Another Outpost for Mandarin Deli

When the Mandarin Deli opened a branch just a few blocks from The Times a couple of weeks ago, a few people here began thinking of it as an extension of the company cafeteria. They could be seen there day after day, eating wonderful pan-fried meat dumplings and big bowls of cold noodles with sesame sauce and a satisfying soup that contains about a million things, tastes great and goes by the name “ground noodle soup.”

After a few days they moved on to dishes that are unavailable at the Chinatown location, like fried rice and Mandarin style chicken wings and Mongolian beef. (In my opinion these are not in the same class as the dumplings, noodles and addictive scallion pancakes.) They came back to the office looking full and smug and happy. They made me promise not to write about the place.

But I think it’s time to share the news. The Mandarin Deli has a spiffy new outpost in Little Tokyo. (Those who are used to the cramped quarters of the Chinatown location will find this new restaurant remarkably large and bright.) The address is 356 E. 2nd St. The telephone number is (213) 617-0231, and it is open every day from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.