Nom Wah Nolita (New York, NY)

 If dumplings are the best things in the world, than that would make the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick, the absolute WORST things in the world. The only thing that could have even tried to make the Super Bowl watchable is a dumpling. And that's where the above 'lings enter in to the picture. 

When the best dumpling plug and all around mogul, Izzy, told me she was bringing Nom Wah dumplings over to watch the big game, I was speechless. Luckily, she told me over the phone too, so I avoided all possibility of fainting in front of her. Not only was she bringing dumplings, and herself on over to watch the game, or at least the half time show in her case, but these dumplings were a special edition 'ling. These 'lings were chopped cheese flavor 'lings. For all of you out there unfamilar with what a chopped cheese sandwich is, it is basically a cheese burger chopped up with lettuce, and tomato thrown on top.

These lings were stuffed with ground beef and cheese, and expertly garnished with lettuce tomato, and what I assume is thousand island dressing, by none other than the GOAT herself, Iz. The crisp held up even though they were crammed in a serving tray and covered, while being transported across state lines. The insides were packed full of cheesy, hamburgerish flavors. FYI, I've never had a chopped cheese sandwich so I couldn't tell you how close they got to nailing the flavor, but these 'lings were primo. Throw in some crisp lettuce and a little tomato action on top with some sauce, and I don't think I could even eat a real chopped cheese sandwich anymore. Once you have something in dumpling form, you can throw out the original.

These dumplings were the ultimate big game snack. Huge crowd pleaser.

4.89 out of 5

Eric

Anotha shoutout to the plug Izzy, who not only supplied the dumplings, but also introduced me to Nom Wah. XO. 

mokbar (New York, NY)

After a night of drinking, there are only two things that could help me face the hangover I was having. Obviously, the first was to continue on and have a few beers at the biergarten at the Standard. The next thing on my agenda was to get some food. With all my friends, going to order tacos, I had to get some real hangover cure food and sought out some dumplings, because everyone knows dumplings > everything else, especially when hungover.

So I headed on down to mokbar inside Chelsea Markets. It's a tiny little korean place, and decided to go with the halmoni dumplings. Food from the gods. These gems were perfectly fried, the filling was a lot more complex than many of the dumplings featured on this blog. the seasoning was spot on, the sizing was great.

The sauce that came with these beauts, was a kimchi based one that only added to the overall taste of the dumplings. These dumplings were exactly what I needed to keep on going for the day.

All around a very solid dumpling/sauce combo from the people at mokbar. I'd obviously advocate for eating dumplings daily, but for someone who is looking for a more moderate dumpling diet, I'd suggest going down to mokbar if you're in the area.

4.3 out of 5

Eric

"A dumpling a day...is a necessity"- my own quote (that i just came up with)

China Star (Vernon, NJ)

I just recently returned from a trip to Montreal, followed by a swing down to Florida, and I know what everyone is thinking "Uh why is this review not international or the very least a Florida Chinese place?" Well, I was way to busy enjoying the snow and then the sun, to even think about any reviews. However, when I was down in Florida, I met some awesome Hawkeyes, who had no clue what a dumpling was, let alone a blog devoted to ranking them existed. After some talk describing these little bites of heaven, once I returned back to NJ, I had to get some.

I have never been to China Star, and it's located pretty close to where I work, so I had to give them ago. The sauce was finally back to my standards after a few lackluster Chinese places. This sauce is one of the better sauces in the area, and believe me I've had almost all of them. But, thats where the positives end. Unfortunately, these dumplings just lacked all flavor which was a major disappointment. I was really looking forward to a nice bite, they looked great, sauce was good, but the dumpling didn't shine. There are much better places in northern NJ. 

Middle of the road dumpling

3 out of 5

Eric 

I'd like to shoutout our new Iowa friends from Fort Myers, this blog is dedicated to you. 

Hopefully, Iowa has some good dumplings. I'm coming for them. 

If there's two things, I know about the midwest is that 1) they have a shit ton of corn and 2) if no one has even heard of a dumpling it could potentially be a dumpling Nirvana out there. Stay tuned to find out.

Good Taste (Hamburg, NJ)

In the dumpling game it gets pretty hard to remember where you have gotten dumplings before, unless they blow your socks off. So, I was driving home when I decided to act on the ever present dumpling craving. I thought I'd try Good Taste, thinking I haven't them before. Nope I have had them before; they were just so underwhelming I wiped ever having them from my memory.

Looking back on my previous entry of these dumplings, everything I said before still stands. They cant even get the portions right. Last time I had six, this time seven, c'mon man. These dumplings were big, but that doesn't always translate to a quality dumpling. The filling could've been a contender at one point, these though not even close. Dough to meat ratio was a little shoddy, and the sauce being straight soy, which I should've remembered, was horrible.

Try for me one time Good Taste and maybe I'll have good things to say. Do I really have to go out of my way to bring my own dumpling sauce from another joint to give you a fair rating ? In baseball you get three strikes, but in the dumpling world you're unbelievably lucky to even get a second chance.

1.7 out of 5

I'm disappointed in myself guys thats two redo reviews.

Be Better (That's a reminder to myself and Good Taste)

Eric