Best Chinese takeout: King Food
It amazes me how much bad Chinese takeout there is in my neighborhood. I live on the border of Chelsea and the West Village, a busy area where I would expect competition to drive standards pretty high. But the food at most places ranges from mediocre to completely unappetizing. At one place I tried, the food was bland and way too heavy on the onions. At another place, the hot and sour soup was barely more than oily water.
King Food stands out not only as the best of a sorry crowd, but as a takeout place where the food is actually really good. When I feel a cold coming on I always get a big tub of their hot and sour soup, which has a nice vinegary edge, contains generous amounts of tofu, and is not too hot for my delicate palate. Beef with black mushrooms is also very good. Chicken with broccoli is delicious, with impossibly juicy slices of white meat, but sadly I have to avoid it, because something in the marinade doesn’t agree with my stomach. I suspect white wine is the culprit, since historically I don’t handle it well and it would be a natural ingredient in this type of marinade. I’ve never had a problem with any other dish, and I’ve gone there many times.
King Food is on 14th St. between 8th and 9th Avenues, which makes it not only the best but the closest of my options. There’s a couple of stools at a narrow counter if you insist on eating there, but it’s really a takeout place. They’re open till 11:00 most nights, midnight on weekends.
I don’t have any personal connection with the place. I just like the food there.
