nsxtasy wrote:Tomorrow I'm going to Katy's (Westmont) for the first time, for lunch, and I need help ordering. I've looked over this topic, and found several dishes of interest, but I don't see them on the menu on Katy's website:!

There was a change in ownership a few years ago. I would imagine they also fine tuned the menu after that change.

They also have daily specials that could be in flux.

I would only go by recent reports.

Fried noodle is my fav
Beef Noodle Soup or DanDan noodle

And many enjoy the Stir fried pancake

Dumplings have slipped
XLB are good, not great

Thanks.

chunker wrote:Fried noodle is my fav

So you mean any of the items in the "chow mein" section of the menu?

nsxtasy wrote:Thanks.

chunker wrote:Fried noodle is my fav

So you mean any of the items in the "chow mein" section of the menu?

Yes that’s correct

Nsxtasy -
Beef Noodle Soup
Dan Dan
Fried noodle
Stir Fried pancake
Bang Bang Chicken

I'd skip the Xiao Long Bao (I think usually on the specials board)
Dumplings at your own risk

Also, my brow was raised when you mention 3 chili chicken at Westmont. For some reason, I don't think Westmont had the breadth of options like 3 chili or dry chili, whereas Naperville (closed) did and Oak Park does. In looking at the Westmont menu, I don't see those, but I might be overlooking them? Just don't want you to go to Westmont thinking 3 chili - but they don't offer it. My wife says we've gotten orange chicken in Westmont, but I think she's confusing it with Oak Park.

For me, Westmont Katy's is for Dan Dan and fried noodles. Really, ANY noodles, and chili oil, and bang bang chicken. Also, don't be expecting white tablecloths. The "decor" is pretty matter of fact. Take a peek at the cooler and pick out some stuff if you find it interesting - the Bang Bang will be in the cooler.

You want carbalicious food at Westmont. Noodles. You want noodles. And if they're done right, you won't get tired of them in different preps. I'd imagine they would rock a decent MaPo, as well, but imo, beef noodle soup, and dan dan, and some type of stir fried noodle or pancake are the essentials. Bang Bang too. Juss tryna help.

Great - thanks!

You're in good hands with these recommendations. Beef tendon noodle soup is always one of my go to's as well. Same as the beef noodle soup, but with that slight tweak.

Pancake

So this newbie finally went to Katy's (Westmont) today. It was very good! I have three basic groups of remarks:

FINDING THE PLACE

The small sign on the front says "K'S DUMPLING", and you'll never notice that if you're cruising by on Cass Ave. It's hidden in a strip mall behind a standalone restaurant with a sign that says "Taste Greek StreetFood", just north of a Jewel supermarket.

Exterior:

Interior:

They have 28 seats (six four-tops and two two-tops). They were empty at 11:30, and started filling up around noon. By the time we left at 12:35, all the tables were taken (but no one was waiting to be seated).

MENU

There's one menu on the website katysdumplings.com (with the "s" before the .com) and a similar but different one on the website katysdumpling.com (without the "s"). Here's the printed menu today, which is still another (different but similar) version:





Specials:

FOOD

Based on the above recommendations, the two of us split three items, and there was enough to take home some of each; two of the items would have been plenty to fill us up.

Combination fried noodle

"Combination" means it's a combination of beef, chicken, and shrimp.

Shrimp fried pancake

As already noted in this topic, this isn't our traditional American notion of a pancake.

Beef noodle soup


All three dishes were delicious. The beef noodle soup was the only dish that was spicy/hot; the other two were mild, and would be perfectly acceptable to people averse to heat.

I really liked Katy's, and would be happy to go back. The surprising thing that I've learned, from this topic as well as from my first visit, is this: Despite the name of the place, they specialize in noodle dishes more so than dumplings. Try a lot of dishes and chances are you'll like what you get.

Thanks to everyone here for the assistance with ordering!

nsxtasy wrote: The surprising thing that I've learned, from this topic as well as from my first visit, is this: Despite the name of the place, they specialize in noodle dishes more so than dumplings.

One guy's opinion on this:
The noodles have always been outstanding, but the dumplings used to be fan-flippin-tastic as well. Only pretty recently, as far as I know, have the dumplings gone downhill.

seebee wrote:One guy's opinion on this:
The noodles have always been outstanding, but the dumplings used to be fan-flippin-tastic as well. Only pretty recently, as far as I know, have the dumplings gone downhill.

Dumplings are more likely to roll downhill than noodles.

Dumping's haven’t been ‘top of the game’ since the original ownership change.

I will stop again for the noodles. I love a good Dan Dan.

nsxtasy wrote:

seebee wrote:One guy's opinion on this:
The noodles have always been outstanding, but the dumplings used to be fan-flippin-tastic as well. Only pretty recently, as far as I know, have the dumplings gone downhill.

Dumplings are more likely to roll downhill than noodles.

LOL.

But, I agree that the dumplings need help. The Cheng Du, shown on the picture above as a special, have been on the special board for awhile now, and are nothing special and can't hold a candle to Lao Schezuan's version, and the server upsold us on a special we couldn't understand which turned out to be nothing more than the soup dumplings on the regular menu - despite pointing the the board and talking excitedly. So, skip the dumplings, and go for the other things recommended, to which I would add the Ma Po Tofu and and the MaLa Hot Pot, both of which are delicious.

