New York Magazine – August 05, 2019

august 5–18, 2019 | new york 49

PHOTOGRAPH: SCOTT HEINS FOR NEW YORK MAGAZINE

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(showered with slivers of fried garlic) or

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en recipe comes from a

the dish

XLB Agnolotti

Not so much a stunty come-on as a why-has-no-one-done-this-

before variation on a dumpling theme—and a pretty spectacular

one at that—Red Paper Clip’s XLB agnolotti is a dish whose time

has come. The goal, as the name suggests, is to reimagine a Pied-

mont pasta ripiena as a Shanghai soup dumpling, a.k.a. xiao long

bao, and it’ s remarkable how seamlessly it works. Pork is minced

and seasoned with aromatics, soy sauce, Shanxi vinegar, and black

truffle, then mingled with gelatinized pork-bone broth, rolled into

mini-balls, and stuffed into housemade pasta wrappers that would

do a Piedmontese grandma proud. When the agnolotti are boiled,

the gelled broth liquefies right on cue just like in an XLB. It’s true

that the amount of soup you get in an XLB agnolotto is nothing

compared to an actual XLB, and that purists may miss the ritual of

nibbling off a piece of dough and cautiously slurp-

ing the hot broth from the hole. But the beauty of

an XLB agnolotto is that you can pop the whole

thing in your mouth like an M&M without fear of

the dreaded XLB splatter. r.r. & r.p.

scratchpad

Even without knowing the chef’s philosophy

on art and life, you can’t help but be

charmed by the homey cooking, personal

service, and unique setting, which all

translate into a “good” 81 rating.

bites

IDEAL MEAL: Southern fried chicken,

morning market noodles with tofu, fried

cabbage. NOTE: Kanhasura offers coconut

milk in his Vietnamese coffee and tarts

up Thai iced tea with fresh lime; for BYO

purposes, the nearby Rosenthal Wine

Merchant keeps a few bottles chilled in the

fridge (check for abbreviated summer

hours). OPEN: Daily for lunch and dinner.

PRICES: $7.95 to $14.95.

On the menu at Red

Paper Clip; $21;

120 Christopher St.,

nr. Bedford St.;

646-596-7476

LSee The Thousand Best at grubstreet.com^

for 999 more great places to eat and drink.

drumsticks and thighs are so expertly

encased in their crackly crust that when

you chomp into a piece, a sound like a for-

est Sasquatch stepping on a patch of dry

leaves reverberates around the room.

(Kanhasura also confesses to spiking

most of his side sauces with Grandma’s-

brand molasses he gets at the grocery

store down the block—“Just a dab!”)

Noodles here are as comforting as

chicken soup—especially the aforemen-

tioned morning market variety, itself a

glorified bowl of Jewish penicillin, invigo-

rated with garlic, chile oil, and lime. The

tamarind–coconut-milk noodles are not

only creamier but crunchier thanks to the

pickled vegetables, fresh bean sprouts,

and peanuts strewn about. And that culi-

nary cliché pad Thai is a special source of

pride for the chef, who conquered his own

distaste for the dish by taking pointers

from a popular Bangkok street vendor; to

her minimalist prescription of tamarind

water and fish sauce, Kanhasura adds an

optional poached egg and, when he has it,

pork belly and some pork fat to fry the

noodles with.

Rice can be had in multiple ways:

steamed in the sauce-sopping service of

subtly spiced red or green curry; fried

with basil and chiles; or suffused with

ginger and sided with steamed chicken,

fried chicken, or roasted tofu plus a side-

car of soup in variations on the khao man

gai theme. And should one hope to season

one’s noodle or rice repast with a bit of

roughage, Kanhasura pounds out a clas-

sic green-papaya salad and stir-fries a

mountain of cabbage, its natural odorif-

erousness given a power boost by a hit of

fish sauce. And who knows? Maybe a dab

of molasses.

The pasta

is garnished with

ginger, chives,

and black truffle.

PHOTOGRAPH: STELLA BLACKMON/NEW YORK MAGAZINE

Co-chef-owner and XLB agnolotti

mastermind Kevin Chen says

the dish was inspired by the Black

Truffle Explosion dumpling

at Alinea, where he once worked.

A 50-50 filling ratio of

seasoned minced pork

to gelatinized bone broth

provides brash

flavor and juicy richness.

