Mama Lu's Dumpling House

My last night in town. After an afternoon - and evening - of drinking and watching football, I wanted Asian food. 

Mama Lu's sounded good. 

Tracie and Murph told me to do the ordering. Which I was happy to do. 

(I'll tell you right now I ordered way too much food, because I was drunk and hungry. But that just meant there were leftovers for Murph.)

The fried pork buns were good, not great. If I had to redo this dinner and remove one item, it would be these. 

The hot & sour soup was the best I have ever had. 

The Szechuan-style shrimp were great, though I wished for a little more heat. 

The spring rolls were good, too. They were nothing special, but fried crisp and full of veggies. 

I got two orders of the juicy pork dumplings. We probably only needed one. Whatever. We loved them this night and Murph loved them the next day. 

The chive & pork dumplings were delicious, though I wish I had ordered the spicy wontons instead. (Although Tracie is a delicate flower so I'm not sure she could have handled those.)

The food was much better than Din Tai Fung and much less expensive.

I really liked Mama Lu's with one big exception: I have never been given the bum's rush at a restaurant like we were here. 

They are open until 9:30 on Saturdays - a bizarre time to close, but certainly their right. 

We walked in at 8:59, a full 31 minutes before their posted closing. 

As soon as I ordered the food, the server brought me the check. Before we had been served a single iten. 

"We close soon," he said bluntly. 

Starting at 9:15, the servers stood hovering over every occupied table in the place, like a strict schoolmaster watching students take an exam.

I do not remember the last time I was in such an unwelcoming place. 

But the food was so good, I would still return.