After work today, I met my wife down in Chinatown. After "Taste of Chinatown" last weekend, we were excited to dig in and explore without the masses of crowds.
A hint to all prospective visitors. Do not walk down Canal Street. It is insanely crowded and the centerpiece (as such) is a behemoth store called, "The Great Wall of China Mall." A building, trimmed in gold that is filled with small stalls on the ground level and overpriced merchandise on the upper ones. Though the upstairs is lovely, the real action is elsewhere.
Mott Street bends around off of the general grid of streets that makes up the area. As we headed south, we found some restaurants and checked out the menus. We were on a mission, though, to find some good supplies for the kitchen. Now was not the time to eat.
Off next to first grocery shop. Filled with food supplies that are completely unknown to me, it was incredible to see the variety of food that was available. Also, once you get off Canal Street, the prices drop by 30% at least.
The overall experience feels as chaotic as any grocery store in the city. People with carts that are as wide as the narrow aisles. People bumping into you and difficulty communicating with the staff. The layout would make more sense if they had let small, agile monkeys stock the shelves. Soy Sauce? Aisle 4, by the toothbrushes.
After shopping for supplies for our home-cooked dinner, my wife and I started to discuss picking up a pastry for dessert. "Shall we try one of these Asian bakeries?" she asked. "Isn't Little Italy right around here? Why not get a cannoli?" I responded.
Brilliant move.
Now, how do you find Little Italy when you are in the heart of Chinatown? Look slightly above eye-level as you walk north. Soon you will see the lighted wreathes, candy-canes and other Christmas decorations strung up on the light poles. On October 20th. I expect that the shop owners are truly keeping the Spirit of Christmas year-round. The only thing missing was the carols. Instead it seems that each restaurant had a man standing by the stoop yelling, "Get-ta some pas-tah! Get-tah some vi-no! Its-ah the best food in-a tha City!"
Heading north, we found a charming and stylish bakery with some amazing looking cannolis. After browsing, we thought we might look for something a little more authentic. This felt too mainstream.
We found a small dive and picked up a chocolate cannoli to share. After dinner that night we tried it. It was ok but a little drier than we expected. Sure enough, when my wife asked around at work, we were told that the only cannolis to have in Little Italy were at that sleek place. Sigh. So much for the "authentic" experience. I guess the little hole-in-the-wall places are not always the best.
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