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august5–18, 2019 | newyork 49

thedish

XLB Agnolotti

Notsomucha stuntycome-onasa why-has-no-one-done-this-

beforevariationona dumplingtheme—anda prettyspectacular

oneatthat—RedPaperClip’sXLBagnolotti is a dishwhosetime

hascome.Thegoal,as the name suggests,is toreimaginea Pied-

montpastaripienaasa Shanghaisoupdumpling,a.k.a.xiao long

bao,andit’ s remarkablehowseamlesslyit works.Porkis minced

andseasonedwitharomatics,soysauce,Shanxivinegar, andblack

truffle,thenmingledwithgelatinizedpork-bonebroth,rolled into

mini-balls,andstuffedintohousemadepastawrappersthat would

doa Piedmontesegrandmaproud.Whentheagnolotti areboiled,

thegelledbrothliquefiesrightoncuejust like inanXLB.It’strue

thattheamountofsoupyougetinanXLBagnolottoisnothing

comparedtoanactualXLB,andthat purists may misstheritual of

nibblingoffa pieceofdoughandcautiouslyslurp-

ingthehotbrothfromthehole.Butthebeautyof

anXLBagnolottois that youcanpopthewhole

thinginyourmouthlikeanM&Mwithoutfearof

thedreadedXLBsplatter. r.r.& r.p.

scratchpad

Evenwithoutknowingthechef’s philosophy

onartandlife,youcan’t helpbutbe

charmedbythehomeycooking,personal

service, anduniquesetting,whichall

translateintoa “good” 81 rating.

bites

IDEALMEAL:Southernfriedchicken,

morningmarketnoodleswithtofu,fried

cabbage.NOTE:Kanhasuraofferscoconut

milkinhisVietnamesecoffeeandtarts

upThaiicedteawithfreshlime;forBYO

purposes,thenearbyRosenthalWine

Merchantkeepsa fewbottleschilledinthe

fridge(

hours). er.

PRICES

Onthemenuat Red

PaperClip; $21;

120 Christopher St.,

nr.BedfordSt.;

646-596-7476

LSee The Thousand Best at grubstreet.com

for 999 more great places to eat and drink.

drumsticks and thighs are so expertly

encased in their crackly crust that when

you chomp into a piece, a sound like a for-

est Sasquatch stepping on a patch of dry

leaves reverberates around the room.

(Kanhasura also confesses to spiking

most of his side sauces with Grandma’s-

brand molasses he gets at the grocery

store down the block—“Just a dab!”)

Noodles here are as comforting as

chicken soup—especially the aforemen-

tioned morning market variety, itself a

glorified bowl of Jewish penicillin, invigo-

rated with garlic, chile oil, and lime. The

tamarind–coconut-milk noodles are not

only creamier but crunchier thanks to the

pickled vegetables, fresh bean sprouts,

and peanuts strewn about. And that culi-

nary cliché pad Thai is a special source of

pride for the chef, who conquered his own

distaste for the dish by taking pointers

from a popular Bangkok street vendor; to

her minimalist prescription of tamarind

water and fish sauce, Kanhasura adds an

optional poached egg and, when he has it,

pork belly and some pork fat to fry the

noodles with.

Rice can be had in multiple ways:

steamed in the sauce-sopping service of

subtly spiced red or green curry; fried

with basil and chiles; or suffused with

ginger and sided with steamed chicken,

fried chicken, or roasted tofu plus a side-

car of soup in variations on the khao man

gai theme. And should one hope to season

one’s noodle or rice repast with a bit of

roughage, Kanhasura pounds out a clas-

sic green-papaya salad and stir-fries a

mountain of cabbage, its natural odorif-

erousness given a power boost by a hit of

fish sauce. And who knows? Maybe a dab

of molasses.

The pasta

is garnished with

ginger, chives,

and black truffle.

PHOTOGRAPH: STELLA BLACKMON/NEW YORK MAGAZINE

C ner and XLB agnolotti

mastermind Kevin Chen says

the dish was inspired by the Black

Truffle Explosion dumpling

at Alinea, where he once worked.

A 50-50 filling ratio of

seasoned minced pork

to gelatinized bone broth

provides brash

flavorandjuicy richness.