Staff Blog
Lakeside Chinese Deli closed
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| Photo: Drew Lazor |
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| Photo: Drew Lazor |
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| Photo: Drew Lazor |
Sad news for all you dumpling fiends out there: Lakeside Chinese Deli (207 N. Ninth St.), one of the most popular and reliable dim sum spots in the city, has closed. Sign on the door from the owners reads as follows:
I am retired for closing business. Thanks for your support during the 19 years. Good suggestions for dim-sum: Please go to Imperial Inn on 10th and Race Street.
Threads on Chowhound and Phillyblog indicate that diners were eating there as recently as two weeks ago, so this seems to have happened out of nowhere. (And we hadn't been in a minute, either ... damn.) As always, we'll share more as we learn more.
In remembrance, check out this article from CP critic Elisa Ludwig, who immortalized Lakeside's, er, unvarnished charms in her Feb. 2007 piece "Sum Kind of Wonderful":
The Scene: The long-held appeal of Chinatown's Lakeside Deli is that it's untraditional among dim sum restaurants. You order from the menu and thus avoid the typical dim sum dilemma of overstuffing with the first five items that wheel by. That being said, servers do carry trays of sesame balls and BBQ pork buns for the plucking. The environs here are so no-nonsense they border on negligent ... teacups are chipped, and you might find a bonus ball of lint on your plate. None of this seems to discourage the crowds lining out the door, staring at you jealously as you enjoy another round of shumai.
[...] But as for Lakeside Deli, shit is gone and done. [TheClog] 161b [...]
D’oh!