Cuisine Corner - Off the Wall Chinese Cuisine
It is what it is
Justin Eusebio
Issue date: 11/20/09 Section: Opinion
You know what really grinds my gears? When those delivery restaurants slip the menus under your door and litter your foyer with piles of garbage. There is nothing more frustrating than walking into your building, especially when it is raining, and nearly falling from the amount of menus at your doorstep. Then it is infinitely worse when you get up to your actual apartment or dorm just to find more of the same. I don't get the marketing angle behind it. Do they believe that because you have 10 times as many menus as their competitors that you are more likely to order from them? Saturate the market and the customers are yours? If anything, having those menus makes me want to order less from them. However, this week was one of the busiest I've ever had in my career here at Stevens, which I thought was a perfect time for a place like this. A common theme with Chinese delivery restaurants that slip menus under the door is that they are usually the quick and dirty spots to get food. The food is cheap, the service is fast and the food is exactly what you expect. Therefore, I decided to try the first menu I saw and that happened to be Off the Wall Chinese Cuisine.
One of the first things to consider when ordering from a delivery or pick up restaurant is location. Off the Wall is located right on Washington in between 5th and 6th Avenue, which is the same block as my apartment (bonus points for even being on the same side of the street!). It almost seems like all these hole in the wall Chinese restaurants shop at the same IKEA because almost every one I've walked into has the same format. There is always one main counter with a menu above the counter and another on the counter. There is also anywhere between 3 to 4 tables, which are more meant to be a waiting area than a dining table. Off the Wall is no different from the rest and also offered the same quick and efficient service I had expected.
There are a few dishes that I feel every person has tried at one time in their lives that sets a benchmark for Chinese restaurants all over the world. Two of these dishes are General Tso's Chicken and the Beef with Broccoli, which I ordered to try and gauge the quality of food. The lunch specials come with the obligatory choice of soup and fried or white rice for which I tried their Wonton and Hot and Sour Soups. I also decided to try the Szechuan Chicken, Shrimp and Scallops in black bean sauce and some Shrimp Lo Mein to see how they tackle other commonly ordered dishes.
One of the first things to consider when ordering from a delivery or pick up restaurant is location. Off the Wall is located right on Washington in between 5th and 6th Avenue, which is the same block as my apartment (bonus points for even being on the same side of the street!). It almost seems like all these hole in the wall Chinese restaurants shop at the same IKEA because almost every one I've walked into has the same format. There is always one main counter with a menu above the counter and another on the counter. There is also anywhere between 3 to 4 tables, which are more meant to be a waiting area than a dining table. Off the Wall is no different from the rest and also offered the same quick and efficient service I had expected.
There are a few dishes that I feel every person has tried at one time in their lives that sets a benchmark for Chinese restaurants all over the world. Two of these dishes are General Tso's Chicken and the Beef with Broccoli, which I ordered to try and gauge the quality of food. The lunch specials come with the obligatory choice of soup and fried or white rice for which I tried their Wonton and Hot and Sour Soups. I also decided to try the Szechuan Chicken, Shrimp and Scallops in black bean sauce and some Shrimp Lo Mein to see how they tackle other commonly ordered dishes.