CHIReview
photo credit: Sandy Noto
Homestyle Taste
This spot is Permanently Closed.
Some restaurants are so good they’re worth going out of your way for. And then there’s an even higher echelon - for places serving things you want so badly, you’d knock your own mother out of the way to eat them. Or at least think about it. We know this sounds dramatic, but a lot of the food at Homestyle Taste falls into this category.
The menu at this small, casual restaurant in Bridgeport is long. You’ll want to approach it with some kind of a game plan, because while service is friendly, it’s also very efficient. In other words, you get the sense they’d like you to hurry the f*ck up and place your order. Start with the fantastic steam soup buns, also known as soup dumplings. Not only is the filling delicious, but the dough is also just the right thickness to prevent any liquid from leaking out. Anything that involves their excellent noodles will make you happy, too. They’re perfectly chewy, and the texture holds on to whatever delicious sauce or soup they’re in. (Our favorite is the combination noodle soup with pork, shrimp, and crab.)
photo credit: Sandy Noto
There are plenty of other things on the menu you could easily become obsessed with. Like the tender, spicy cumin lamb. Boneless pieces of lamb are perfectly seasoned, and served with just enough szechuan peppers to balance out the fattiness of the meat. The dry chili chicken is another hit - it’s fried perfectly, and mouth-numbingly spicy (so consider saving this for last). Some dishes aren’t completely successful - like the mapo tofu and the General Tso’s chicken, both of which have extremely thick sauces. But the things Homestyle Taste gets right far outweigh these issues.
The space is snug and sparsely decorated, with some lanterns hanging from the ceiling and a few pictures on the wall. They do a big takeout business, which means you’ll see plenty of people coming, going, and standing in the middle of the restaurant waiting for their orders. If you’ve traveled to visit this place, the most annoying thing about all the foot traffic will be knowing that these customers probably live close enough to come here all the time.
Homestyle Taste is a destination restaurant in the truest sense. Once you have some of the dishes here stuck in your head, you won’t be happy until you’re eating them again. Not a lot of restaurants are capable of inspiring this kind of devotion. So come here, and plan on subsequently irritating everyone by comparing all future dumplings you eat to the ones at this restaurant.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Sandy Noto
Scallion Pancake
photo credit: Sandy Noto
Steam Soup Buns
Long Pot Stickers
Combination Noodle Soup
photo credit: Sandy Noto
Cumin Lamb
Stewed Beef Hot Pot
photo credit: Sandy Noto
Mapo Tofu
photo credit: Sandy Noto