Alley 41

January 29, 2019

All meals should aspire to be like this meal. Everything, from the decor to the service to the company to the food, was easy. Just remembering it makes me feel happy and metaphorically full.

Sam and I decided to get dinner after work one day. Taking advantage of our already being in Queens, I looked up Bib Gourmands in Flushing and picked Alley 41 because it had the best looking menu and website.

When we arrived (after running around in the sleet like dummies — totally Sam’s fault) the restaurant was fairly empty. It got a little busier throughout the night, but the weather was truly horrid, “stay at home” weather.

From an iPad with helpful pictures, we ordered the squishiest dan dan noodles (成都擔擔麵) I have ever had the pleasure of chewing, the scallion pancake (蔥油餅) which was totally #satisfying, and a SMALL portion of the braised fish fillet with veggies and roasted chili (水煮魚片). I emphasize the word small because LOOK AT THAT GENEROUS-ASS PORTION. Hot damn!

Side note: I had to pause writing this story and eat breakfast because thinking about how good everything was made me hungry.

There’s not much else to say. The staff clearly cared about the restaurant, so it broke my heart when the people at the table next to us acted like divas/there was some cash v. card confusion when it came to paying our bill. I tipped extra to alleviate my feeling of shame, both second and firsthand, respectively.

I hope Alley 41 thrives. It is a place that reminds me of the American Dream, filled with hardworking people trying to make a better life for themselves, and I cannot wait to go back.