Best Egg Rolls

Although food historian John Mariani insists that egg rolls (like won ton soup, barbecued spareribs and sweet-and-sour pork) don't resemble actual Chinese dishes and "were all concocted to whet Americans' appetites," the thick rolls -- which don't contain egg, by the way -- have become mainstream cuisine. Richard Ng, who opened his first Bo Ling's location at 91st and Metcalf in 1981, estimates that he and his wife, Theresa, have sold "well over a million" fried egg rolls the past 21 years. Bo Ling's egg rolls, two 4-ounce snacks to an order, remain popular because the ingredients haven't ever changed: pork, chicken, celery and cabbage in a wonton wrapper, dried in vegetable oil, then pressed dry. "We make them fresh every day," Ng says. "We don't freeze them."