Where to Find Beef Noodles in Dumbo | Eater NY

"Tucked beneath the Manhattan Bridge in Dumbo, the roughly 300-square-foot Lucky Rabbit Noodles has cherry-red walls plastered with photos of every dish, a neon noodle-bowl sign, a handful of IKEA stools, and one employee — chef-owner Jeremy Dean. I watched Dean, a Mexican-Salvadoran who opened the space as a vegan corner deli called Vodega early in the pandemic before switching it into Lucky Rabbit in 2021, cook everything himself on a portable induction burner and a plug-in griddle in a kitchen with no walk-in, no gas, and no help. His signature “beef noods” is a gonzo riff on Taiwanese beef noodles: brisket braised overnight in chicken stock and mirepoix, the fat blended into the braising liquid to make a hyper-luxurious brown gravy seasoned with mushroom seasoning and Maggi, ginger and five-spice, sugar, and vinegar, then wok-finished with Thai basil and fat, chewy noodles from Chinatown that slurp up the sauce; he finishes it with a drizzle of garlic butter, ginger-scallion sauce, fried shallots, scallions, and pickled ginger — $22 for two pounds. Other inventive plates I encountered — some still vegan — include orange chicken made by simmering and blending whole mandarins, mushroom and sweet potato dumplings rolled into tubes, and thin springy noodles bathing in vegan garlic butter. It’s not trying to be an iconic Chinatown shop or strictly “authentic,” but its playful, off-kilter approach and big, untraditional flavors feel refreshingly honest." - Daniel Meyer