To the uninitiated, the dim sum experience can be quite a harrowing experience so much so that it can completely turn someone off the entire eating experience. Along with the language barrier, perceived rude service, unfamiliar cuisine, impatient waiters, and often times shared tables, there is also an overwhelming amount of restaurants offering dim sum. The old adage of dining where the Chinese dine no longer applies, as every joint is jam-packed with Chinese folks. Here are our favorites that dim sum pros and neophytes alike can appreciate.

Linden Place in Flushing offers all the creature comforts not often associated with a typical Chinese restaurant. There is free valet parking, non-shared tables, and a helpful English-speaking staff. While you are sipping cups of tea and chowing down ha-gow, and the requisit cha-siu baos, you can admire the interior that’s leftover from what must’ve been a Italian-American catering hall. (Linden Place Restaurant, 34-20 Linden Place, Flushing, NY)

Sun Ming Gee is conveniently located on 6th Avenue in Brooklyn’s Chinatown, off the BQE and two avenues from the N train. The shrimp rice noodle (cheung fun) is a one of the best in the area. The massive portions of rice and noodle items on the menu are enough to fill you, quite literally, to next Tuesday. Spoil yourself with the e-fu noodles with crab. (Sun Ming Gee, 618 62nd Street, Brooklyn, NY)

Dragon Palace is a David to the Goliath dim sum joints in the surrounding area. Skip the massive Jin Fong Palace, Golden Bridge, or the guidebook listed HSF, for the more cozy digs. Along with the dim sum staples, be adventurous and try as many dishes rolled off the carts as your budget will allow. If that’s not enough, there is also a made to order buffet table offering snails, clams, turnip cake, and stuffed green peppers. (Dragon Palace, 202 Centre Street, New York, NY)

Vegetarian Dim Sum Restaurant offers a respite from the squishiness of live fish and animal carcasses hanging in the windows of the many storefronts in Chinatown. Vegetarians will delight in the fact that they can dine guilt-free, while carnivores will wonder how gluten and soy can resemble a bit of meat. The crowd is a mix of elderly Chinese, TimeOut NY-toting hipsters, and every now and then a Beastie Boy.(Vegetarian Dim Sum Restaurant, 24 Pell Street, New York, NY)

[photo by: wireguy/flickr]

And boy do I love a good 24 Hour diner. Eating on the big day, thankfully, isn’t only fruitcake and eggnog, and whatever you can heat up from last night. The past few years, we’ve had Christmas dinner at everyone’s favorite all nighter Ukranian restaurant in East Village, Veselka. The stuffed cabbage and mushroom barley taste extra swellicious when the joint is packed, and Second Avenue is pretty much car and pedestrian-free at around 9 or 10pm at night.

The daytime is spent weaving through Chinatown, then waiting patiently for a shared table for some dim sum. Sure bets in the Manhattan enclave are Jin Fong, Golden Bridge, and the new Harmony Palace. If you’re in Queens, hit any of the three East Buffet restaurants or try out the former Italian catering hall Linden Place. Chinatowns are always bustling so you would never know that it’s a holiday and that no one is working. Plus, there’s always something eye catching like the squishy, live stuff at the numerous wet markets.
[Veselka, 144 2nd Ave, New York, NY]
[Jin Fong, 18 Elizabeth St, New York, NY]
[Golden Bridge, 50 Bowery, New York, NY]
[New Harmony Palace, 94 Mott St, New York, NY]
[East Buffet & Manor, 4207 Main St, Flushing, NY; 645 Kissena Blvd,
Flushing, NY; 79-17 Albion Ave, Elmhurst, NY]
[Linden Place, 420 Linden Pl, Flushing, NY]

Our second day in Fukuoka/Hakata City POURED! We considered making it a day out getting enriched by culture by visiting some museums, but decided that indulging in the nation’s most coveted pastime, shopping, would be a bit more fun. Especially if it means shopping Japanese style at Canal City.

Canal City is exactly that of its namesake…it’s a mega shopping complex that is more like a vertically planned city. It even has its own canals (they were a bit stinky…just like the real thing) weaving through the ground floor and synchronized fountain shows that are spectacular enough to even wow jaded New Yorkers like ourselves. We spent an entire day at Canal City, browsing at the boutiques and playing in the game arcades. We especially loved the kids floor, that had an awesome candy shop, tons of toy stores to entertain tots as well as adult sized kids like ourselves.

