun-shop-owner-who-sold-firearm-to-payton-gendron-feels-terrible-s1435495.html

Selling murder weapons can be difficult at times.

Monday, May 16, 2022

Even I have noticed that the British are not the same as the Americans, but their Mappiness (sic) Project offers insights that may have Transatlantic value.  It questions thousands of people throughout the day as to their state of mind.   https://www.academia.edu/2977782/LSE_s_mappiness_project_may_help_us_track_the_national_mood_but_how_much_should_we_consider_happiness_in_deciding_public_policy 

One finding of particular interest is that "paid work is ranked lower than any of the other 39 activities individuals can report engaging in, with the exception of being sick in bed."  https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1476830/1/Are%20You%20Happy%20While%20You%20Work%20EJ%20for%20publication.pdf  [Take a look at Table 3 for the complete results.]  

Again, I seem to be out of step with the crowd.  My years of working in the New York State court system before retirement brought me far more happiness than "Hunting, fishing” #10, "Pet care, playing with pets" #16 or "Waiting, queueing” #36.

. . .

Gentleman Jerry had lunch with me at Pastrami Queen, 138 West 72nd Street, a Monday when the Pastrami Special is active.  As those of you in the vicinity know well, on Monday you get a pastrami sandwich and a Dr. Brown’s soda for $16.99, about $6 less than retail.  Previously, corned beef was also allowed, but now it‘s all pastrami.  We stuck to the script, adding only a potato knish, bulbous enough to be shared ($9), good but not $9 good.

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Nothing more to be said.  https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/17/india/indian-couple-sue-grandchild-intl-hnk-scli/index.html

Wednesday, May 18, 2022

In spite of my inherent proletarian instincts, I don't have trouble with dressing up on certain occasions and even having some venues expecting you to look nice.   https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/17/dining/restaurant-dress-code.html?referringSource=articleShare

It's not explicit, but Ecclesiastes may be understood to say that there's a time for every season, a time to be slick and a time to be a schlub.  I think that it's appropriate to look good when you're in a good looking place.  I'm reminded of a time when I was on the wrong end of this proposition.  

Madam and I were on a delightful trip to Italy, hitting Venice, Orvieto and Florence.  At lunchtime, on a warm day in Florence, we walked into Cantinetta Antinori on the ground floor of Palazzo Antinori, headquarters of the winemaking Antinori clan for over 500 years.  The restaurant was very busy.  We had no reservation, but other walk-ins were being seated regularly.  However, we stood and waited and waited.  My plaintive appeals to "Signore" were ignored.  We finally left.

Later, I admit not immediately, I realized what was going on.  It wasn't a matter of Yankee Go Home (as inaccurate as that might have been for this Mets fan), considering the other Americanos in the room, but another sports matter.  I was wearing a T-shirt celebrating the 1994 Stanley Cup victory of the New York Rangers, white with the bold red and blue team emblem and the large silver trophy.  It did not bespeak fine dining.  In retrospect, I accepted the verdict.

Thursday, May 19, 2022

Recently, I have eaten in Koreatown, an area arrayed around the Empire State Building, when the opportunity presented itself.  Today, Stony Brook Steve and I strolled to The Jin, 856 Tenth Avenue, a new Korean restaurant closer to home.  It’s a modest rectangle, with its front completely open to the street on this mild day.  One wall is exposed brick and the other is covered with unfinished wood planks.  The dozen or so tables, a mix of four-tops and two-tops, are wood surfaced.

The menu addresses all the usual Korean food groups, except BBQ.  There are rice bowls and noodles and salads and fried chicken wings and kim chi all over the place.  I had Bulgogi Beef "Japchae" [sweet potato flour] Stir-Fried Glass Noodles ($15).  The big portion was good, but forgettable.  Steve enjoyed JIN [vegetarian] Fried Rice w/Egg ($15).  I’ll be back to try the fried chicken.

Friday, May 20, 2022

Clue 2 Down - Stock exchange?

. . .

If you live in a neighborhood with sidewalks, you probably often have passed by one or more establishments without ever entering.  I don’t mean just tattoo parlors or podiatrists’ offices, but places continuing to offer food and beverage apparently in spite of the Board of Health and the absence of your patronage.  Today, I closed my local gap by having lunch at Freddie and Pepper’s, 303 Amsterdam Avenue, a pizzeria that opened in 1978, 25 years before I even started ignoring it.  

Once inside, I found a reason that I might not have entered in the past.  It's tiny, occupying what might have been the boiler room of the brownstone above, down six steps from street level.  After the counter, the pizza oven, beverage coolers, stacks of supplies, only two small two-tops could barely fit in.  Fortunately, the mild weather allowed use of two outdoor tables.  

