Crazy Pot - Chinese Hot Pot - Saturday Feb 2nd - 7:30pm

I'm putting together a group to check out a new favorite Chinatown spot of mine, Crazy Pot.
Guest cap at 10 people. BYOB!

1. Laikom
2. Teresa
3. petite_gourmande
4. Cathy2
5. AlekH
6. Rene G
7. happy_stomach
8. gastro gnome
9. steve
10. lemoneater




7:30pm

Menupages

Crazy Pot
2002 S Wentworth Ave, Chicago, IL

Dude, I am so ready to eat some caterpillars with mushrooms sprouting out of their heads, but I've got a gig that night. Drats, next time! Maybe I'll beat you to it!

Damn, busy that night. Next time

Please count me in.

Put me down for 1 please.

very much in for 1

EDIT: BYOB? EDITx2: checked menu pages, BYOB it is.

Please add another guest, Steve, to the list.

Really looking forward to this!

petite_gourmande wrote:Please add another guest, Steve, to the list.

Really looking forward to this!

No problem.

I did a recon mission with Jefe this afternoon. The cordyceps weren't as extreme as we were hoping, no worms attached to the mushrooms, and quite a plain broth. The fish balls with clam sauce were amazing, even better than they were in memory! The frog was as fresh as could be. We got the szechuan pot, while plenty spicy, it wasn't quite as spicy or numbing (ma la) as the previous visit, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, though was a bit on the salty side.

Looking forward to a 3rd visit Saturday!

laikom wrote:
I did a recon mission with Jefe this afternoon. The cordyceps weren't as extreme as we were hoping, no worms attached to the mushrooms, and quite a plain broth. The fish balls with clam sauce were amazing, even better than they were in memory! The frog was as fresh as could be. We got the szechuan pot, while plenty spicy, it wasn't quite as spicy or numbing (ma la) as the previous visit, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, though was a bit on the salty side.

Looking forward to a 3rd visit Saturday!

I think this is the same stuff I grew up with, dried little ridged squiggles that we slow cook in nourishing soups. Doesn't have much taste other than what the Cantonese refers to as "golden" as in lingering metallurgic finish that resonates if you wish, similar to really good ginseng. Even after hours of braising, they retain bite of crunchiness, so we would painstakingly pluck them out of the sediments of a rich stockpot. Supposedly, they are good for us women, among many other "benefits". the good stuff can be Expenive, if I recall correctly. Never knew this interesting aspect though, very cool!

Noting like fresh frogs, so sweet and succulent with slight gooey gelatinous goodness. Can't wait to try those fish product (balls, DIY noodles, paste for DIY quenelles), if well done, the texture and seasoning provides the perfect Unami.

Thanks for the recon, I will be there ready to feast with y'all. It has been too long!

I'm in!

petite_gourmande wrote:I think this is the same stuff I grew up with, dried little ridged squiggles that we slow cook in nourishing soups. Doesn't have much taste other than what the Cantonese refers to as "golden" as in lingering metallurgic finish that resonates if you wish, similar to really good ginseng. Even after hours of braising, they retain bite of crunchiness, so we would painstakingly pluck them out of the sediments of a rich stockpot. Supposedly, they are good for us women, among many other "benefits". the good stuff can be Expenive, if I recall correctly. Never knew this interesting aspect though, very cool!

Here's cordyceps for sale in a Chicago Chinatown store. I don't think the quality of this batch is very high yet the price was over $1200 per pound.



Could you add me to the wait list?

Rene G wrote:

petite_gourmande wrote:I think this is the same stuff I grew up with, dried little ridged squiggles that we slow cook in nourishing soups. Doesn't have much taste other than what the Cantonese refers to as "golden" as in lingering metallurgic finish that resonates if you wish, similar to really good ginseng. Even after hours of braising, they retain bite of crunchiness, so we would painstakingly pluck them out of the sediments of a rich stockpot. Supposedly, they are good for us women, among many other "benefits". the good stuff can be Expenive, if I recall correctly. Never knew this interesting aspect though, very cool!

Here's cordyceps for sale in a Chicago Chinatown store. I don't think the quality of this batch is very high yet the price was over $1200 per pound.



Could you add me to the wait list?

Ah, beat me to the punch. I just posted in the Crazy Pot thread about my cordyceps recon in Chinatown.

I'm sorry but I have to back out, I have a sick relative I need to help out with.
Sorry for the late notice

zoid wrote:I'm sorry but I have to back out, I have a sick relative I need to help out with.
Sorry for the late notice

That's ok, now I get to go!

I was supposed to be away this weekend, so this compensates for those plans imploding!

Regards,

I put together a menu for tonight. A lot of the dishes are a lot larger than you'd expect for the price, so the only thing I doubled up on is the fish balls. I tried to keep the total under $20 per person pre tip/tax, right now it's about $18, but I figured we may add something last minute.

Here is the spreadsheet.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... sp=sharing

Obviously the add-on items aren't filled in because that part of the menu isn't published online, so I put those in from memory of the prices. If you see something you want from the menu which isn't listed on my spreadsheet, let me know and I'll add it!

Can't wait, perfect for this frigid weather. And love the geeked out google doc:)

Hi,

I like how you have this so well planned out. Your planning skills are noted and appreciated.

Regards,

That menu sounds awesome.

Dinner was great! I haven't eaten that much food in a long time. Thanks to everyone for showing up!

Excellent dinner and brilliant ordering. Can't wait to go back for some of the favorites and trying others. Would love to join for another feast.

Hi,

Fish tofu, fish balls, crispy fish (looked like crisp onions) on steamed eggplant, fish dumplings --- I rarely have eaten fish disguised in such a variety of ways. I realized later we never did have the fish noodles, don't know if they were ordered. It would have added to the array of fish pastes already consumed.

The whole dinner was well executed from laikom's ordering, which ultimately meant handing the waitress a smart phone to fill the order. The staff's swift removal of dishes or downsizing from platters to smaller serving dishes, to the invisible hands who kept refilling the water. There are high end restaurants who are not as diligent.

Everyone was in such a good mood, it was hard to break away to go home. I'm sorry zoid missed this, though I was very glad to be there.

Thanks!

Regards,

This was a lot of fun. Thanks to Laikom for organizing and everyone else for being great company.