La Caridad 78

[Jason Perlow]

It's been a joke in a Seinfeld episode, and its also one of my favorite late-night dumps to eat at. Dirt cheap, and great "Bad Chinese American" cuisine, with a Latino twist.

Patty: So I told Bobby and Lisa that we'd try the new Chinese Spanish place La Caridad on Saturday.

Jerry: Oh, I thought we had tickets for the Knicks home opener.

Patty: Well I thought this would be more fun so I gave the tickets away.

Jerry: What? All right, fine.

Patty: Are you mad at me?

Jerry: No, I love a good Chinese Spanish whatever it is.

As I stated in my recent admission on the Chinatown Brasserie thread:

lately I'm very much into authentic regional styles of Chinese cuisine, such as real Sichuan and Shanghainese and Hunan and Hong Kong-style dishes. From time to time I like a Chicken Chow Mein or a Beef and Broccoli, but I tend to like that in a more downscale version, if that makes any sense.

Well, there is probably nothing more downscale in my mind than La Caridad 78. La Caridad is a dump, and I like it that way. After spending $137 on upscale Chinese American food last night and having just a few canapes to hold me over at the Brasserie Ruhlmann cocktail party tonight, I had to go eat something substantial. And cheap.

Theres nothing cooler than practicing your Spanish with a bunch of Chinese waiters. Un Egg Foo Young de Pollo, Por favor.

La Caridad makes a mean Egg Roll, with both pork and shrimp in it.

La Caridad is the only Chinese restaurant I know of with this bizarre condiment selection on each table. And they serve you BREAD.

House Special Fried Rice. So bad, so good.

General Tso's Chicken. The La Caridad version actually has a bit of tangyness to it.

Asopado de Camarones, one of the Cuban selections. Nice amount of shrimp in it.

Spare Ribs.

Behind the counter is this array of steamer trays that they use to hold trays of yellow rice (and a few other things) that they serve with the Cuban plates.

Edited June 1, 2006 by Jason Perlow (log)

[weinoo]

Great place for quick, cheap eats before a show at the Beacon.

[sadie_siamesecat]

Back when I was working in publishing as the lowliest of the low (editorial assistant)--and wanted a treat besides my subsistence diet of tuna pasta salad, the red beans and rice were my favorite. $3 or so, if I remember correctly. Occasionally I would splurge on the ropa vieja ($7)...then I moved 10 blocks away and I haven't been back since.

[chefdaiz]

jeebus!! that asopao makes me want to reach for my Mom's spicy pineapple vinagre!!..you know what i'll be doing in the kitchen today!

[Jason Perlow]

I love that spicy pineapple vinagre. I had never tried it until I saw your show. I think we buy pineapples just to make it now. The pineapple meat is a bonus!

Edited June 2, 2006 by Jason Perlow (log)

[rich]

jeebus!! that asopao makes me want to reach for my Mom's spicy pineapple vinagre!!..you know what i'll be doing in the kitchen today!

←

Daisy - your Pineapple Vinagre is one of the best condiments ever. Great recipe! Thanks.

Edited June 2, 2006 by rich (log)

[Pan]

I've actually never been to this place. Is it better than or essentially the same as the other, cheaper, less well-known Cuban-Chinese "Chinas y Criollas" places further uptown (but still on the Upper West Side; I'm not asking about Dominican places in Washington Heights or anything)?

[Jason Perlow]

I've never been to any other Cuban Chinese joint in Manhattan. You talking about La Dinastia? I haven't been there.

[Pan]

Jason, I didn't have any particular names in mind, but there are a bunch of Cuban-Chinese places. I used to go to a place up on 100th and Broadway, later closer to 99th, that was called something like Taza de Oro (I remember it translated as "Golden Cup," but I'm not sure about the exact name). Cheap and decent, but I think it may have eventually closed in part because the nearby Dominican restaurant, El Malecon, is a better value, even though it's slightly more expensive. No Chinese dishes available there, but to be honest, I almost always stuck to the Cuban offerings at the Cuban-Chinese place.

What I wonder about is why La Caridad is so popular. Is it because it's that much better than the other places, is it just the location, or is it because it was mentioned on "Seinfeld"?

[Fat Guy]

La Tacita de Oro (La Taza de Oro is a non-Chinese Spanish place in Chelsea) closed a couple of years ago. It was the best Cuban Chinese place uptown, in my opinion. Same ownership for something like 30 years. I'm not aware of any other places in the 100s or thereabouts that have survived. When I was a kid there were a bunch up there, and a bunch in Chelsea. Now most of them are gone. La Caridad has never been good -- it's just filling, greasy and cheap. It serves a purpose -- I've been there many times, though mostly in the pre-internet era -- but has never been a flattering representation of Cuban Chinese. La Dinastia (on 72nd Street) is pretty weak too. There's a La Dinastia II up in Washington Heights -- not sure how it is.

