La Salle Dumpling Room

While Chinatown’s ever-expanding arm may be stretching into Little Italy and Soho, the rest of Manhattan’s Chinese food still, for the most part, needs to up its game. This Morningside Heights dumpling spot is an exception: It churns out classic kimchi-spiked steamed-pork dumplings ($8) and not-too-doughy pork xiao long bao ($8.50) that almost compete with the killer versions at Joe’s Shanghai. Nestled next to Columbia University, La Salle is something of a go-to for hangover-nursing students. And if it ever starts staying open past 10pm, we’re guessing it’ll be a destination for sobering after-party eats, too.