After spending about 4 hours browsing at Canal City, the rain finally let up and we made our way to a Yatai for dinner. Hakata/Fukuoka is known among the Japanese as the nation’s culinary center, which is what attracted us. They are especially known for their Yatais, food stalls, which serve quick delicious meals like Yakitori, sushi, and ramen, the latter being the regions specialty. The food stalls are tiny and draped with a curtain to block out the wind. Lanterns hanging outside the stalls advertise their specialty, but it’s pointless to the average non-Japanese reading gaijan. The major drag of yatais, right by Hakata Bay waterfront, are good but touristy and expensive. We ordered ramen and a dish of oden and yakitori. We met some a nice Japanese couple on holiday from neighboring Beppu, which is hot spring central. I remarked to the man, how sitting in the cramped quarters of the yatai in front of a busy kitchen was as hot as a Beppu onsen! Though delicious, our meal for two, turned out to be the most expensive street food we’d ever eaten! However, cheaper Yatai stalls are sprinkled throughout the city center, and many are even better than those by the waterfront. We hit one off the beaten yatai path after our day in Canal City and our bill was half that of more touristed stalls and our ramen, and was definitely better!

We definitely enjoyed eating and shopping our way through Fukuoka, but I wouldn’t say it’s a must-see unless you are a total ramen enthusiast or plan on spending time exploring the Kyushu region.

San Pedro in Ambergris Caye is a bit like any other seaside town. Pricey restaurants with t-shirts and souvenir shops dot the main drag. Unlike other seaside towns, everything is locally owned or expat owned.

It’s lobster season right now. In fact, we missed the lobsterfest and the crowning of Miss Lobster Fest 2006. The finer joints in town charge NY prices for the lobsters and they don’t even cook it well enough to justify the prices. In typical Jonathan & Karen fashion, we seek out the mom and pop joint in a little shack that charge about half the price, but tastes twice as good. One such joint is Warguma (sp?) on the middle road. It’s easy to get pass it as it’s just a tiny little shack with only two tables. The owners hardly speak any english, which allowed us some spanish practice in ordering a lobster burrito and a fried snapper. The total was around $15 for the both of us. Cheap by AC standards.

Reef Restaurant across the street from tourist-filled Caramba is a good standby. While there is no air-conditioning, there are ample fans to keep you cool. You can also order an iced cold Beliken, among other drinks, to cool you down. It tries a bit too hard to cater to the tourists. The decor is completely overdone with giant seashells on all the walls. The flourescent lighting also makes you notice the white sand all over the floor. The food at pretty good prices makes up for it’s over the top cheesiness. What’s great about Reef is that it’s a place the locals go to for a nice dinner.

Ruby’s and Celi’s are great local delis/bakeries/snack shops. The locals swear by Ruby’s Johnny Cakes. Though, I have yet to have one, I think Celi’s version is pretty good as well. Either one of these are great for budget eats. Plus, there are also the small shacks by Jaguar Temple that are excellent choices.

The other joints we’ve eaten were all tourist restaurants. Caramba and Fidos were all really comfortable, clean, atmospheric, but the food was absolutely forgettable. The Fidos next the Royal Caribbean Resort has the great beach views. Once you dig into the food, you will quickly realize that your cash is paying for the views. I’ve eaten better at the CUNY cafeteria during my lunch break. The lobster burrito is wrapped in a cardboard thick tortilla while the lobster meat lacked any resemblance of lobster. I could have been served an imitation crab stick and would’ve probably enjoyed that much, much better.

Tonight, we’re headed for either Papi’s, another mom and pop shop, or the big bad Elvi’s for their Mayan buffet.

We all know Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start to summer. Technically it is still spring, but the weather is nice and warm, the sun is shining (even when it rains!), kids are jittery with only a month left of school, working stiffs are waiting for summer fridays, and restaurants and bars boast their gardens are open. It’s summer already!

One of the hilights of summer has got to be the eating contests. Here in Brooklyn, we’ve got that Nathan’s hot dog eating contest in Coney Island, in which a scrawny Japanese kid puts our XL heavyweight eaters to shame. First it was televisions, then cars, then baseball, and for the past few years the Japanese have been overtaking our hot dog eating contests. Eating contests are a cornerstone of our culture and we simply cannot cede that away.

There is an opportunity to redeem ourselves and beat the Asians at their own game in August at the 11th Annual Tofu Eating Contest.