Ja Tze (Pork Dumplings) (5).....................................$1.90
A while back we happened upon one of the owners of Lucky Boy hard at work making dumplings. By hand. It should have clicked then and there that this was the menu item to sample, but as we are frequently hungover or brain-dead there was no click. This last visit we attempted to right this wrong.
The Ja Tze fared way better than their cousin, Bow Tze. The dumplings were nothing short of delightful, and are built for the complimentary soy sauce. Grab one of the glass bottles of SS up at the counter, and dump it all over the dumplings. You won't be disappointed. The pork is mixed with veggies, and then steamed to perfection. It would be a great compliment to the fried rice, or any of the Daily Combinations.
Noting that Lucky Boy does both American and Chinese cuisine, Kira and I opted to try lo americano: A shake. I got the chocolate, and was far from disappointed. It came with chunks of ice cream in it, just like I like it. The chocolate was hearty as well (don't you hate those overly milky chocolate shakes?) The point is, the shakes are solid and worth the buck ninety. You know how shakes are: when you're in the mood you're in the mood. Cialis style. So keep it hard and get a shake.
Chocolate Shake gets Three and a Half (of five) Lucky Stars
It was recently brought to our attention (Thank you, Ben) that Lucky Boy was named to the prestigious Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail presented by The New Mexico Tourism Department. A hearty congratulations to our friends at Lucky Boy! You can read the press release, or play with the interactive map and find out more about the stops along the trail.
To celebrate this good fortune, stay tuned for a review of the Famous Green Chile Cheeseburger!
Soooo, I went with another standard: Chicken Lo-Mein. This was a southwest fusion dish, to use the parlance of our times. Lo-Mein type noodles with chicken, corn, peas, and carrots (just like when I was a kid!) The dish longed for some spice, and I didn't really know what do to. So I soy-sauced. It worked out okay. The Lo-Mein was certainly tasty, and very filling. At first I was a bit confused why they didn't have any sides but when the whole heaping plate came, I wasn't concerned about not getting my Three dollars and Ninety cents worth. The Lo-Mein complemented the lemonade well, and for only five bucks I practically waddled to the car.
Better than the Mandarin Chicken, but not as good as Daily Combo A, I give thee three (of five) Lucky Stars.
Still no cheap booze or cheap women around, but Kira's a start.
Yo - Its the Bow-Tze. Steamed pork bun filled with Bbq Pork. Its not bad, but then again, its a little dry. There's a lot of steamed bun and not much Bbq. I tried soy-saucing, but to little effect. I'm not sure what else to say, but at a dollar ninety, there's probably better things on the menu to try. For the same price you can get the Homemade Lucky Boy Burger. I thought about doing my own "Combination", but getting Combination A and a burger just seemed bad for my heart. I would have had to eat beans to counter-act and we all know where that leads. Its the Bow-Tze. Just accept it.
Often when confronted with something satisfying one wishes for more. Such was the case with the Daily Combination. Knowing that I would be out of town the next few days and without the all important Lucky Boy hangover meal, I figured I would pack it in while I could, weekend be damned. This time I took the Charming Gentleman's advice from the first Daily Combination experience, and sampled the Daily Combination A. Indeed, this Combination is built for the true connoisseur of Chinese cuisine: Sweet and Sour Chicken or Pork, Egg Roll, and the all important fried rice.
Service was excellent as usual, and the meal did not disappoint. Much more flavorful than the Mandarin Chicken (Daily Combination C), the Sweet and Sour Chicken offered a traditional and welcome interpretation of the classic we've all come to enjoy. The Sweet and Sour sauce mixed well with the rice leading to quite a clumpy mixture of over-soy-sauced rice, congealing S&S sauce, and scattered bits of fried dough. It was gluttonous and thoroughly enjoyed.
The Egg Roll did its job, though I didn't notice any Duck Sauce at the counter during my visit. By the time I bit the egg roll (beef) and was looking for a complementary sauce, I was not in any mood to get back up and ask for Duck Sauce. They probably don't have it. Either way, I tried both Soy-saucing and S&S saucing the egg-roll, and wasn't too pleased with either. I finished the last few bites naked, if you will.
If you're a fan of traditional Chinese fare, or just looking to rock out with your cock out for a while, Daily Combination A is your answer.
Looking to start the week off right, Alex (a.k.a. Fool) and I headed to Lucky Boy for a Monday lunch. After receiving chipper salutations and warm smiles from the owners, Fool and I scored a copy of the menu and quickly decided upon our desired meals. The beef with broccoli was calling my name and I knew that Lucky Boy would serve up a hearty portion. We sipped our refreshing lemonade as we waited for our orders and scoped out the other restaurant patrons, many who seemed like loyal customers happy to be dining at their #1 lunch spot. I dug in as soon as my plate hit the table and found the fried rice to be pretty decent with a good ratio of vegetables to rice. Unfortunately the flavor of the beef didn't pack the punch that I had desired and there could have been more of it, but overall it was a solid meal and I even had some to take home asleftovers. Bonus! All in all, I give this meal 3 Lucky Starsfor being filling, if not entirely flavorsome.
Daily Combination C .................................................................................$3.30 Above Served with Fried Rice and Egg Fu Young
Perhaps one of the greatest joys afforded by Lucky Boy is that of the Daily Combination. Sitting in the warm, friendly environment waiting for one's delicacy to emerge allows one to watch the tired, poor, huddled masses trudge in and order their preference of these three perennial favorites. Offering a sampling of Lucky cuisine, Daily Combinations A, B, and C figure prominently into the allure and charm of the establishment. Indeed, the last time we were on hand to witness the lunch hour rush, a charming older gentleman was kind enough to offer his advice: "Get the Sweet and Sour Chicken. It's sure my favorite." Rather than succumb to Daily Combination A, (Sweet and Sour Chicken or Pork) I chose to try Combination C instead. After asking what the Mandarin Chicken combination entailed, (and to wit, what defined this poultry as "Mandarin") I was assured that it was "Chicken in a gravy-like sauce." That did it, I was in. Fried rice and egg-fu-young came along as sides.
Our chat was light and pleasant as we diligently counted away the five to seven minute wait time, all the while Kira scheming on how to get the owners to remember her name.
"I'm going to have to start coming here a lot."
"Next semester, I'm going to come here at least two times a week. I'm going to check my schedule right now to decide the days."
"Ugh! She knew his name too!"
The wait seemed interminable, but finally Daily Combination C was ready. There was a moment of confusion as Kira and I at first struggled to discern which of the two heaping plates were ours. Plates settled, we dug in. I must say, there was a lot of cabbage in with my chicken, and gravy was certainly an appropriate term for the sauce. Quite frankly, I was expecting more spice. Although at a whopping three dollars and thirty cents, the meal was far from contemptible. The fried rice was filling, and accompanied the complementary soy sauce like a champion. The egg-fu-young was something new for me, and after trying it and realizing I could have had it on a burger I thought that perhaps the burger would have been a better fit.
All in all, Daily Combination C left me stuffed and satisfied with my purchase. While perhaps not the best thing I've had at Lucky Boy, it was certainly a respectable finish.
In our attempt to share the joy of Lucky Boy with the world, we (Kira and Alex) have decided to start this blog. We will share our charm, wit, and meals at Lucky Boy with you through the pictures and descriptions here. We start first with the menu - simple yet efficient, elegant yet homey, and photocopied onto green paper. This is the first clue that Lucky Boy is a real winner. Feel free to zoom in to see the prices.
Ja Tze (Pork Dumplings) (5).....................................$1.90
