Szechuan Mountain House
EV Bites is a new monthly feature, showcasing 5 places in or around East Village you should know about. I will occasionally extend the border to Nolita and LES, and maybe even mention a name more than once. East Village in case you are not aware is an incubator for top industry talent, and a goldmine of world cuisines.
Szechuan Mountain House – I’ll start with the most important one and the one worthy of its own post. Lately we are seeing quite a few of these Queens establishments spilling out into the city and this one is possibly the most important one. There was no need to wait for word of mouth, or reviews as it got popular from day one. I sometimes SMH at the lines to SMH. This is not for the faint of heart though. The menu is loaded with “Mala” tingle triggers like the beef Slices with Enoki Mushrooms in Sour Soup, and Stir Fried Chicken with Dry Red Chili Peppers. The only dish I didnt care for after 4 visits is the dry Shrimp with garlic.
Miss Lily’s 7A Cafe – In my constant pursue of jerk chicken perfection after Ma Peche dropped its wings from the menu, I think I found them at Miss Lilys east side little sister. But there’s a lot more going on in this Jamaican diner, starting with the party scene (pray that its someone’s birthday that day) and the hefty and juicy jerk chicken roti
Uncle Boons Sister – I almost gave up on this fast casual little sister after a curious fried Skate dish that stayed on the menu for about 5 minutes. My facial expressions probably did it. And you can very easily see everyone’s facial expressions in the 5 tables inside this hole in the wall. Its not super comfortable but its quick and easy, and sometimes at 4 pm that is what you want. Try the fiery fried chicken Laab, and the flavor packed Thai basil stir fry with fried egg
Superiority Burger – Lets not talk about why it took me all these years to finally try this celebrated burger, but concentrate on this: Its fu$#ng awesome! For someone like me who will never crave a veggie burger, I essentially need to be passing by while about to pass out in order to have this. This little guy had a lot more going for it than any Shake Shack burger I ever had. And today I came back for seconds and added the famous Broccoli salad and the infamous Superiority Water!
Martina – For Dessert! East Village is loaded with amazing ice cream. Once you are done with the pizza and the best white bean dish in NYC, try the Fior di Latte soft serve at Martina. But you must add the toppings especially the cherries in order to make this do its magic
RIP Anthony Bourdain
Eating With Ziggy 
Ciao, we had an extraordinary half day yesterday with Davide on the south side of Mt Etna. Thanks again for writing about him! Jackie
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Very cool! Enjoy the rest of it
I want Superiority Burgers to be the next shake shack!
Seriously the veg burgers are what a veggie burger *should* be. That broccoli side is a must, actually when i go i eat the burger and my scoop of sorbet, and then get a few sides to take home.
I made that burger at home…it was amazing. I cannot image what it’s like made by a professional.
http://www.grubstreet.com/2018/06/superiority-burger-cookbook-recipe-test.html
Like hers, my kitchen was a bomb site of dishes and mess afterwards. I also made a fruit cake that day – had lots of dried fruit having made a Christmas Cake last year and their Use By Date was looming. I couldn’t bear doing ANOTHER huge load of dishes after that! The author of this article is right about being confused about when to crush the chickpeas. And that slurry from potato starch is a miracle ingredient!
It’s a fun read
That link is to an article written by someone who made the Superiority Veggie Patties at home like me….
Here’s a link to the recipe –
https://www.goodfood.com.au/recipes/news/how-to-make-nycs-cult-superiority-burger-vegie-patty-at-home-20180524-h10hbc
They were GREAT. Time consuming to put together, but easy enough…and worth it. I popped the formed patties in the fridge for a while. They, mostly, stuck together; that slurry made with potato starch works!
I put the patties on Turkish bread rolls with lettuce leaves, a slice of tomato and a slice of beetroot (slice of beetroot on a burger is a must here in OZ.. I served the ‘burger’ with oven cooked fries.
It was all delicious and fun.