That's all for Hot Kitchen at 104 Second Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street...
The no-frills, authentic Sichuan restaurant opened in 2011. Last year, Hot Kitchen transformed its menu and added traditional Sichuan Skewer Hotpot and BBQ to their menu.
Apparently another transformation is afoot. A worker yesterday told EVG correspondent Steven that they'd reopen in a few weeks with a new name.
The took their best dish, lamb kidneys with cumin flavor, off the menu a while ago, so this was unfortunately inevitable.
ReplyDeleteThey were so good before they switched it up! It was our go-to place for Chinese takeout, then they stopped doing takeout and changed the menu.
ReplyDeleteYeah the switch to primarily hot pot was a mistake, too bad. They will be missed.
ReplyDeletePerhaps a more traditional Szechuan or Hunan menu would do better.
ReplyDeleteanother scaffolding victim. Where are the pols?
ReplyDeleteSammys in the West Village is still one of the best spots for old school Szechuan style food. I haven’t found anyone closer who can match their garlic chili sauce or their cold sesame noodles, and their hot oil is killer.
ReplyDeleteWe enjoyed their lunch specials for several years, but Mountain House and Mala Project eventually usurped Hot Kitchen as our go-to Szechuan restaurant. Thank you for paving the way.
ReplyDeleteAgree with all of the above. Their food was quality.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed their cuisine but I didn't care for most of their surly staff. Hopefully, that will change.
ReplyDeleteGood food, bad staff and always screwed up my delivery order. I ordered from them tons of times over the years, but it was always a crap shoot whether or not I would get what I asked for.
ReplyDeleteOne time I ordered beef chow fun, and all they gave me was chow fun with bean sprouts, that might have been the saddest delivery order of my life.
I'm sad to see them go. They stopped doing delivery sometime last year which was just a head-scratcher. Hopefully they come back with a focus on Szechuan like others have said... we have more than enough hot pot in the neighborhood
ReplyDeleteSpicy Moon is also a great new addition to the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand how you can run a business and not pay serious attention to the service you provide. At the least you need to recognize and acknowledge people and act like you value their patronage.
ReplyDeleteThe staff is the face of a business. They can create or destroy loyalty. There is a cashier at Commodities, for example, who acts as if she would ignore you if you had a heart attack in the store. Aren't the owners paying attention? I also find the service at Porto Rico disinterested, but I shop there anyway because it has been around for ever and I like the prices. But if you ask a question about the coffee you usu. find out less than you want to know. Compare to Good Beer where the owner is a fountain of information about beer. (I recently learned that there are west coast and east coast style IPAs, and that I prefer the less fruity, more bitter west coast style.)
I loved this place. Then they stopped doing delivery and took all my favorite dishes off the menu.
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