West Place Chinese Restaurant 1288 Amsterdam Avenue New York, NY 10027

West Place Chinese Restaurant 

1288 Amsterdam Avenue

New York, NY  10027

http://www.west-place-indy.com/

Telephone: (212) 932-9390 and 9376

Open: Sunday-Saturday 11:00am-11:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d5065901-Reviews-West_Place-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

West Place Chinese Restaurant at 1288 Amsterdam Avenue

I came across West Place Chinese Restaurant when I was walking the neighborhood in Morningside Heights (MywalkinManhattan: Day Sixty-Nine Visiting SoHA, Morningside Heights last March). It was packed with Columbia students during the lunch hour and when I returned, people from the housing the complexes that surround it replaced them.

The inside of West Place Chinese Restaurant.

One afternoon towards my walk of the neighborhood, I went in for lunch and they have the nicest selection of lunch specials that are each priced at $6.75. This runs from 11:00am-3:00pm and the entree is served with Pork Fried Rice and a choice of either Wonton, Egg Drop, Chicken Noodle or Rice Soups. There is a dish from all over their menu and the few times I have eaten there, they have been excellent (see reviews on TripAdvisor).

The Wonton Soup is excellent

On the first trip there, I tried the General Tso’s Chicken, a combination of fried chicken pieces served in a tangy sweet/sour sauce served with a large portion of fried rice. The serving size was large enough for two people to easily share. The sauce coated a sizable portion of chicken that was perfectly cut and fried. There is a lot of flavor to their sauce and has a nice tartness to it. The fried rice is pretty standard but still tastes good. Not much as way of ingredients except bean sprouts.

The General Tso’s Chicken with Fried Rice is excellent

It was on this trip I noticed that at lunch they also have a small lunch buffet that is priced at $6.95. That is a combination of popular dishes and rice and noodle dishes as well. It seems to very popular with the locals and students alike. You might want to call the restaurant to ask what the hours of this buffet and if it is offered on the weekends.

The Roast Pork Lo Mein here is excellent!

The second time I ate here, I came for dinner on a rather cold night and the meal warmed me right up. At night, the restaurant offers a Special Combination Platter, a choice of sixteen popular dishes served with Pork Fried Rice or White Rice with an egg roll.

I tried the Chicken with String Beans with fried rice and an egg roll. The portion size of chicken with string beans was very large and even myself who has a large appetite could just about finish it. The string beans were fresh with a crisp snap and cooked perfectly with just the right amount of chicken where one did not dominate the other. It was served in a spicy garlic sauce that mixed well with the rice.

The Chicken and String Beans is really good

Their egg rolls are filled with roast pork and vegetables and were perfectly fried out. With a little sweet sauce, made a nice accompaniment to the dish.

The service here is very friendly and helpful and they get the food out quickly.

On a recent trip uptown, I stopped in for dinner and this time I tried the Boneless Spareribs with Fried Rice and an Egg Roll combination platter and the meal was excellent as usual. I had not eaten here in months and the food is consistently excellent. The portion size was larger than I remember from the last time. They really piled the food into the container.

The Boneless Spareribs with Fried Rice and an Egg Roll.

The Boneless Ribs were overflowing on the platter.

These sweet and juicy bites are full of flavor and piled into this small dish. There was enough food for two people.

The Egg Rolls are amazing.

If you are on the Columbia campus and have a yearning for good Chinese-American cooking, this is the perfect place for you.

Please call the above number for delivery. It is free in the area with the minimum of $7.00.

Koronet Pizza 2848 Broadway New York, NY 10025

Koronet Pizza

2848 Broadway

New York, NY 10025

Phone: (212) 222-1566

Fax: (212) 212-0664

https://www.koronetpizzany.com/

Open: Sunday-Saturday-10:30am-11:15pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d426021-Reviews-Koronet_Pizzeria-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

The original Koronet Pizza at 2848 Broadway

The sign and selection of food.

Koronet Pizza was established in 1981 and is located right on the border of the Columbia Campus in Morningside Heights and is known best for having ‘New York’s Biggest Slice’. I have to admit that the slice is huge.

The pizza cases with the giant pizzas.

I stumbled across Koronet Pizza when I was walking around the Columbia campus for my “MyWalkinManhattan.com” project and needed a quick lunch. The giant slice is part of their 32 inch pizza that they sell for $38.00.

The pizzas are really that big.

An individual slice of their delicious pizza is $6.00 and is about the size of two normal slices. You only need one to fill you up. When I ate there, customers got a big kick out of downing one of these slices.

The slice size is worth the money.

The pizza is excellent. Their sauce has a spicy tomato taste to it and is full of flavor. They load on the cheese so every bite is delightful. It is so big that you have to eat it in stages and its fun to watch the other customers do the same.

This is how big the pizzas here are

Their prices across the board are very reasonable. The 18 inch pie is $18.00 and $3.00 per slice and the 16 inch pie is $16.00 and $3.00 a slice. Other items include their beef patties at $3.00, chicken and sausage rolls at $6.50 and a cheese calzone at $6.50. With a can of soda at $1.50, it makes the perfect lunch for a hungry college student or a starving alumni.

