RedFarm

"There’s a way to have a good time at RedFarm—you just need to set the right expectations. This fancy dim sum restaurant Downtown with origins in New York City (and an outpost in Miami) offers a lot of spins on traditional Chinese dishes with varying degrees of success. They seem to take late-night drunken ideas and run with them, resulting in things like crispy egg rolls filled with pastrami served next to classic dishes like xiao long bao and three chili chicken, all while Avril Lavigne’s greatest hits blast over the speakers. Here's a sentiment that will upset healthy parents everywhere: Skip the vegetables at RedFarm. They’re often undercooked and priced as if gai lan recently became a rare and endangered plant. Cocktails and light bites are the way to go here. Start with spicy crispy beef and BBQ duck lettuce wraps, then order a few dumplings to share with the table. Better yet, do it during Happy Hour when cocktails and most of the small bites cost around $10. If you happen to find yourself Downtown craving dumplings, we’d suggest heading to Qi, Wu Chow, or Lin to scratch the itch. But if you just want solid drinks, a few snacks, and a nice patio with plenty of people-watching opportunities, RedFarm will get the job done. Food Rundown photo credit: Nicolai McCrary Cocktails We’ve enjoyed all the cocktails we’ve tried here, including this refreshing one made with tequila, aperol, watermelon, lime, and cucumber. photo credit: Nicolai McCrary Spicy Crispy Beef This is about as spicy as Taco Bell’s mild sauce, but it’s an otherwise satisfying dish. The beef is crispy and tender, and the vegetables add a nice crunch. Get one of these to start your meal. photo credit: Nicolai McCrary BBQ Duck Lettuce Wraps The duck lettuce wraps remind us of something you’d find at P.F. Chang’s, and we mean that in the nicest possible way. The meat is juicy and tender, and the sauteed vegetables add a great texture. photo credit: Nicolai McCrary Three Color Vegetable Dumpling These dumplings get their three colors from the vegetables inside—carrots, mushrooms, and bok choy. They’re light and crunchy, with slightly chewy skins, but they’re not particularly exciting or flavorful. photo credit: Nicolai McCrary Candied Walnut Shrimp With Yuzu And Wasabi As unsettling as this neon green drizzle might be to look at, the shrimp are seasoned well and fried to a crispy finish. photo credit: Nicolai McCrary Chinese Broccoli With Superior Shiitake “Flower” Mushrooms These have arrived undercooked and underseasoned on more than one occasion. They’re also nearly $25. Skip them unless you need more iron in your life and hate money." - Nicolai McCrary

"RedFarm is the best modern dim sum restaurant in town, and it now has a second location on the Upper West Side. The soup dumplings might not be the most authentic, but that’s not why you come to RedFarm. You come to RedFarm for downtown vibes and creative food. The UWS location is much like the original, but with more space and fewer people trying to get into 1OAK afterward. Try the Pac Man dumplings and the Katz’s pastrami egg roll." - Marisa Dunn

"The New York Chinese restaurant import in downtown Austin added dim sum to its weekend services in March. The brunch menu includes lots of dumplings and scallion pancakes, Dim sum is available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services." - Nadia Chaudhury

"It’s hard not to have a good time with dinner at Red Farm. The downtown space is lively and energetic—the type of place where you’ll see couples on dressy date nights wearing wide-brimmed hats and fancy suede boots. And despite our apprehension about the pastrami egg rolls, it’s not all mashups here. In fact, most of the menu leans a little more classic—serving fancy, unique twists on dishes like shumai, long-life noodles, peking duck, and BBQ spare ribs—offered at decidedly upscale prices. " - nicolai mccrary, raphael brion

"The New York City Chinese restaurant import is offering Bejing turkey for Thanksgiving takeout. There’s the whole turkey with sides like scallion pancakes and hoisin gravy ($135) or the whole turkey package, which adds other sides like vegetable fried rice and pastrami egg rolls ($185)." - Nadia Chaudhury