The Red Awning: Baohaus...the up and coming hot spot

2.6.10 Today, we attempted to go to Clinton Street Baking Co for the second time. When we arrived at 2 pm, they didn't even take our names, because there was a 2+ hour wait to get a table. This marked the second swing and a miss in our attempt to eat at the restaurant. Thankfully, we have a few restaurants on our list that are located nearby, so we moved on to the next awaited restaurant, Baohaus. We first spotted Baohaus a couple of weeks ago when we went to get our clothes tailored. We were meandering along Rivington when this small hole in the wall (albeit a new hole in the wall) drew our attention. As we walked by the restaurant, we were captivated by the fragrant smell of pork. We overheard people leaving the restaurant and pork buns seemed to be Baohaus' main gig. So, when we failed to eat at Clinton Street, we trekked towards Baohaus, in search of some authentic Gua Bao. When we walked in, we found there were no more seats, but there was enough room to stand along the big blue communal table in the middle. We ordered the Royal Frush with an R: Haus Bao- the restaurant's signature Certified Angus Skirtsteak Bao served with crushed peanut, cilantro, Haus Relish, and Taiwanese red sugar Chairman Bao- braised slow and low using Niman Ranch Pork belly served with crushed peanut, cilantro, Haus Relish, and Taiwanese red sugar Uncle Jesse- VEGETARIAN Pan fried tofu coated in sweet potato starch topped with our Haus Sauce, cilantro, crushed peanut and Taiwanese red sugar Sweet Bao Fries- Sweet fried slices of Bao served with sweet sesame dipping sauce Let's just say this is one of the best pork buns I've had in awhile. I commend Ippudo and Momofuku Ssam Bar for their brilliant creations, but Baohaus might just top the list with their clever twist. And the sweet bao fries were just phenomenal! I literally had to be stopped from licking the plate clean.