Molly O’Toole Dumpling Man, 100 St. Marks Place.

Without dumplings, life would scarcely be worth living.

Like sweets made from boiled milk, sugar and something-or-other, dishes made from dough formed into a pocket and filled with meat or vegetables or soup give the people of East Asia, South America and Russia, to name only a neighborhood or two, something to look forward to. The same is true for the heterogeneous peoples of the East Village, a food-grazing and cheap-eats micro-climate extremely conducive to the production and distribution of dumplings, whether in Ukrainian, Mexican, Venezuelan or, above all, Chinese form.

In this regard, I am most partial to The Dumpling Man, a takeout and counter place on St. Marks Place between First Avenue and Avenue A, where the diner can watch a lineup of silent, dexterous Chinese chefs assemble his or her order before actually consuming it. The Dumpling Man, in the great East Village tradition, makes one thing only, and makes it with great care. You can get grilled or steamed shrimp, chicken, pork, vegetable or soup dumplings. Lucas Lin, the moon-faced, bespectacled owner, is enough of a New Yorker that he gets bored without a little variety, and so usually offers a special as well. Asparagus dumplings haven’t gone over too well, he concedes. On the other hand, water chestnut dumplings — prepared only when juicy water chestnuts are available in the market — have been a hit.
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