In a nod to Chinese/Asian new year (February 10, 2024), this article is about a Chinatown. The largest Chinatown is in Flushing, Queens, New York.
A sign in the dim sum house.
We went to eat good Chinese food and we went to Flushing to find it. It is a mere Subway ride (take the 7 from Midtown — also, you can pay by credit card at the Subway turnstile! No need for a ticket.) and get off at the Flushing-Main Street stop. Just down the street to Roosevelt and Prince streets, you will feel and hear the Chinatown atmosphere. Actually, the minute we got above ground, we heard people talking loudly in Mandarin Chinese. The smells made us realize that we were near some dumplings.
After doing some research, we decided (also because it was all last minute) to make our own food tour. There is a new mall called Tangram at the modern fancy end and then “hole in the wall” types of places like the famous White Bear. We headed for White Bear. The dumplings were good but can be had at other places for equal quality. The sauce was not spicy. Also, I felt a bit sad for the staff as they did not seem happy to have gained such fame.
White Bear is only take away. Dumplings with spicy sauce from White Bear.
We were only there for a short while and only had so many stomachs to fill so we ONLY managed to eat at four places in as many hours. After White Bear, we headed to a dim sum place called Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao (as seen in the first photo at the top of the article). This place had the legit dumplings included their famous soup dumplings (xiao long bao).
Bamboo steamers.Multicolor dumplings are a modern take.
Luckily we got there before noon (yes, we already had the dumplings above before noon) so we only had to wait a few minutes for a table. This restaurant offered warm fresh soy milk which is apparently an authentic thing to have for breakfast. Warm soy milk and a cruller (deep fried dough).
Warm fresh soy milk and crullers is breakfast.The famous soup dumplings.
The soup dumplings were excellent although a touch too big for the spoon so there was no room on the spoon for the soup that ran out of the dumplings when poked with a chop stick. In some places in the world, the soup dumpling is so big that it is served with a straw. This is a gimmick. It is an amateur move to try and put the whole dumpling in one’s mouth. This is steamed dumpling and if you bite into it whole, it will explode like a magma filled volcano. I poked my dumpling over a bowl and drank the soup from there. There is a soy and ginger sauce for the soup dumpling but I loved the dumpling as it was. Inside was a lovely pork meatball juicy with soup.
Even here at Nan Xiang, there was some concession to being in the US. There were colorful dumplings made to please the eye, vegetarian dumplings, the scallion pancake made too sweet, and the cucumber salad not smashed (apparently the way I like Chinese cucumber salad is too garlicky — which is not authentic).
Notice our order ticket taped to our table?
As we ordered dishes, our ticket was taped to our table. Once we stopped ordering and had paid, we were told, gently, to leave, as there were long lines of people waiting for our table. So we left. But then went on to have dessert soup. I wrote about that in my article about my spirit starch. After a walk around Tangram mall, we went and had Peking Duck at Jiang Nan. Read about that in my article about that. It had gold leaf on it.
We ended our self made food tour of Mandarin Chinatown Flushing and headed back to Midtown New York. I do not think we ate anymore that day.
Oh, I tell a lie. We had boba tea. Which is a meal in of itself. More on that in another article.
Just as I wrote about official paid holidays in America, I will now go over some other unofficial “big days” in America.
Chinese New Year, changes depending on the moon but between January 20-February 20. This year, the year of the dragon, it is February 10, 2024. The Chinese calendar is a 12-year cycle. Chinese New Year is also celebrated by the Koreans, Vietnamese, and other Asians. In the United States, it involves lion dances, fireworks, parades, boat races, giving of red envelopes, and lanterns. It is a religious festival celebrating the beginning of spring. It is a 15-day festival in China. In the United States, the first Chinese immigrants arrived in San Francisco in the 19th century. In 2022, California made the Chinese lunar new year an official state holiday. The largest chinatowns in the US are in New York City but the first Chinese New Year celebrated in the United States was in San Francisco in 1851. For tourists to the USA, it is fun to enjoy Chinese American culture during this time.
Super Bowl, February 11, 2024 (second Sunday in February). This is season LVIII in Roman/Latin numerals (58 in Arabic numbers). Held on the second Sunday in February from now on (in the past it was on a Sunday in January-February). The Super Bowl is the final game of the American National Football League (NFL). It has been called the Super Bowl since 1969. It is the most watched television event in the United States. The cost of the commercials is a eye popping million or more per minute/30 seconds. The food consumption on Super Bowl Sunday, or Super Sunday, is second only to Thanksgiving. Barbecue wings, chips, dips, snack foods, and food decorated to look like a football are popular foods for the event. It is a day to join a viewing party.
