Lao Sze Chuan
Chicago, IL 60616
Phone: (312) 326-5040
- Cross Street:
- Cermak Avenue
- Directions:
- El: Red Line to Cermak/Chinatown
- Best of Citysearch:
- Chinese Food 2007, Chinese Food 2006, Chinese Food 2006
- Hours:
- Daily 11:30am-12am
Editorial Review for Lao Sze Chuan – by Valerie Moloney
The Scene
The single, peach-hued dining room focuses little on decor, with simple white paper topping tables, plants hanging from the ceiling and a few floral prints on the wall. A Mandarin-speaking crowd sits on white metal chairs--mostly at tables for four--waiting for vest-wearing servers to bring out hot tea and pickled cabbage appetizers. Music is missing from the scene, but the attention is on the food.
The Food
Locals order without looking at the menu, but for newbies, the task can be daunting. A lengthy list of Szechuan dishes, coded for spiciness, covers just about every food group. Start with plump pork potstickers or prawns, squid and scallops swimming in a salty-sour broth of snow peas, carrots and sizzling rice. Tender Mongolian lamb arrives piping hot and paired with scallions; a squid-flavored Peking sauce livens eggplant. For the daredevil palette, ask for five-powder rabbit, pig ear or pork stomach.
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Insider Tips
The ExtrasTry family-style hot pot specials available each day for $14.95; bubbling broth cooks fresh meat and vegetable ingredients along with noodles in an experience akin to fondue. You can also host a private party in the upstairs dining room. Call for details.
ParkingThe lot in front on Archer is always busy and fills up quickly. Either allow time to prowl or try your luck up one of the side streets.
User Reviews for Lao Sze Chuan
07/07/2008 Posted by missmimimao
I was so very hopeful when I walked into Lao Sze Chuan. My mother is from Sze Chuan, and though she grew up all over Asia and cooks more southeast Asian food, a few key szechuanese dishes inevitably make their way onto our dinner table. It's not that I wanted instant Mama's food, but I was hoping for the same earthy, spicy, flavor-busting experience that describes szechuanese food. We had garlic stir-fried greens, MaPo tofu, and chili beef stew. The stew was mediocre, the beef cut into thick pieces that made it difficult to handle in one or two bites, and it tasted a bit crude. The MaPo tofu had a flat taste to it and the greens were limp, oily, and salty. Perhaps we ordered the wrong dishes?
Pros: Easy location, fairly quick getting food to table
Cons: Food below avg, service mediocre
01/11/2008 Posted by yinjin
The food is OK, but the service is unbelievably poor. They will repeately ask you whether you have finished your food as soon as you finish one half of your food. I feel extremely bad every time after I eat there.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful
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