Tiny Takeout Delivers the Goods

"you cannot discover new oceans unless you are willing to lose sight of the shore." so said the message in my chocolate fortune cookie. i had already fulfilled my destiny by trekking from my familiar upper west side shore to the wilds of york avenue.

there i found charley mom, a tiny takeout with two pretty wooden tables with inlaid shell designs and a small counter. it was the staff's lunchtime, and everyone was eating interesting crispy, salty pieces of fish with rice and whole, unpeeled hass avocados. not on the menu, as you might suspect, though the menu features 237 other items, such as sa cha chicken and new tze shrimp. what caught my fancy was not something new but the ubiquitous chinese sesame noodles. remember when you couldn't order chinese takeout without a free order of sesame

noodles, and usually nothing special at that? these are special: dense, chewy eggy noodles with all sorts of kinks and curls to hold the oily, peanuty sauce with thin slivers of cooling cukes playing hide and seek, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds on top ($4.95). on a hot summer day it's hard to find a more fulfilling snack-not to mention chocolate fortune cookies.

-- charley mom kitchen 1580 york ave. (betw. 83rd and 84th streets) 212-439-6363

got a snack attack to share? contact nbrand@aol.com