I'm really surprised that there has been no mention of the cold noodle. While I love both the beef noodle and dan dan noodle soups at Westmont, by the end of the bowl sometimes the noodles are a little overcooked. Also, I've never quite forgiven Oak Park for the difference between the dan dan there and at Westmont. At any rate, a tangle of cold noodles with cucumber, ground pork and chili oil is always perfect.

deesher wrote:I'm really surprised that there has been no mention of the cold noodle. While I love both the beef noodle and dan dan noodle soups at Westmont, by the end of the bowl sometimes the noodles are a little overcooked. Also, I've never quite forgiven Oak Park for the difference between the dan dan there and at Westmont. At any rate, a tangle of cold noodles with cucumber, ground pork and chili oil is always perfect.

My favorite dish since day one. I don't think I've ever not ordered it.

Since the news seems to be positive from the Oak Park location I was thinking about takeout from there tonight. However, the takeout menu online is very different from the full posted menu (which appears to be very out of date). Some things I'm expecting to see (dan dan noodles, for example) are not on the take out menu, which I find confusing. Can any of you suggest a definitive list of safe (which is to say, back to normal or improved) OP dishes I should consider that jibes with the takeout menu?

Vitesse98 wrote:Since the news seems to be positive from the Oak Park location I was thinking about takeout from there tonight. However, the takeout menu online is very different from the full posted menu (which appears to be very out of date). Some things I'm expecting to see (dan dan noodles, for example) are not on the take out menu, which I find confusing. Can any of you suggest a definitive list of safe (which is to say, back to normal or improved) OP dishes I should consider that jibes with the takeout menu?

I have found the delivery companies simplify the menu for their convenience, not necessarily at the restaurant's directive.

If you are picking up, while it's more work for you, I would call my order in so they don't have to pay the delivery company when they aren't delivering and you can clarify what you really want from their regular menu.

Vitesse98 wrote:However, the takeout menu online is very different from the full posted menu (which appears to be very out of date). Some things I'm expecting to see (dan dan noodles, for example) are not on the take out menu, which I find confusing.

Yelp has 2 photos that show the full take-out menu post-reboot. It is listed as having been added 4 months ago. It matches their GrubHub menu (which is actually better setup than the printed version).

It's not a very well put together menu, especially the category labels. Dan Dan is kind of hidden in the chow mein section, and several noodle dishes are listed under fried rice. Flaws aside, I would bet on it being current and accurate. I don't know why Katy's own website skips over Dan Dan, since that's the only actual difference I see between the two.

bweiny wrote:It's not a very well put together menu, especially the category labels. Dan Dan is kind of hidden in the chow mein section, and several noodle dishes are listed under fried rice. Flaws aside, I would bet on it being current and accurate. I don't know why Katy's own website skips over Dan Dan, since that's the only actual difference I see between the two.

Katy's own website has Dan Dan, but in the soups section.

If you're ordering by phone, I don't see why you couldn't order from the actual menu pictured in my post above, from when they were recently serving for dine-in.

nsxtasy wrote:Katy's own website has Dan Dan, but in the soups section.

You're looking at the Westmont location. You have to switch over to Oak Park. There's no Dan Dan (or a bunch of other Westmont items). The same is the case for your useful photos, it doesn't translate to Oak Park.

Sorry, didn't recall that you're talking about the OP location. My bad.

Dandan is available in Oak Park.

johnnies wrote:Dandan is available in Oak Park.

Historically it has been a different preparation than Westmont, more of a soup than ‘noodles, topped and a chili oil base’.

Of course this was several (?) owners ago. Westmont recently was holding true to the original preparation mentioned above.

Um, ok, I guess. Thanks to everyone for the help. So the OP location does not have shredded pancake, right?

Katy's Beef Noodle Soup (leftovers) sans-noodles,
boiled with some (OK- lots) of Chopped Fresh Garlic and Ginger-
splash of Red-Boat-Nam Pla, Ground White Pepper, and
immersion blended, topped with Toasted Garlic and sliced lemon-
O M G!
Good.

Call it Beef Lugaw?!
Call it Beef Congee?
Call it- Monday's LockDown-Lunch
My Take on Beef "Lugaw".... by R. Kramer, on Flickr

Hombre de Acero wrote:Katy's Beef Noodle Soup (leftovers) sans-noodles,
boiled with some (OK- lots) of Chopped Fresh Garlic and Ginger-
splash of Red-Boat-Nam Pla, Ground White Pepper, and
immersion blended, topped with Toasted Garlic and sliced lemon-
O M G!
Good.

Call it Beef Lugaw?!
Call it Beef Congee?
Call it- Monday's LockDown-Lunch
My Take on Beef "Lugaw".... by R. Kramer, on Flickr

Oak Park?

Actually....I met them-take-away order in hand-
"Curbside" @ The MotherShip-in-Westmont.

Take out from Westmont really scratched the itch today. They have a low contact set up, with a table up front. I ordered stuff I knew would survive the 20 minute ride home.

Cold Szechuan Noodles were an obvious choice and the strongest dish. I hadn't enjoyed these in a few years, they'll be back in the rotation, take out or not. Noodles retained the perfect tooth & sauce had big ma la energy + just the right touch of sweet & sour. Pork & onion pancake suffered a notch, losing a bit of its usual crisp-around-the-edges. Always satisfying though. I bought frozen dumplings by the sack. Boiled at home, I enjoyed these more than recent orders at the shop– I think their new deep fry technique on the potstickers is what bums me out.

I was the only order shortly after 11 today. Hope business is okay for them.

To clear up any Westmont/OP ownership issues, their new user-friendly website leads one to believe they operate under the same brand (again?) https://www.katysdumplings.com/

And yet, the OP menu still conspicuously lacks shredded pancakes.