Year of the Takeout Day 123: Congee Village (Bowery)

By Victoria Bekiempis Fri., May 4 2012 at 8:55 AM

Categories: Victoria Bekiempis, Year of the Takeout

Roast Duck and Meatball Porridge from Congee Village (207 Bowery, 212-266-2828)

Year of the Takeout got to nosh with a very special guest Thursday, the Voice's Maura Johnston. She had never had congee. Of course, we took it upon ourselves to make her lose her c-card.

The $4.45 bowl of porridge came out piping from the kitchen, so we had to wait before eating it and think whether any analogies could be drawn to "Goldilocks and the Three Bears."

Congee, like other grainy stews, seems to gain flavor as it cools. So, after 10 minutes, what had previously been like plain oatmeal took on the taste of green onion and smoky meats, making for a simple yet hearty selection.

Maura's final thoughts?

"It was warm and reassuring."

Follow Victoria Bekiempis @vicbekiempis.

[FULL DISCLOSURE: As evidenced by our twitpics, we ate our fair share of Chinese food yesterday. We did not, however, wake up from one of those ill-wrought, late-night "I'll totally sleep for an hour and write this blog post" naps as originally planned. Apologies!]