Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Baohaus - Manhattan

And the Old Shall Be Made New Again
Back in '92 I was working for a mis-Fortune 500 in a slim glass skyscraper in midtown.  I spent a lot of time at the firm's library trying to convince the manager that I was cooler than all the nerdburgers working there.  She usually waved me off but one day Miss Lopez said "ok, you wanna take me out - meet me at the Mexican spot on the corner of Stanton and Ludlow."  The pre-gentrification lower east side (LES) was another world entirely in those days (click here)  but when you're young and horny a pretty girl can make you walk through a dicey hood. Fast forward a couple decades and I'm sitting a block away at Baohaus munching on Taiwanese bao.  The LES has changed a lot but not enough to stanch the flow of memories.
It's become a strange stew of the decrepit and the newfangled.  Shiny new towers have elbowed in amongst the tenements.  Ditto the residents.
At Baohaus they took the traditional and upgraded.  The Haus Bao on the left is stuffed with hanger steak and is pretty good.  The star, however, is the Chairman Bao on the right.  It's made with Berkshire pork belly and it is heavenly.  Their idea is to make bao with top quality ingredients and as far as I'm concerned, it works.
I've been a few times already and will make it a regular stop. 
137 Rivington
LES
Manhattan

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8 comments:

  1. Fatty pork sure looks super yummy!!!! I wanna go too... Mon?

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  2. @Puffin - it's a date, Love-Bundles.

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  3. yummy...enjoy d date. the photos are great.

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  4. @Pirate - thanks, that means a lot coming from my photo teacher. I been using the new camera with full manual control. I got some questions for you when I arrive in SG.

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  5. Rookie commenter asks: How does the $4 Chairman Bao compare to Momofuku pork bun? Is is just as good and I have been paying $11 or whatever they are charging at Momo?

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  6. @Niko - I've never had the Momofuku pork bun. Matter of fact, I went to the Momofuku dessert place, had a few overpriced and underwhelming cookies and an $8 dollar shake and NEVER went back and banned all other Momofuku spots from the rotation....

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