 

Since I was alone, I had only two slices, which proved to be a slice too far.  I relished the all-meat slice, sausage, pepperoni and ground beef in ample supply ($5.75).  The plain cheese slice averaged out to average ($3.25).  The cheese was good and thick, but the crust was only thick.

. . .

 

 Answer = MOOS

 . . .

 

Our musical finale: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYl0Nkpljuw

Dress for Success

Saturday, May 7, 2022

I’m not sure if it is merely an olfactory failure, but many people of wealth and status seem to believe that their excrement is odorless.  Or, in the presence of smelly feces, deny its provenance.  This came to mind reading, “Amazon Abruptly Fires Senior Managers Tied to Unionized Warehouse”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/06/technology/amazon-fires-managers-union-staten-island.html?referringSource=articleShare

Rather than re-examine corporate policies that have generated labor discontent in so many of its locations, Amazon’s top brass, when not flying into space, punish those responsible for implementing those policies.

Get the air freshener.

. . .

I'm not the first one to observe that the Law School Admissions Test, law school courses and bar examinations (often state specific) may be independent of the practice of law.  This came to mind when I read: "A committee within the American Bar Association recommended late last month that law schools eliminate the requirement of 'a valid and reliable admission test' as part of their admission process."
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/06/us/standardized-testing-american-bar-association.html?referringSource=articleShare
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/06/us/standardized-testing-american-bar-association.html?referringSource=articleShare

However, I am not taken aback by the presence of these hurdles to a career in the law.  Lawyers in so many instances are our agents in seeking justice and/or fairness (not always in synch).   Additionally, many legislators are lawyers, although fewer than I would have guessed; "39 percent of the members of Congress have law degrees compared to only 17 percent of state lawmakers."    https://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/who-we-elect.aspx

It should not be easy to be put in a position to influence or even control another person’s property, security or freedom.  When I was interviewed by the New York Law Journal shortly after I graduated law school, I said “If it were up to me, you couldn’t go to law school until you’re 35 years old.”  While none of the tests or courses may be of precise practical or predictive value, together they constitute an obstacle course that may hone one for success, crudely parallel to miniature golf vs. an 18 hole round.

Sunday, May 8, 2022

"How to Pray to a God You Don’t Believe In" has an interesting observation by a professor of philosophy and law.

Our family recently switched synagogues. At the old one, the service was mostly in Hebrew, and I don’t speak much Hebrew. I know how to say all the prayers; I just don’t know what most of them mean. So at synagogue, I would sing along and let the words wash over me. I liked that.

At the new synagogue, we sing a lot of the same songs and say a lot of the same prayers. But we say many more of them in English. And I find that almost intolerable. It turns out, I like my religion inscrutable.

. . .

"Using the average annual net salary of workers in cities around the world," a British firm compared the affordability of housing from 2017 to 2021.  "345 cities with available historic data were considered."  A majority of cities became less affordable, wages not rising as fast as the cost of real estate.  https://www.onlinemortgageadvisor.co.uk/content/priced-out-property-2022/

Worst cases for purchasers were found in the good old U.S.A.  The first 10 cities that squeezed the average worker hardest were American, predominantly Southern, Southeastern and Western, none Northeastern. 

Renters had it a little bit easier.  Almost exactly half of the cities became less affordable for renters; renters faced the greatest economic pressure in what was once labelled the Third World (is there a replacement term?).  "Surprisingly, San Francisco tops our list of the U.S. cities that have become more affordable in recent years for a local on an average monthly salary to rent.  Between 2017 and 2021, the percentage takeup of rent to salary decreased by 45%.  This is due to the average monthly rent dropping by $402 and average monthly salary increasing by $3,890 in that time frame."  

Monday, May 9, 2022

Is this a surprise?  "[G]irls with a Jewish upbringing have two distinct postsecondary patterns compared to girls with a non-Jewish upbringing, even after controlling for social origins: (1) they are 23 percentage points more likely to graduate college, and (2) they graduate from much more selective colleges."  https was://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/00031224221076487

But, how many of them married doctors?

Tuesday, May 10, 2022

Stories sometimes appear on NYTimes.com days before they show up in print.  In the interim, they may change.  I'm interested in tracking the progress of "How Ben Got His Penis," a detailed article on-line this morning.  https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/10/magazine/phalloplasty.html?referringSource=articleShare

Not only are the headline and the subject matter unusual for the publication informally called the Gray Lady (see https://ask.metafilter.com/207313/When-did-the-New-York-Times-become-known-as-The-Gray-Lady), but the use of vernacular startled me.  Phrases such as "take a leak," "taking a dump" and "pee standing up" are included in the writer's voice, not as quotes.  While the article is quite technical at points, a photograph of "a model of a penis" is provided presumably to avoid confusion.  