Here's a piece from the Gotham Gazette on the demise of the Cuban Chinese restaurant culture:

As the old generation of Cuban Chinese population in New York diminish, few of their descendants are holding on to the restaurant business that once was blooming everywhere in the city.

http://www.gothamgazette.com/citizen/jun03...n_chinese.shtml

[Jason Perlow]

La Caridad has never been good -- it's just filling, greasy and cheap

As I said, its a dump. Its bad Chinese food at its self-indulgent worst. Which is why I keep going back.

Edited June 3, 2006 by Jason Perlow (log)

[Pan]

La Tacita de Oro (La Taza de Oro is a non-Chinese Spanish place in Chelsea) closed a couple of years ago. It was the best Cuban Chinese place uptown, in my opinion. Same ownership for something like 30 years. I'm not aware of any other places in the 100s or thereabouts that have survived.[...]

←

Yes, La Tacita de Oro, and it was never that good, just OK and very cheap.

La Nueva Victoria is on the corner of 95th and Broadway.

Edited June 3, 2006 by Pan (log)

[Jason Perlow]

You're referring to La Dinastia and La Dinastia II:

http://yp.yahoo.com/py/ypResults.py?stx=la...5&Submit=Search

[NYC Mike]

La Caridad has never been good -- it's just filling, greasy and cheap

As I said, its a dump. Its bad Chinese food at its self-indulgent worst. Which is why I keep going back.

←

Its great for that. There used to be a great one on 181st and Bway called La Perla but its long gone now. I don't think there are any cuban chinas left uptown anymore.

[lia]

and a bunch in Chelsea. Now most of them are gone.

Both Chinitas, La and Sam, on Eighth are gone. i miss them.

[NYC Mike]

Speaking of Cuban Chino, Sabrosura in Castle Hill might be the "best of".

click

mike

[Jason Perlow]

Speaking of Cuban Chino, Sabrosura in Castle Hill might be the "best of".

click

mike

←

I may just very well check that one out on the way back from Arthur Avenue sometime.

[markk]

La Caridad has never been good -- it's just filling, greasy and cheap

As I said, its a dump. Its bad Chinese food at its self-indulgent worst. Which is why I keep going back.

←

Oy, not only is it a dump, but I remember it before its current expansion, like from the 70's!

As far as bad Chinese food at self-indulbent worst, that it sure is, but what's interesting to me is that I have long realized that I share Jason's love of even bad American Chinese food, but this one's too bad for me somehow; the Cuban stuff, however, is filling, greasy, and tasty, and I've been eating that for some 30 years, although less and less as the years go by.

One reason is that I've seen them carting in barrels with "MSG" stenciled on them, which is in the Cuban food by the ton. I once debated with the owner that the Accent (which they can omit from the Chinese dishes made to order) and the MSG that they put in all the Cuban food (which they cook up in batches and dish out from the little drawers) are one and the same, and he said "no, trust me, the barrel MSG s stronger!" (I don't know that I believe him, but for many reasons the MSG turns me away more and more from the place.)

My La Caridad anecdote is that in the original place, the seating counter was parallel to 78th St, with the wall of drawers behind it, and the counter space where they dished out the food was always filthy, and dirty, or at least caked-up with the drippings of all the food they served. I was in the neighborhood when they reopened after several months of remodeling and turning everything around as well as expanding, and that very first day, the counter under the drawers was caked-up with just as much dried food gunk as had always been there!

Still, it's tasty food that nobody I know ever got sick from!

[therese]

Nora Ephron mentions this place in a recent article in the New Yorker about her apartment at the Apthorp. At least it sounds like the same place.

[Sethro]

God I HATE this place. Why do skinny girls always want to go eat at the most bowel impairing places? It's never made me sick, per se, but not defecating for days isn't exactly healthy.

[Daniel]

I have never eaten here.. But have brought some sides home.. I cant say anything about there Chinese Food, but they make a real nice garlicky yuca.. Not as good as homemade, but when walking back from Citarella, it works.. There Maduras , plantanos are good there...

I am not someone who eats American Chinese Food, but a ribs, egg roll, rice and beans, yuca meal, would work for me..

Edited June 5, 2006 by Daniel (log)

[Sethro]

American Chinese cusine is just food. It can be good or bad. I don't believe the definitive American Chinese experience is something bad. 88 noodle house, ten blocks away, has terrific American Chinese food.

[Daniel]

For me, I dislike it.. Besides spareribs, or an eggroll, the rest I dont care for.. Its over fried, over sauced food IMO.. I have had it in the "best of places" I have it served behind bullet proof glass... I have eaten Chinese Food from a street vendor in Xiamen, to a white glove restaurant in Hong Kong.. I would rather have healthier food and spend less money by eating a Big Mac then I would eating American Chinese Food..

Edited June 5, 2006 by Daniel (log)

[Sethro]

Oh that actually wasn't directed towards you. If you don't like it, you don't like it.

I was adressing the developing gist of the thread which is "so bad its good", which to me never applies to food. Bad for you does not equate to a bad eating experience. American Chinese food is almost never going to be good for you, but it can be executed really well and be quite delicious.

[Daniel]

I agree, Sethro.... "Bad for you does not equate to a bad eating experience." Not one bit..