Chinatown. It's a guilty pleasure. Most everything here feels a little cheap, a little dirty, and a lot sticky. But amidst the stickiness is a cesspool of brilliance. Of course, it's just as sticky as just about everywhere else, but who doesn't like to get a little sticky now and again?
You don't need to know the name of Shanghai Cuisine to identify the place I'm talking about, as the elderly woman behind the desk is the most aggressive saleswomen you'll encounter this side of the orient. Maybe she's gotten a taste for my dollar, but it seems to me that the moment I enter the international food plaza, she begins screaming incentives at me and gesturing with the plate as if I've no choice but to take it.
It'll usually cost you $6.50 for that plate, which budding entrepreneurs will pile to the point of physics defiance (with a heartfelt 'Screw you!' to Isaac Newton) to get the most out of their dollar. Sometimes, however, she will do a special discount and, between you and me, I've managed to talk her down (with the help of a man I assume to be her husband, who's a pushover) to a measly $5.00.
Just don't be alarmed if she tries to sell you another plate after you've finished with the first. After all, we probably all look the same to her. read more