Through a large window in the back of this restaurant, you can spy on the staff forming dumplings by hand like you're watching some kind of food porn peep show. It makes sense that they want to call attention to this process—because the dumplings are why you come to Pinch Chinese.

While some of the pricier large plates are very good (we especially like the almost-completely-deboned wind sand chicken with fried garlic that goes through 72 hours of preparation), we suggest treating this place like a dim sum restaurant. Stick to the dumplings and small plates like the not-at-all-mushy eggplant in a thick garlic sauce with long peppers.

Be sure to get at least one order of soup dumplings. They're neither too big nor too small, with skin that's neither too thin nor too thick. We like how Pinch provides black vinegar, soy sauce, and slivers of ginger separately, so you can create your own dipping sauce—and we also like how there are Lego blocks on which to rest your chopsticks on every table. We’re stealing that idea.

Just be aware that the long, narrow room is packed with tables inches from each other, so once people start ordering bottles from the very extensive wine list, it becomes kind of a scene here.