Chinatown

All Chinatowns are the same--trashy, smelly, and full of loud people. I love it. When Wendy and I were in Boston, GR reader and new friend Landon took us to Buddha's Delight, a veggie restaurant that's buffet by day and pretty good by night. It's a favorite of our mutual friend Susie Ghahremani, he said. We saw lots of hippie kids, vegetarian Indians, and even a few Chinese families there. Honestly, it's not in the same class as Vegetarian Wok, Happy Family, or Vege Table, but what can you do? Like the old punk compilation says, this is Boston, not L.A.

As we munched on our food, Landon gave us the scoop on the neighborhood. He grew up there, so he should know. Apparently, a bunch of mom and pop shops were recently shut down to make space for lofts. The construction was going on outside. Yet the porno shops and strip joints remain. What gives? Walking around, we heard a lot of Cantonese, so you can tell that the residents are Old World--not well-heeled Mandarins from Beijing.

Other ways Chinatowns are the same. From our second-floor corner, we could see movie rental places everywhere. People were pouring each other tea. The host snags the check. We told Landon we'd get him back by treating him for dessert. He probably knew, because then we walked to a super-fancy, deluxe dessert place. Not in Chinatown.