2 Hell's Kitchen Restaurants Make Michelin's Cheap Eats List

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — Two restaurants in Hell's Kitchen and nine others across Midtown earned a spot on Michelin's new list of the nation's best affordable eateries.

The food guide will release its prestigious list of starred restaurants later this week. On Tuesday, though, Michelin published its annual Bib Gourmands: a list of restaurants where one can enjoy an appetizer, entrée and a glass of wine or dessert for under $40 — before tip and tax.

The 131 New York City-area restaurants on the list include two establishments in Hell's Kitchen and nine more across Midtown Manhattan. Here they are:

Hell's Kitchen:

Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen (811 8th Ave.)

• Michelin says the Chinese eatery has "the best soup dumplings in town," plus hand-pulled noodles, tasty wonton soup and stuffed scallion pancakes.

Don Antonio by Starita (309 West 50th St.)

• The Italian restaurant "knows its way around a pie," Michelin writes, highlighting its fennel sausage pizza and "thoughtful" wine list

Midtown:

Sip Sak (928 Second Ave.)

• The Turkish restaurant has a "charming, bistro-like setting" where it dishes out "plump shrimp," tasty Greek salads and lamb meatballs, Michelin writes.

Café China (13 East 37th St.)

• Specializing in Sichuan cuisine, the restaurant makes "classic dishes" like dan dan noodles, fried rice with braised fish and cumin lamb.

Tonchin (13 West 36th St.)

• A Japanese ramen chain based in Tokyo, Tonchin speclizes in pork-based tonkatsu ramen but Michelin singles out the smoked dashi bowl for praise. Noodles are made in-house, and the kale salad and mango milk also earn Michelin mentions.

Cho Dang Gol (55 West 35th St.)

• A Korean eatery in the heart of Koreatown, Cho Dang Gol does not offer barbecue like many of its neighbors — instead, its focus is "rustic cooking" like soft tofu, casseroles and stews, Michelin says.

Samwon Garden BBQ (37 West 32nd St.)

• A fellow Koreatown eatery, Samwon Garden is a barbecue spot as its name suggests. Spread over three floors, Samwon was first founded in Seoul in 1976

Little Alley (550 Third Ave.)

• This Shanghainese eatery in Murray Hill features "accomplished, serious" cooking ranging from appetizers and duumplings to slices of pig's ear and dim sum, Michelin notes.

HanGawi (12 East 32nd St.)

• This vegetarian Korean restaurant is more "serene" than some of its neighbors, with a focus on ssam bap lettuce wraps.

Norma Gastronomia Siciliana (438 Third Ave.)

• This Sicilian eatery's specialties include arancini, the signature regional dish of rice balls stuffed with things like ragù, peas, mozzarrella and cooked rice, Michelin writes. Housed in a "rustic space," the interior gives customers a taste of the Old Country, Michelin writes.

Turkish Kitchen (386 Third Ave.)

• Grilled meats are the focus at Turkish Kitchen, including char-grilled lamb, spicy kababs cooled by yogurt and "pillowy beef dumplings" covered by "paprika-infused oil," Michelin says.

Here's the full list of 2021 NYC Michelin Bib Gourmands.

Patch reporter Gus Saltonstall contributed.