Tag Archives: Hot Pot

Lèpot (Minneapolis)

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No, not fondue, Chinese hot pot.

I was alerted to the existence of Lèpot (or is it Lè Pot?) about a month ago in the comments on my writeup of Kung Fu Hot Pot. I actually ate lunch there just a few days after that but it’s taken me a long time to get to writing it up given my ongoing backlog issue. Anyway, here is that writeup now. I ate lunch there by myself on a Saturday in mid-July en route to Surdyk’s to check out their summer sale (I restricted myself to just one bottle of mezcal, because I am restrained like that). Getting to and away from Lèpot was a bit of a trial on account of road construction on surface streets and ensuing traffic snarls but the meal itself was simple enough to sort out. Here’s how it went. Continue reading →

Kung Fu Hot Pot (Minneapolis)

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On Friday I had to drive up to South Minneapolis to pick something up—okay, okay, it was three bottles of mezcal. As I was probably going to be up there close to lunch time I tried to figure out where I might grab a bite in the general vicinity. One of the first places I thought of was Szechuan Spice, the small Sichuan restaurant that we’ve quite enjoyed in the past. A few minutes later I discovered that they closed earlier this year—apparently, this was first said to be for renovation but they never re-opened. I was very sad to find this out as we’d liked a lot of things we’d eaten there. I was intrigued, however, to see that the space had been quickly filled with a hot pot restaurant named Kung Fu Hot Pot. As I noted Szechuan Spice’s closure in a comment on my most recent review of a meal there, I noted that I might check it out soon. Flash forward to three hours later, when the missus and I sat down at a table by the window. Here’s how it went. Continue reading →

Little Szechuan (Hot Pot), Saint Paul

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Little Szechuan, Hot Pot: On the go

Little Szechuan put Sichuan food in Minnesota on the map a little less than a decade ago. From the original location on University Avenue in Saint Paul they expanded first to the tony West End mall in St. Louis Park and then later to the university area in Minneapolis. By the time of their expansion, however, they were no longer the best Sichuan food in town. That torch had been taken by their original chef to his new restaurant Grand Szechuan in Bloomington—and he’s pretty much held it there since then. I’ve noted before that I’ve found the quality at Little Szechuan to be highly variable since Chef Luo left—and I’m not sure how much stability there has been in the kitchen. Continue reading →