 

A cultural reference to "King Missile’s college-radio standard, 'Detachable Penis,'” amused me.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detachable_Penis  John S. Hall, the song's performer and one of its writers, a Stuyvesant High School graduate, was a friend of mine in law school and for several years thereafter.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_S._Hall

. . .

Michael Ratner joined me for lunch at Plum Vietnamese Restaurant, 210 West 94th Street, a cozy place in a quiet spot just off a busy strip of Broadway.  According to where you sit in the open, high-ceilinged space, the interior appears either interesting -- exposed brick, white painted brick, big arched window facing the street -- or dull -- blah paint job, bare walls.  There are eight two-tops with a butcher block surface. 

We shared chive pancakes, two spongy 3" squares, half inch thick, that are very green, tasty, but otherwise hard to describe ($9) and spring rolls ($9 for four pieces).  Each of these items was accompanied by Nước chấm, a sweet and sour dipping sauce.

I then had a very good grilled marinated sliced beef Banh mi, with pickled carrots, cucumbers, cilantro and spicy mayonnaise, on a toasted, narrow 8" baguette ($14).  Michael had a “Super Bowl” of pho, the soup that is the culinary common denominator of Vietnam ($18).  The bowl of beef broth had beef eye round, smoked brisket and grilled steak along with thin rice noodles, beansprouts, scallions, onion, jalapenos and lime wedge.  He enjoyed it, as presumably anybody in his right mind would.

This little joint deserves your patronage.

 

Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Here’s a story that may restore your faith in the Universe a little bit.  “A South Carolina man died from a heart problem while burying the woman he strangled, deputies say.”   

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/11/us/south-carolina-man-cardiac-event-buried-woman/index.html

Thursday, May 12, 2002

  

"Business Casual, right?"

If You Still Have An Appetite After Reading the Newspaper

Saturday, April 30, 2022 

They say in Harlan County

There are no neutrals there

You'll either be a union man

Or a thug for J.H. Blair.

Which side are you on?

Which side are you on?

I was reminded of this union organizing song from the 1930s when reading this morning's Forward.com.  The Harvard Crimson endorsed the BDS movement, boycott, divest and sanction activities with Israel.  https://forward.com/fast-forward/501161/harvards-student-newspaper-endorses-bds/

Pro-Palestinian students at Rutgers University harassed members of a Jewish fraternity.  https://forward.com/fast-forward/501186/antisemitic-harassment-reported-at-rutgers-jewish-fraternity-including-by-pro-palestinian-demonstrators/

Which side are you on?

. . .

The Upper West Side's Power Couple took a short vacation today.  Acting like tourists, we spent three hours in or about Hudson Yards, an artificial neighborhood along the Hudson River in the 30s.  It includes part of the High Line, new high-rise apartment buildings, a theater, a collection of luxury retail stores and the Vessel, a tall sculpture/fabrication that has proven an attractive venue for suicides. 

We headed to Mercado Little Spain, 10 Hudson Yards (at West 30th Street), a collection of 12 or so restaurants, bars and kiosks offering Spanish food and drink.  I didn't catch the name of what we ate, 3" x 4" stuffed rectangles of phyllo dough, one with tuna fish, one with spinach ($8).  They were a bit pricey, but acceptable, unlike the can of Diet Coke at $3.75.  From another kiosk, I bought churros, fluted donut sticks ($6), with hot chocolate syrup to dip in ($3.50), for our dessert.   They were probably three times more expensive than what the little Mexican ladies in the subway sell them for, but we were on vacation.

Tuesday, May 3, 2022

Today was L*I*F*E.  Full of highs and lows, the ridiculous and the sublime.  Let’s start at the bottom.  The leaked draft United States Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade contains this amazingly specious comment: “the Constitution makes no reference to abortion.”  The Constitution makes no reference to corporations, but for 150 years the United States Supreme Court has offered them protections at least equal to those available to mere human beings.  Cf. Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 US 310 (2010) and notably Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., 573 US 682 (2014), holding that a corporation may have "have a sincere religious belief that life begins at conception . . . [and] object on religious grounds to providing health insurance that covers methods of birth control."

I believe that there are principled grounds to oppose abortion, consistent with conscientious objection to military service and opposition to capital punishment.  Dorothy Day and many of her followers in the Catholic Worker movement adhere to these views.  However, I can think of no politician, prattling about the “right to life”, who comes close to such a world view.  Indeed, as former Congressman Barney Frank famously said, conservative politicians believe that “life begins at conception and ends at birth.”   https://quotes.yourdictionary.com/author/barney-frank/159075

For the rest of us, the attack on abortion amounts to a continued attempt to have women pay a price for sex.  It's too good not to be sinful.  By the way, the author of the Hobby Lobby opinion disadvantaging women happens to be the author of the leaked draft on abortion. 

