14th Street. NYC. My old stomping grounds. The random and frequent pilgrimages to Union Square to nerd out for hours while taking dates in Barnes & Nobles. The late ladies' nights that don't end until you're zombie'd out at the crack of dawn, but not before you hit up iHop to soak up the liquor. But all the times you've hit up iHop, have you ever thought to look across the street? Too drunk and tired to notice the greatness nuzzled in between the miscellany? I know I was... So, you could only imagine my frustration when I had to find out about celebrity chef/mogul/all-around-dope-motherfucker Eddie Huang's restaurant, Baohaus, while reading (ahem, listening to) his book, Fresh Off the Boat.
Check out what I had to say about the food at Baohaus after the jump
If you haven't heard of Baohaus, just picture a super intimate, run in and run out type of spot where you can feel free to chill with a minimal amount of your friends while snacking on some baos. Yes, I asked the same question the first time around: What the fuck is a bao? Thick, Chinese buns. That almost sounds lewd. Why do I feel a new term for "ass" coming about? She got that cake? No, she got them baos!
I walked over to the 14th street establishment around 12pm and there's already two people waiting outside for them to open. Not too much longer after, the doors open and there's a steady flow of customers from the jump. I ended up ordering two Birdhaus baos, an order of taro fries, and an apple sidra.
For baos to be so tiny, they're definitely filling. I'm so glad I only bought two instead of getting three like I planned because before I even finished my first bao, I was already wondering, "How am I going to eat this last bao? Am I full already? These are some magical ass baos." While eating, I definitely detected some sweetness in the bao which was interesting because you don't usually expect sweet flavors to be matched with meats. I ended up adding the sauce from the taro fries to the baos just to make things even more interesting. I know some chefs get mad when you add condiments to their creations, but fuck it, I like to experiment. I couldn't really pinpoint what the taro fries sauce tasted like at first but I definitely detected more peanut flavors once I added it to the baos.
But straight up, my taro fries were hard and hollow as fuck. I can't vouch for my batch. The flavors were nice, but I felt like I was cheated out of the full experience due to the texture. I would give them a second chance just to see if it was a bad batch or if that's the norm. Please believe that second chance will be taken off of someone else's batch, though.
As for the apple sidra, you can't go wrong with apple soda. Ever. I've been a fiend for manzanita sol for years so you know I was loving the sidra.
The atmosphere of Baohaus is very chill. The walls and tables are filled with tags from past custis, hip hop artists such as Lupe, Kanye, and the Wu flow through your ears, notable reviews are mounted up on the wall as well as merch, and past episodes of Eddie's Vice foodie show, Fresh Off the Boat, are playing non-stop. I've heard things get crazier in there later in the day. The fact that they had to place a sign up to warn people not to stand on the tables is definitely an indicator of what's to come if you stick around to find out.
Now, the ultimate question is, would I return to Baohaus? Hell yeah. I found a new spot to hit up for those chill sessions on 14th. Definitely a nice place to go after Bar 13. Plus, I haven't even tried the pork or fish baus yet so you know I'm coming back.
Check it out for yourself!
Baohaus
238 East 14th St, NY, NY 10003
*All photo credit goes to: Erika J. Gordon
Miz Kane
