Year of the Takeout Day 63: Inexpensive Delicacies Company INC
Mixed-Meat Soup from Inexpensive Delicacies Company (99 Allen Street)
Usually restaurants avoid bragging about how cheap they are.
But this Lower East Side dumpling diner outright embraces affordability -- and by serving up cuisine that's excellent and economic, does a lot to de-stigmatize thrifty treats (kinda the whole point of Year of the Takeout).
Anyway, it's also one of the few remaining places with a true don't-give-a-fuck feel.
A family came in and stole my table while I was sitting there, which was so refreshingly rude -- perhaps the culinary equivalent of a pre-Disney Times Square -- that I was more than happy to lurk awkwardly with my soup until finding another seat.
Anyway, the mixed-meat soup makes any inconvenience worthwhile. There isn't any broth, which is a bit bizarre for soup, but whatever: It's $3 and damned tasty, so there's no point bothering with semantics. The plate does feature a steaming, heaping portion of lo mein noodles topped with a chunky beef and pork sauce. Bell pepper slivers and tomato chunks give the meats a bold, sweet air. The best way to describe the pick: Think of a mash-up of dan-dan noodles and Coluck's Hong Kong vibe, and you've got just the right idea.
Follow Victoria Bekiempis @vicbekiempis.
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