Now, we should go back to court with Ruth Bader Ginsburg's approach that "explicitly sex-based classifications" violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.  Whether or not a right to privacy can be found in the Constitution is irrelevant to "statute[s] that intolerably shackled a woman's autonomy."

https://www.law.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/ECM_PRO_059254.pdf

. . .

Lunch with Terrific Tom at Tim Ho Wan, 610 Ninth Avenue, was a delight.  We ordered in parallel, two of each: Baked BBQ Pork Bun, 3 pieces, the joint's deservedly signature dish ($7.50); Steamed Rice Roll stuffed with minced meat, 3 pieces, dull ($7.20); Deep Fried Spring Roll with Egg White and Shrimp, 2 pieces, excellent creation ($6.80).   However, the price for all beverages, hot or cold, was outrageous.  One can of Diet Coke was $4.50.  It might as well have been filled at the Fountain of Youth.

The good solid food fueled us to go to Citi Field for a Mets doubleheader with the abominable Atlanta Braves.  I can't begin to remember how many decades, generations even, since I sat through a doubleheader.  Well, I did and the Mets won both games.

. . .

I returned home while the first playoff game between the New York Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins continued on into three overtime periods, allowing me to watch the unexpected, unwarranted, unsightly loss by the Blueshirts a/k/a the New York Rangers.

By the way, the Blueshirts were also a paramilitary organization, founded in the Irish Free State in 1932.  According to Wikipedia, "There has been considerable debate in Irish society over whether or not it is accurate to describe the Blueshirts as fascists."  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blueshirts

Blueshirts also appeared in 1932 halfway around the world.  “The Blue Shirts Society (藍衣社), also known as the Society of Practice of the Three Principles of the People (Chinese: 三民主義力行社, commonly abbreviated as SPTPP), the Spirit Encouragement Society (勵志社, SES) and the China Reconstruction Society (中華復興社, CRS), was a secret ultranationalist faction that modeled [itself on] Italian fascists).”  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Shirts_Society 

What would we do without Wikipedia? 

Thursday, May 5, 2022

Note to certain Supreme Court Justices who read the Constitution literally at their convenience.  Omitted from mention are skateboards, peanut butter and toothbrushes, among other items familiar to the rest of us.

. . .

Every lunch is special, but today was even more special.  Hank Sondheimer was here from Washington, D.C., for his medical school reunion and we rounded up his nephew John Mervin, Anglo-American media mogul, to join us at Baekjong, 1 East 32nd Street.  Baekjong is a highly reputed Korean barbecue restaurant, with 12 tables embedded with grills.  While it offers seafood omelets and japchae noodles, meat cooked at your table is what you sit down for.  

 

We shared the small Beef Combo ($109.99), thin sliced brisket, marinated short rib and prime flat iron steak, all cooked in front of us.  Eggs and a cheesy corn thing were cooked around the hot collar of the grill.  The table was also covered with ten small stainless steel bowls, containing kim chi-flavored tofu, cabbage, cucumber and potato and other spiced and marinated vegetables and two green salads.  We ended with Beef Brisket Soybean Paste Stew, a peppery goulash.  A proper lunch, wouldn't you say?

Friday, May 6, 2022

While I normally direct folks to Chinatown for first-rate Chinese food, Midtown has provided two excellent lunches this week, Tim Ho Wan, 610 Ninth Avenue, on Tuesday with Terrific Tom, and AweSum DimSum, 612 Eighth Avenue, today with Susan Beckerman.  Susan is an accomplished and generous woman, who has successfully tamed the wolves of Wall Street among other animals. 

 

We ate well in this bright, airy, very casual joint decorated in pale wood.  We ordered in two waves, first Special Chicken Siu Mai ($6.75 for 4 pieces); soup dumplings, very small ($7.75 for 4 pieces); scallion pancake, thin, small diameter ($4.50); pan fried bun with cabbage, pork, shrimp and mushroom ($4.50 for 2 pieces.  Round two: baked BBQ pork bun, the only disappointment, very little filling ($5.50 for 2 pieces); crispy shrimp roll, outstanding, lacy wrapper ($6.75 for 2 pieces); vegetarian dumpling ($5.75 for 4 pieces).  Everything was quite good except as noted.  Also, everything came in an even number of pieces (the scallion pancake in quarters), allowing a fair distribution, eliminating the "No, you take that."