Din Tai Fung
To some purists, the proliferation of Din Tai Fung locations – its status as an international chain – makes the dumpling house less thrilling than it was when we knew it as a single restaurant in Arcadia. There are now two locations in Arcadia and one attached to the Americana at Brand mall in Glendale, as well as an Orange County outpost and a couple of branches in Seattle (not to mention the 11 other countries with Din Tai Fungs). But if that means you can eat juicy, thin-skinned xiao long bao before running errands at a fancy mall, or wait a little less time for a seat in Arcadia, then what´s not to love? The truth is that no matter how many outposts of Din Tai Fung there are, the food – those XLB soup dumplings, as well as the other dumplings and the veggie dishes and the noodles and the rice cakes – are still damn good. When the urge strikes to stuff ourselves with seven different kinds of dumplings, this is still the first place we turn. If that leads to world dumpling domination, then so be it. -Besha Rodell 1088 S. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia; (626) 574-7068, dintaifungusa.com.