Three flavorhounds—from right, Iris Kan, Annie Kan and Aimee Leigh—set out to scour Manhattan for some of Earth’s best eats. (Photo: Mark C. Anderson)
Oct. 9, 2026—The key question on your mission to outer space: Every astronaut gets to take one (and only one) condiment of their choosing—and it’s a long trip—so which are you taking?
And you thought zero gravity, no showers, tight quarters and homesickness would be difficult.
An important note: olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper are already on board, and all meals come pre-made, so choose wisely.
The flagship honey butter-lemon zest dessert pancakes at Golden HOF next to Rockefeller Plaza deserve an audition. (Photo: MCA)
Space shuttle sauce is on my mind because I’ve been traversing Manhattan with a Supper Club savant guiding the way.
I should rewind a little bit here.
Before the NYC sequence—Korean honey lemon zest pancakes at Golden HOF, 6-inch-tall pastrami sandwiches at Katz Delicatessen, dim sum at the Golden Unicorn in Chinatown—came Supper Club, 2,562 miles away.
The pastrami at since-1888 Katz’s is pickled for three weeks in a secret brine, coated with a spice rub, slow-smoked in a custom wood-fired smoker, boiled for hours to tenderize, then steamed and carved by hand. It also brought Iris back twice. (Photo: Iris Kan)
The first time I attended Supper Club in Berkeley, I was a little apprehensive.
This was my bae’s COVID bubble, a tightly bonded pod that was younger, better educated and more earnest, gathering every week to sample the East Bay’s standout noodle, sushi, pizza, ramen, Mediterranean, Thai, Korean, Vietnamese and Hawaiian offerings as a group.
My joining felt like an arranged marriage neither side agreed to.
Fortunately it was centered around meals. And once talk turned to space shuttle sauces—and stayed there for an hour plus—I knew things would be OK.
This crew is about its food.
A pause between snacks. (Photo: MCA)
In the end, after debating everything from the divinity of Kewpie mayo to the eligibility of “chutney” to the disrespect barbecue sauce endures, the five voyagers present submitted ranked ballots and we declared overall winners.
Soy sauce, welcome aboard, well deserved #1.
#2 (and tops on this astronaut’s scorecard): hot sauce.
#3 (as offensive as it is to report): ketchup, which touched off a whole tangential trip on the merits of fancy takes versus good old industrial strength Heinz.
The line piles up at L’Industrie in Little Italy, an Iris rec, but goes fast. The tartufo and New Yorker slices are so good you almost don’t want to fold them, just to extend the enjoyment. (Photo: MCA)
Like many, I land in New York City with a checklist of places to eat. This time I skipped that step, because Supper Clubber Iris Kan was on the trip, and had been building a Google Map of bakeries, coffee shops, restaurants and dessert destinations for months.
When meal time arrived, she was ready, sending me scurrying to L’Industrie for tartufo pizza slices or rolling as a squad to Rockefeller Plaza, not for the ice skating or the scenery but the japchae, honey butter cakes and Korean-style steak frites at Golden HOF.
On top of that, she’d drop off Katz deli riches with grain mustard, or a finalist for Best Chocolate Chip Cookie in Manhattan, which her sister and fellow gastronomic gumshoe Annie was intent on finding.
A thickie from cult hit from Levain Bakery was a contender for Best Chocolate Chip Cookie in Manhattan (as part of Annie’s ambitious survey). Hani’s Bakery & Cafe took top honors. (Photo: MCA)
Better yet, Iris and Annie led us to Golden Unicorn, every bit the intergalactic portal its name suggests, for a 10:30am brunch.
The Unicorn’s third floor ballroom wasn’t yet packed but it would be by 11, including a wedding party.
On a Tuesday.
With Iris and Annie ordering from the rolling carts in Cantonese—my betrothed and I were the only non-Mandarin/Cantonese-speaking Wonderbreads in the whole space, a good sign—this qualified as an interstellar experience.
The dim sum medley at Golden Unicorn in Manhattan’s Chinatown includes mind-bending custard buns (top) cast as piglets. (Photo: MCA)
Combo dumplings. Open-faced dumplings. Steamed shrimp dumplings. Pan-fried chive dumplings. Taro-shiitake-jicama dumplings.
Cheung fun rice noodle rolls. Fried shrimp balls. Steamed fish balls with Cantonese-style barbecue pork.
Layered coffee jelly rectangles. Custard buns appointed with pig noses and pig ears.
All coaxed along by pu’er-and-chrysanthemum tea. “Cooling and fat-cutting at the same time,” as Iris says.
And, when we’re ready to be rolled away on the dim sum carts ourselves, a closing round of velvety tofu arrives in a sauce so nimble, lively, indulgent and comforting that I consider taking it to space, and grunt something out loud.
Whereupon Iris says, you can make ginger syrup at home, no problem.
The ginger tofu dessert that inspired a new mission. (Photo: MCA)
Stunner: Iris was right.
Her recipe: Slice 5 coins of ginger, combine with a 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup water in a pot.
Heat on low to medium heat to melt the sugar and bring to a low simmer.
Then turn the heat off and let it sit for a couple of minutes. If you want more ginger flavor, then leave the ginger in there for longer to steep.
I secure some fresh ginger and follow the doofus-proof instructions.
The result comes fast, easy and tasty. This sauce is boss, ready to reenter the orbit of silken tofu, though it also could make quick comrades with fried rice, Greek yogurt, ice cream or a zippy beverage.
Next time I’ll quintuple the quantities.
In short: Houston, we have liftoff.
Mark C. Anderson, EMB’s managing editor, swears by municipal lap pools and public transportation, carousels included.