The slices are huge!

The service is friendly and be expected to wait as the whole neighborhood has discovered this restaurant. Being right near the One subway line, it tends to get busy. The service is very quick though and you will receive your food with a big smile. I think the owners and cooks get a kick out of watching the customers tackle that giant slice.

The pizza selection sign.

*Authors Note: because of COVID-19 there are now tables outside the restaurant as well as inside the Morningside Heights location. This continues on into 2024.

Hunan Chen’s Kitchen 1003 A Columbus Avenue (Between 109th & 110th Streets) New York, NY 10025 (Closed January 2022)

Hunan Chen’s Kitchen (Closed January 2022)

1003 A Columbus Avenue (Between 109th & 110th Streets)

New York, NY  10025

212-222-1118

https://www.hunanchenskitchen.com/

Open: Sunday-12:00pm-11:00pm/Monday-Thursday-11:00am-11:00pm/Friday-Saturday-11:00am-11:30pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d4980909-Reviews-Hunan_Chen_s_Kitchen-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

I discovered this little ‘gem’ of a restaurant on my travels to Harlem when walking the streets of SoHA (South of Harlem) in the Morningside Heights section of the neighborhood. This little ‘hole in the wall’ you will miss if you are not looking.

Literally it is so small that no more than three people can stand in the restaurant  before you have to wait outside to order. It is hidden between a Spanish restaurant and near a pizzeria. There is one table in the restaurant with only two chairs and trust me, it is busy so you don’t want to eat there.

What it lacks in space and atmosphere, it more than makes up for in the quality and quantity of the food. I have had several wonderful lunches during my walks in the neighborhood and it has filled me up for both lunch and dinner. I am lucky that the walk is working off all this good food. The food is Chinese-American but what it lacks in authenticity it makes up in flavor and portion size especially when you are on a budget.

First off, for such a small place the selection of dishes is extensive and in the three meals I have had here, I have not had a bad meal. The service is low key and very friendly and the food comes out quickly but not rushed.

They make some of the best egg rolls around.

The best part is that the prices for the lunch specials do not go above $6.75. This includes an entrée (that can feed two people), served with fried rice and you are offered a choice of either egg drop or wonton soup or an egg roll or a soda. Bring a beverage with you and get either the soup (the wonton soup is excellent with a rich broth and large wontons  served in a generous pint container) or the eggroll. The eggroll is good, stuffed with cabbage and other vegetables and roast pork. Not mind blowing but still good and they are homemade at the restaurant.

The Wonton Soup was excellent.

The entrees are where the place really shines. The portion sizes are large for a lunch special and every time I order here, the food is steaming hot out of the wok. You have to let it cool down a bit before eating or you can burn the roof of your mouth.

On my first trip I tried the Roast Pork Lo Mein ($6.25) served with a large mound of fried rice. The Lo Mein was cooked fresh and was straight out of the wok when I got it. When I opened the Styrofoam container, the steam just rolled out of it. The dish is flavorful loaded with large pieces of roast pork and a selection of julienned vegetables.

The Roast Pork Lo Mein is excellent

The fried rice is good but would be better if they put a little roast pork into it. It still has a nice flavor to it with small pieces of vegetables in it. The wonton soup was delicious. The broth is rich with a deep chicken flavor and large wontons filled with pork inside of it.

On my second trip, I tried the General Tso’s chicken ($6.25) , which they are noted for on GrubHub, winning a reader’s award for it. You get nice size chunks of batter fried chicken with a sweet, tangy hot sauce. The chicken is fried perfectly with no greasy after taste that you get in some takeout places. Its sauteed with small chilies that give it its fiery taste. The combination of sweet and spicy hot really works in the dish and I can see why their customers rave about it.

The General Tso’s Chicken lives up to its reputation

On my third trip, I tried the Orange Chicken ($6.25) with fried rice. This was a similar batter as the General Tso’s with a sweet, pungent orange sauce with pieces of rind for that extra flavor. The portion size could have fed two people comfortably and sizzling hot when I ate it. Again the eggroll was pretty standard.

This place is close to the Douglass Houses Housing Project and is obviously very popular with their residents to walk two blocks over when there are three other Chinese restaurants right near the buildings. I am just surprised the students and faculty from Columbia University are not lining up for a meal here especially when students are trying to find reasonable meals on a college student’s budget. It is right near the tip of the southern part of campus on 110th Street.

The best part is that I got to take my meal to the benches of corner of Morningside Park and eat my lunch outdoors watching the kids and parents play soccer and baseball in the park below. As the neighborhood has changed, the park is now a magnet for the neighborhood and much safer to use. It is nice to sit on the benches and watch the world go by with all the other students and residents eat their lunches and watch me with much envy chow away at my mouthwatering meal. On a beautiful warm, sunny day there is nothing like it.

Eating in Morningside Park on a nice day is fun!

The entrance of the park by the benches.