Handmade Chinese Dumplings at Ridgewood Andy’s Deli

Chicken dumplings at Ridgewood Andy’s Deli

Have you been to the new dumpling place on Forest Ave? Probably not, because it’s hidden inside a typical cat-style bodega. This surprise culinary gem on the corner of Forest & Linden—just down the street from Platz Hardware—serves handmade Chinese pork, chicken, and vegetable dumplings for $4.50 per order of 8, and they’re delicious.

Ridgewood Andy’s chicken dumplings, pictured above, are filled with ground chicken and napa cabbage, possibly mushrooms (contents varied on two different visits), and boast tender, medium-thin wrappers. Here is an interior shot of the chicken dumplings:

Chicken dumplings

The vegetable dumplings feature a thicker, chewier skin, and are generously filled with finely grated cabbage, carrot, shiitake mushrooms, and glass noodles.

vegetable dumplings

We haven’t tried the pork yet, but we will soon. Dumplings come w/ your choice of spicy sauce (sriracha) or garlic sauce (it’s the basic soy-vinegar variety, but with coarsely chopped fresh garlic floating about).

Andy’s fries the dumplings to order on the same griddle they use for egg & cheese, and definitely be prepared to wait awhile: they stick to the classic “fry, steam, fry” method of dumpling preparation, which takes about 10-15 minutes. Or, thankfully, you can buy a bag of frozen dumplings and make them at home! This is where we’ll be meeting all our frozen-dumpling needs moving forward (sorry, Chinatown!), so hopefully they’ll add shrimp to the menu soon.