#fried beef

My favorite fried chicken in New York City!

La Dinastia on West 72nd St. is a classic Chinese-Dominican restaurant that my friend Victor introduced me to 25 years ago and we have no stopped eating at since. Obviously it was easier when we lived ten blocks away on 82nd St., but we’re still happy to make the trip from wherever we live. Even after we moved to Shanghai, we visited La Dinastia every time we flew back.

Last Friday we hit The Dead Poet for a few cocktails first, then shot down to the Return Brewing Tap Takeover at The Hoptimist before heading to La Dinastia for my friend John’s birthday dinner. As a creature of habit, my family always orders the exact same thing here, but this time, John had the honor of choosing our dinner... as long as their Boneless Crispy Crackling Chicken hit the table, as seen above. Here’s a look at what else we went with...

Old school pork egg rolls, which are getting harder and harder to find in the city...

Fried pork dumplings, which were a first for me...

General Tso’s Crispy Beef...

Arroz con Pollo Dominican Style...

There was also an order of their Chickpeas in Moro sauce, which is another dish I always get, and highly recommend you do too.

Everything was outstanding as always! Consistency is king here.

And, for another first, I ordered a cocktail instead of beer, a Nutcracker, with rum, amaretto, SoCo, pineapple juice and grenadine...

Several of New York’s long-time Latin-Chinese restaurants did not survive the pandemic, with even La Caridad 78 closing, but La Dinastia was packed with people, still going strong with all the same staff, and now their kids, who have been serving here for the three decades I’ve been going.

In the end, it’s the food that people keep coming back for, and on that front, La Dinastia is still at the top of their game!

LA DINASTIA

145 West 72nd St.

NY, NY 10023

212-362-3801

Idaho Finger Steaks

Crispy Beef Ribs

I’m often inspired by Sian Redgrave, I have to say. She’s a beautiful cook and a beautiful person (and a beautiful woman), and her Instagram feed is gorgeous and mouth-watering. And lately, it’s inspiring me heaps: I made this Chocolate, Espresso and Beetroot Cake a couple of weeks ago, after seeing this (not as pretty maybe, but just as good I reckon), and this was so drool-inducing, I had to cook something approaching. Enter this Lebanese Honey Fried Beef. And I’m glad I did; it’s just delight on a warm Rosemary flatbread (with rosemary freshly picked in our herb garden!) Speaking of garden, look at my beautiful paint job on the wall behind the tables. Took me all avro yesterday, but worth it, yeah? (For comparison, same wall behind these gorge Pavs!)

Ingredients (serves 4):

2 tablespoons olive oil

1.12 pounds flank steak, cut into 4 strips

teaspoons Lebanese Spice Mix

1 1/2 tablespoon honey

1 1/2 cup Hummus

olive oil, for drizzling

Heat a large, nonstick skillet over high heat. Add olive oil, cook, 45 seconds. Add flank steak strips to the hot pan and cook, about 2 1/2 minutes on each side, until nicely browned. Remove from heat, and let rest, about 7 minutes. 

Reheat pan over high heat. Meanwhile, cut flank steak into small bites. Add to the hot skillet, and cook, 2 minutes, stirring often. Add Lebanese Spice Mix, and shake pan to coat the beef. Cook until crispy on the outside. Add honey, and cook, shaking the pan, a couple of minutes more, until glazed.