Mandoo Bar

Description:

• The heart of Manhattan's Koreatown is 32nd Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues -- and the number of Korean restaurants on that 1 block is dizzying. You'll know you've found Mandoo Bar when you see the two women in the window rolling and stuffing fresh mandoo (dumplinga). The dumplings, stuffed with a variety of ingredients, are always incredibly fresh. There's the mool mandoo (basic white dumplings filled with pork and vegetables), the kimchee mandoo (steamed dumplings stuffed with potent kimchi [Korean spiced cabbage], tofu, pork, and vegetables), the green vegetable mool mandoo (boiled dumplings filled with mixed vegetables), and the goon mandoo (pan-fried dumplings filled with pork and vegetables). You really can't go wrong with any of these, so sample them all with a Combo Mandoo. Soups are also great; try the beef noodle in a spicy, sinus-clearing broth. With seating that is nothing more than wooden benches, Mandoo Bar is better suited for quick eats rather than a lingering meal -- a perfect lunch break from shopping in Herald Square or visiting the nearby Empire State Building.

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Recommended 2010