Gena's Grill and Great NY Noodle Town

Cheap Ethnic Food Summer '09 Commence!

Gena's Grill (210 1st Ave btwn 12 and 13)

This place is pretty sweet, I have to say. If you want to feel like you really know where to get a good meal in New York, mosey over to Gena's. There are about 9 seats in the whole place, including at the bar. The menu is Latin American, mostly Cuban and Dominican, and pretty much everything runs between $5-$7. Brian got the Cuban Sandwich (five dollah), which seemed good, albeit a bit small. I ordred stewed chicken over yellow rice (five dollah and twenty five cents!) which came with a side of beans. The chicken was super moist, and the rice seasoned perfectly (although a bit lukewarm). The portion was really surprisingly large. The girl at the counter basically piled everything on with abandon. It's quite the deal... and they have pork over rice, goat over rice, seafood... anything you want: over rice. YES PLEASE.

Great NY Noodle Town (28 Bowery)

Got myself a bowl of Beef and Wonton and Noodle Soup tonight! I'll run through the comparisons wtih Lan Zhou, since it's the only other noodle place I really have in my repertoire:

Noodles:

Lan Zhou: chewy, fresh, hand-made
Great NY Noodle Town: dried, al dente, thin

Broth:

Lan Zhou: lacking, watery
Great NY Noodle Town: beefy, savory

Meat:
Lan Zhou: weird
Great NY Noodle Town: weird

So, it seems we have a tie so far with Lan Zhou winning on noodles, Great NY Noodle Town on broth, and tying with equally strange meat additions.

So, what it comes down to is the WONTONS!

Unfortunately there can be no comparison. Lan Zhou has just about the best fried dumplings around, and the shrimp wontons included in the soup from Great NY Noodle Town were rockin' too, featuring two whole shrimpers nestled inside a delicate wonton. But, these are two different animals, and, therefore, cannot be compared!

You'll just have to try them both yourself.

-R