Mardi Gras (almost only in New Orleans) is the carnival celebration leading up to Lent in the Christian calendar. This year it falls on February 13, 2024. Carnival starts after Three Kings (which is the 12th day after Christmas) and culminates in festivities including “fat food” on Shrove Tuesday or in French “mardi gras” (fat Tuesday). This is the day before Ash Wednesday when Lent begins and Catholics start 40 days of fasting. This event is biggest in the United States in New Orleans, Louisiana, where it has been celebrated since 1833. The celebrations involve floats, costumes, and baring of chests in exchange for beads. And of course, lots of drinking.
Valentine’s Day, February 14 every year. Saint Valentine is a Catholic saint who was martyred in 273 CE (AD). During the middle ages, the notion of “courtly love” arose and the British may have continued this tradition through the centuries. There is a book from 1797 assisting young men with writing their “Valentine.” The British were the first to celebrate romantic Valentine’s cards in the 18th century. The reduction in postal rates and the ease of printing due to the industrial revolution may have contributed to this. In the United States, first mass-produced Valentines were produced and sold shortly after 1847 by Esther Howland of Massachusetts. According to the American Greeting Card association, 190 million Valentine’s cards are sent each year, half of them to romantic partners. For the tourist in America, this day means that it may be hard to find a dinner reservation that day.
Saint Patrick’s, March 17 every year. March 17 is the death day in 461 CE (AD) of Saint Patrick. Saint Patrick is the national saint of Ireland. The large Irish diaspora in the United States made this day a celebration. In the United States, it is associated with wearing green and shamrocks (three leaf clover), festivals, singing, dancing, parades, and celebrating being Irish. This was a bigger celebration in America than in Ireland until the end of the 20th century. Now, Saint Paddy’s day is associated with drinking heavily, wearing green, and gathering in bars or pubs. Saint Patrick’s day is now celebration of being Irish, and it has been since 1600, long before there was a United States. The first official celebration was in 1771. Today, many buildings are lit green for the day and famously the Chicago river is dyed green for the day. The White House fountain has been dyed green every year since 2009. As a tourist, it can be fun to join in the fun. Wear green so you do not get pinched.
Cinco de Mayo, May 5 every year. This is a bigger celebration in the United States than in Mexico. May 5, 1862 is the date of the Battle of Pueblo in Mexico’s war with France. In the United States Cinco de Mayo began as a celebration of Mexican-American heritage. It began in 1862 in Columbia, California. The day became popular as a marketing idea in the 1980s and the Cinco de Mayo beer sales equal the beer sales on Super Bowl Sunday. As a tourist in America, this is just another reason to enjoy chips and salsa. America loves their own version of Mexican, Tex-Mex, and this day is just another day when lots of burritos and tacos are consumed.
Mother’s Day in the United States is the second Sunday in May. It was started by Anna Jarvis in 1907 after her mother died in 1905. She tried to have it made into an official holiday which it is in some places, such as her native West Virginia. Anna Jarvis did not want the holiday to become commercialized and she had started it as a day to hold special prayers for mothers. The official Mother’s Day Shrine is in West Virginia. In England, Mothering Sunday is in March. In England, the idea is that you celebrate the church who mothered you. But that is lost in the commercialization of current times. In other countries, International Women’s Day is celebrated rather than mother’s day. Today, mother’s day means that one cannot get a brunch reservation on that weekend. Also, many children will make and serve their mother’s breakfast in bed.
Father’s Day, third Sunday of June. Founded in 1910 by Sonora Smart Dodd when she learned that Mother’s Day had been established. Sonora Smart helped her father raise her younger siblings after her mother died giving birth to her sixth child. For tourists, this means that it can be hard to find a lunch reservation on that weekend or that children may be making breakfast for their fathers. It is less of a celebration than Mother’s Day.
Turnips and pumpkin squash.
