Big Trouble Little Dumpling Opens with Socially Distanced Driveway Soup Kitchen
If you ask Sam Graf, he’ll tell you dumplings are the perfect food. In fact, he’ll tell you he doesn’t think he’s met anybody who doesn’t like dumplings. This isn’t an idle statement. Graf will also tell you how the dumplings he cooks in his driveway never stick around for long.
Graf has spent ten years exploring dumpling houses. Growing up, he ate potstickers, typically the frozen ones. His first taste of an authentic Asian dumpling was in New York City, in a counter shop lined by steam tables filled with dumplings. You pick out a bunch and they go into a box. From Chicago dim sum to SoHo, Graf has sampled dumplings in big cities and dumplings cooked in shacks to experience the art form. Learning along the way, it reaffirmed he was on the right track but still had to taste more.