Not so strangely, Ying Du is closed again. This time it’s for renovations. I don’t think it’s DOH-related since they aren’t listed on the main DOH site, but who knows. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. I just hope they aren’t planning another price hike. I don’t need ambiance at a Chinese take-out restaurant.

Fortunately, there are other places to get authentic Chinese in Midtown. My favorite is Hing Won, but recently with the cold weather, I’ve been trying to stay west of Fifth Avenue and south of 42nd Street, which is closer to work. Also, I notice there tends to be less suits south of 42nd St, especially west of 7th Avenue. It’s not exactly downtown, but there’s definitely a different vibe, which is nice. I see enough suits and khakis at work. The two places I’ve been going to a lot recently are Noodles 36 and Big Bowl Noodles. MORE »

1/4 LB Sirloin Burger @ Zaitzeff

Do you have bizarre cravings when you’re sick? I do. As I mentioned in my BoKy post two weeks ago, while I was sick I had an unrelenting desire to eat a Burger King Whopper. Burger cravings aren’t so odd for most people, but for me it is, because in general, I’m never burger crazy. The prospect of a new UWS Shake Shack is pretty meaningless to me (Danny who?). Sure, burgers are tasty, but in terms of fast food, I rather eat a hot dog, or better yet, a slice of pizza any day. So this is why I found it surprising two weeks ago when thoughts of juicy burgers bombarded my every drug addled thought, and rather than resist, that following Saturday, I decided to give in. MORE »

So many of you know that Ying Du is back in business since they were closed by the DOH two weeks ago. If you didn’t, they’re open. So today I went to get my weekly duck fix, and when I went to pay, a strange thing happened. The woman at the register said my order was $5.50 instead of the usual $5 because I got a leg. Mind you, I didn’t order a leg, the woman just filled the container with leg, thigh, and breast meat like they normally do. I asked if the price went up, but she said it didn’t and that it’s always an extra fifty cents for legs. Now I’ve been going to Ying Du for more than a year and this is news to me. It seems to me every time they close and then reopen the prices go up. Before they renovated, duck over rice was $4.50. After the numbering system, it went up to $5. Now it’s $5.50. I really shouldn’t be complaining, considering they have the best roast meats in Midtown and the ridiculous amount they give you for the price. But, hey, sometimes I’m a cheap bastard and I get cranky when I’m hungry. In any case, be forewarned, you may or may not be charged an extra fifty cents.

David and I were talking last week, and considering the global financial markets are all in the crapper, the DOW is at an all time low, and the US dollar is not worth the paper it’s constantly getting printed on, we decided that it might not be a good idea to go on another vacation this year. Sigh…. He also said we’d be entering a severe depression soon and anarchy and mayhem would erupt everywhere like Mad Max and this week we were going to learn how to operate a machine gun so we could defend ourselves when the time came. This part I chose to ignore, because call me stupid, but I have a bit more faith in mankind and my fellow New Yorkers. And besides, my purse is just not big enough for a machine gun. In any case, no vacation doesn’t have to mean no exciting culinary adventurous, especially living in a city as diverse as New York. So last week, as it started getting colder and I started dreaming about warm waters and white sugary beaches, I did the next best thing and ate tacos, many, many tacos. MORE »

I’ve been slow posting as of late due to a heavy workload at my job compounded with a cold I caught working late every day for two weeks in a row. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. Of course, the fact that my apartment didn’t have any hot water on Friday didn’t help matters. However, I realized cold water shouldn’t be taken for granted when running water stopped completely on Sunday. Sheesh, what a nice weekend.

Fortunately, my cold isn’t that severe, and I am somewhat functional except that I’ve lost my appetite entirely besides a strange craving for a Burger King Whopper. However, I am not one to give in to the nonsensical wonts of a terrorizing virus, so on Saturday, I decided I needed some chicken soup, specifically Curry Chicken Noodle Soup from BoKy. MORE »

I love art and I love sausage, but sausage art? Ummm, I’m not sure about this one. Supposedly, a few classic masterpieces, such as Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, were replicated using sausage in Russia and people were invited to eat them. Personally, I’m not sure I would want to eat cured meat on display in a public space. I don’t know what it’s like in Russia, but I know I wouldn’t want to eat something left out in the open in New York. Remember a few years back when a homeless man went into a deli and sprayed the buffet table with liquid containing feces? Spasiba, but no thank you. MORE »

Seems Ying Du has been closed by the DOH temporarily for a few infractions. Is that going to stop me from going back when they reopen? HELL NO! In fact, I’ll be the first one on line. I ate there once four times in one week, and I never saw anything to be worried about. In fact, I’m living proof Ying Du can’t be all that bad. Keep a stiff upper lip, Ying Du, I’ll be hungrily waiting. Damn, now what am I going to eat tomorrow?