Williamsburg is an Asian Food Black Hole

Yao Ming would not be pleased with the dining options in Williamsburg.

The good ol' Burg has plenty of good food options. DuMont has the whole New American comfort food thing down, there are quite a few good Mexican spots, and the Polish and Italian food is great. But there is a giant, gaping hole in the culinary offerings: Food from the lovely continent known as Asia. Being a hapa, I was raised almost solely on Filipino, Chinese, Japanese and Thai food, with some Mexican thrown in for good measure.

Browsing through Chowhound, I came upon a thread called "Williamsburg/Greenpoint: is there any decent Chinese takeout" and the consensus among the many responders was no, there is not any decent Chinese takeout. In fact, I started thinking about if there was any decent Chinese food at all. M Shanghai is overpriced and hit-and-miss, and the myriad bullet-proofed glass takeout spots aren't exactly exemplars of fine Chinese cuisine.

There is some decent upscale Japanese, and some of the Thai is passable, but overall this just isn't a good neighborhood for Asian food. Last Saturday when I rode my bike to Flushing I realized how much I miss great Chinese food. Now I understand that Flushing, a neighborhood made up almost entirely of Asians, and Williamsburg, a neighborhood made of mostly of white hipsters and Hispanic and Polish people, aren't going to be on the same level in terms of Asian cuisine. But is it too much to ask for one decent, authentic sit-down Chinese restaurant? And when will we get our delicious Ichiran noodle shop?

For now, I guess I'll just have to take the L to Elvie's in the East Village or the JMZ to Chinatown. The price I pay to live in beautiful Williamsburg, Brooklyn ...

Comments

[BeatsMe]

M Shanghai is pretty hit and miss, but when it's good, it's really good, albeit in a West Coast (US) kinda way. I find the Thai to be pretty blah, though Amarin at least can crank up the heat. Zenkichi, on the other hand, is probably my favorite Japanese restaurant in New York.

[The Driggs]

I totally agree. I love Zenkichi, especially the freshly made tofu.

[Deej]

Come to Sunset Park, neighbor to the north!