On the Cheap: Vanessa’s Dumpling House

Posted: August 7, 2009 at 6:15 am

When cheap eats are on the agenda, Vanessa’s Dumpling House always makes the shortlist; just a few bucks can buy much of the menu. Located at 118 Eldridge Street (adjacent to the smelliest block in all of Manhattan), the eatery is virtually a food factory, cranking out its product at breakneck pace.

In a separate room at the rear, behind big windows, a team of workers hand-rolls dumplings which are eventually sent to the kitchen up front. Another line of cooks toils behind the counter to ensure the goods are prepared and doled properly to an always-growing queue of famished folks. Getting the food is the easy part, though. Good luck finding a spot in their cramped seating area. Eating with strangers is standard.

Gwinny

Loved Vanessa's when I lived down there; no other dumpling place compares in the neighborhood...

Also, I'd separately come to the conclusion about Broome between Allen and Eldridge being the stinkiest street in Manhattan, so I was pleased to find someone agreeing with me!

Cary Conover

When I lived at 100 Allen I would eat at Vanessa's two or three times a week. Since they expanded it's much less of a squeeze to get in, and I don't mind only getting 4 for a dollar. But I often find myself walking right by on days when it's jam packed. Prosperity Dumpling down the street and North Dumpling on Essex are both decent. Biggest disappointment is Fried Dumpling at 99 Allen not only getting shuttered but seeing their dumplings go dry and rubbery ever since Vanessa's expanded. In my new neighborhood I go to Sweet Spring Restaurant at Catherine and Henry. Grumpy counter man but their dumplings are fantastic.

Bowery Boogie | A Lower East Side Chronicle

On the Cheap: Vanessa’s Dumpling House