Up north it used to be a thing as a kid for the whole family go to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. Sadly that seems to be no longer the case as most Chinese restaurants seem to be mostly take-out.

What are some decent restaurants? And I’m not opposed to you sharing great takeout joints, but please indicate if they have family seating.

What makes a Chinese restaurant “good” in my book? In my opinion, the closer these 4 staples to 60s/70s Brooklyn the better. Sadly the only restaurant near me that met all four of my standards closed. How dare that sweet elderly couple retire and leave my gullet in the lurch?!

Hot & Sour soup. A rich broth, but not overly salty. Has a nice fiery kick from the pepper, but doesn’t burn your mouth until the end of dinner. Fresh vegetables.

Egg roll. Not a spring roll. Using a wrapper made of wheat four, not rice. Fried to a well bubbled, but not greasy skin. Has a meat filling, not using a vegetable filler to save money.

Dumplings. Must use a homemade/handmade dumpling wrapper, not machine made. The machine made wrappers are too thin and break apart upon chopstick contact. And like the egg roll, has a meat filling.

Lo mein slightly chewy, crispy veg and rich protein (beef, chicken, shrimp, roast pork)

N.B. If they use packaged/commercial soup noodles, that’s a hard no. It’s a sign of lazy shortcuts.