Halloween, October 31 every year. Traditionally it was a religious holiday marking the beginning of the celebration of the dead and spirits. November 1 is “all saints” and has been for 1,200 years. Wearing masks and costumes grew out of disguising oneself against vengeful spirits. The famous pumpkin was originally a turnip/swede/rutabaga. The Halloween tradition was brought to the American South by Anglicans colonists. The Puritans of New England opposed it. With the mass migration of Scottish and Irish peoples in the 19th century, Halloween became an American tradition. The tradition of trick or treating came from the British isles where children would take a scooped out turnip and ask for candy or food. The adults would sing away the evil spirits. Once this traditional got to America, the pumpkin which grows larger than a turnip became the new symbol. The Halloween tradition has now been exported back out to the rest of the world. Americans spend $12 billion on Halloween or which $3 billion is on house decorations alone.
Enormous pumpkins in Lima. The numbers indicate weight in kilos.Pumpkin decorating is a fun pastime in the fall in the United States.
Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving. Now it seems to have spread to other commercial days, like Cyber Monday. America is about shopping, shopping, and more shopping.
Unique experiences are often retro. The Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse on Columbia Pike in South Arlington is one of those places. Long before the lounger style dine in movie theaters, one could go to the Drafthouse and watch a show while eating dinner. Built in 1940 in art deco style, it was originally called “Arlington Theater & Bowling Alleys” as it was part of a larger recreational center which included a bowling alley. In 1985, new owners took over and created the dine-in concept. In 2007, the ownership changed again and live entertainment was allowed at the drafthouse.
This is how I came to see a stand up comedian perform live. I saw Michael Kosta for $35. He even took photos with us afterwards.
To this day, one can still get pizza and a beer, but the menu also includes vegan burgers, quesadillas, lava cake, and cocktails named after movies. And of course, popcorn. The tickets for the show are separate from the food an drink. The staff manage the entire food service while you sit watching the show.
As the cuisine at the drafthouse is perhaps not haute cuisine, that strip of Columbia Pike has many other options for before or/and after.
While there are official holidays in the United States, there is no mandatory vacation time. These are the federal (national government) holidays (paid days off) from the US government site, OPM:
Monday, January 01
New Year’s Day (since 1870)
Monday, January 15
Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. (observed since 1986 but only by all states since 2000)
Monday, February 19 *
Washington’s Birthday (since 1879 on February 22 but became the third Monday from 1968)
Monday, May 27
Memorial Day (since 1888 as Decoration Day)
Wednesday, June 19
Juneteenth National Independence Day (since 2021)
Thursday, July 04
Independence Day (since 1870)
Monday, September 02
Labor Day (since 1894)
Monday, October 14
Columbus Day (since 1968)
Monday, November 11
Veterans Day (since 1938 as Armistice Day to commemorate the cessation of fighting on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month)
Thursday, November 28
Thanksgiving Day (since 1941)
Wednesday, December 25
Christmas Day (since 1870)
*This holiday is designated as “Washington’s Birthday” in section 6103(a) of title 5 of the United States Code, which is the law that specifies holidays for Federal employees. Though other institutions such as state and local governments and private businesses may use other names, it is our policy to always refer to holidays by the names designated in the law.
If the holiday is on a Saturday, then the holiday is on the Friday before and if the holiday is on Sunday, then the holiday is observed on the Monday following. Oddly for the past many years, most holidays on the weekend have been on Sundays. The only holidays that do not change date are New Year’s, Juneteenth, July 4, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The others are considered “floating.”
In some countries like Italy or Peru, a “bridge” weekend would be when people take the day off between the holiday and the weekend. I think in the US, it is called a long weekend. For example, I can predict that because July 4 falls on a Thursday, many people will take vacation on Friday, July 5 to make a long weekend, just as many do on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
There are two holidays for the armed forces, Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Memorial Day is for those who died in while serving in the armed forces and Veterans is for those who served in the armed forces. As of 2018, there 18 million veterans in the United States, seven percent of the adult population.
These are the country-wide official government holidays but some states have their own holidays as well. Every four years, Inauguration day is a federal holiday when the new president is sworn in. 
The only days when almost everything is closed (for half a day sometimes) are Thanksgiving and Christmas day. On those days, the airports are open and Chinese restaurants are especially busy. For many Americans who work for the private sector, they have to choose between certain days off such as Columbus Day.
Ronald Reagan National Airport
For many, Memorial Day and Labor Day mark the beginning and ending of summer. In some states, outdoor pools may be only open during this season. And some people only where white slacks during this season. Or is it white shoes?
