Weird (minor, but weird) at Eton on Vanderbilt

[Amy Mintzer]

So, I finally picked up some food from Eton this evening, having been put off in the past by the insistence on the 15-minute wait time (since "all food is cooked to order." Really? The pulled pork?). Ordered dumplings and the Beef Short Rib entree. The menu board says, "All Entrees come with rice and veggies." So I expected rice and veggies. When I got home and opened the container, it was rice and MACARONI SALAD. Like you get from a supermarket.

I actually called up and asked if this was normal or some weird fluke, a prankster in the kitchen or something. Not a fluke.

Anyone else find this totally weird?

The short rib, I'll say, was excellent if very fatty.

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Eton
635 Vanderbilt Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238

[Barry Strugatz]

I had a bad experience yesterday. My shrimp dumplings were undercooked and barely edible. They were out of several items. My sliders (chicken and pork) were just okay. There doesn't seem to be much oversight by management. Going downhill.

[Amy Mintzer]

That's a shame. How are the crab dumplings? They were out yesterday, so I haven't tried them.

[Barry Strugatz]

I requested them but they were out of the crab so I never tried them

[Sluggo1407]

If the short rib was excellent, then wasn't it worth the wait? 15 minutes isn't all that bad. Short ribs tend to be fatty. That's why they have so much flavor. However, I don't understand the macaroni salad thing either. Yes, it's weird.

[lambretta76]

Sounds like Amish country, where "chicken potpie" is considered a vegetable.

With the shave ice, I guess they are going for a slight Hawaiian vibe. Would love some Spam musubi or kalua pork in the hood. Side note -- was the macaroni salad good? Or was it really run of the mill supermarket variety?

[Amy Mintzer]

You all must be right about the Hawaiian thing; it's not a scene I know at all.

I don't particularly like even "good" macaroni salad, but this was definitely the supermarket type. Mayonnaise, sugar, tiny flecks of grated carrot. I won't insult it in case anyone out there really likes it (from my 6-year-old niece I have learned the priceless phrase, "Don't Yuck my Yum"), but jeez.

[wasny]

That's OK. From my 7-year-old kid I've learned the riposte, "Don't yum my yuck."

[Amy Mintzer]

: )

[Amy Mintzer]

I cook short ribs every now and then, and you are right about fat and flavor; it's just that this one was ultra fatty. (Like 30-50%. Normally, a certain amount renders out in the cooking.) And I didn't mind waiting for it last night. But if you go in and ask for an order of dumplings, they tell you in takes 15 minutes, because they're cooked to order. That's why I've passed in the past. Once when I was with my very hungry kid, and we were told it would be 20 minutes because everything was cooked to order, I said, "Everything?" I was told yes. (Meanwhile, most of what's on the small menu is slow-cooked food, like the short ribs, soy-poached chicken, pulled pork...) I asked if there was anything at all that we could just get right away. "No." "What about rice?" I asked. (I could see the rice cooker.) He admitted that was ready to go. So I bought some. Because my daughter wanted it, and because that's the kind of irritating stickler I am.

The short rib was tasty though...

[Miss Needle]

Haven't been to Eton, but it sounds like a Hawaiian plate lunch. Meat, rice and mac salad is very common. Still very strange they consider macaroni salad a vegetable.