You've made an LSC believer in me!!

Our reception reservations have changed from the Phoenix to LSC and I'm now a believer of LSC. Not only does their food come highly recommended, they were very hospitable and accomodating to our party needs. Despite the slight communication barrier, we were able to secure some space and the space is much more our style. It definitely was off my radar for possible reception sites. Thank you for all your recommendations, posted pictures and GNR vote for LSC. I've been reading up on LSC wherever info was posted! I've only eaten there now twice and liked what I've had.

So, I've done a lot of studying and have read up on Lao Sze Chuan's menu and fellow recommendations. Now here's my final submission of LSC's menu selections for a group of 25 adults who can SERIOUSLY eat with the best of them and prefer their dishes either non-spicy to just over the edge of mild spicy. The group will be split between 2 tables of 12-13 and the following menu will be provided to each table. Care to offer a grade?? Do you think this is too much/little for one table of 12 hungry people based on their portion size? TIA

SEAFOOD
Crispy Shrimp in Mayonnaise Sauce
Salt & Pepper Three Delight

CHICKEN –
Tony’s Three Chili Chicken
Three Cup Chicken

PORK –
Pork in Peking Sauce
Steam Pork with Sweet Pickle

BEEF –
Mongolian Beef Tenderloin
Beef Tenderloin BBQ
(I considered the Beef & Maw Szechuan Style... but how big is a serving if it's less than $5??)

NOODLES –
Combination Pan Fried Noodle (requesting easy on the sauce)
Noodles Peking Style

SIDES –
Ma Po Tofu with Pork
Szechuan String Beans
Garlic Spinach

SOUP – do they offer large bowls to share?
Wonton
Hot & Sour

APPETIZER –
Pork Potstickers

That looks like a great menu. I have a special weakness for the crispy shrimp in mayo sauce. My favorite LSC noodle dish is the "house special fried noodle", which is a little spicy and nice and dry (usually--every once in a while it's a little too juicy). The ma po tofu is definitely more than just a little bit spicy. The spinach is fantastic, but I would also recommend the pea shoots with garlic.

Anyway, have a great meal and please report back!

You're missing the tea-smoked duck. You definitely want some of that!

You might also consider replacing one of the beef dishes with lamb with pure cumin.

The beef and maw is an appetizer portion.

As for portion sizes, LSC's are ample, but with 12-13 people, each person is going to get a relatively small taste of each dish. So you may want to double up on things like shrimp.

Not only does their food come highly recommended, they were very hospitable and accomodating to our party needs. Despite the slight communication barrier, we were able to secure some space

Sadly that wasn't the case a few weekends ago when a friend of mine went down to LSC with her boyfriend, her dad, and her dad's seeing eye dog. They were denied entrance to the restaurant despite showing the guide dog's ID and registration (and yes, the dog was on her regulation harness). Despite arguing that this is a NATIONAL law they were not only denied enrty, but the waiters formed a human barricade so that my friends could not enter. One waiter tried to translate with a woman behind a counter who was obviously calling the shots, but it didn't do any good - she claimed that 'national laws' didn't apply to them. After some other patrons tried to intercede in their behalf, my friends were grudgingly told that they could come in, "because the other patrons don't seem to mind" but that they would have to eat upstairs where no other patrons were seated - they denied this option as they didn't feel welcome at all. Lucky for LSC my friend's father is more into educating businesses rather than suing them. He has contacted the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce and a lawyer for Lighthouse for the Blind whom he hopes will explain the ADA laws to the owners/managers of LSC.

It's strange, but restaurants in Chicago seem to not deal with this very well. In the past when my friend's dad has been in town I've gone out to eat with them at Green Zebra and Charlie Trotter's (he's a vegetarian) and both times when I made the reservation and let them know that there would be a guide-dog (I do this as a courtesy so that they can seat us somewhere that will be easy to get to and/or out of the way of other patrons) I have been told, "well, I'll have to check with the dining room mamanger." I calmly explained the ADA law and said that if there were any problems to please call me back. In their defence, it may have just been the person taking the reservations because both restaurants were very helpful and prepared when we arrived - Trotter's pastry chef even baked a mini-box of dog biscuits as a take-home gift.

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I'll second the lamb with pure cumin, and the Chef's Special Chicken wit Dry Chiles is also excellent.

Ma Po is more of a main course than a side, though.

Tobermory wrote:

Not only does their food come highly recommended, they were very hospitable and accomodating to our party needs. Despite the slight communication barrier, we were able to secure some space

Sadly that wasn't the case a few weekends ago when a friend of mine went down to LSC with her boyfriend, her dad, and her dad's seeing eye dog. They were denied entrance to the restaurant despite showing the guide dog's ID and registration (and yes, the dog was on her regulation harness). Despite arguing that this is a NATIONAL law they were not only denied enrty, but the waiters formed a human barricade so that my friends could not enter. One waiter tried to translate with a woman behind a counter who was obviously calling the shots, but it didn't do any good - she claimed that 'national laws' didn't apply to them. After some other patrons tried to intercede in their behalf, my friends were grudgingly told that they could come in, "because the other patrons don't seem to mind" but that they would have to eat upstairs where no other patrons were seated - they denied this option as they didn't feel welcome at all. Lucky for LSC my friend's father is more into educating businesses rather than suing them. He has contacted the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce and a lawyer for Lighthouse for the Blind whom he hopes will explain the ADA laws to the owners/managers of LSC.

It's strange, but restaurants in Chicago seem to not deal with this very well. In the past when my friend's dad has been in town I've gone out to eat with them at Green Zebra and Charlie Trotter's (he's a vegetarian) and both times when I made the reservation and let them know that there would be a guide-dog (I do this as a courtesy so that they can seat us somewhere that will be easy to get to and/or out of the way of other patrons) I have been told, "well, I'll have to check with the dining room mamanger." I calmly explained the ADA law and said that if there were any problems to please call me back. In their defence, it may have just been the person taking the reservations because both restaurants were very helpful and prepared when we arrived - Trotter's pastry chef even baked a mini-box of dog biscuits as a take-home gift.

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I would consider calling LSC and speaking to the owner. It may be something that his employees don't know and need to be educated about. When I've been there with large parties and people with special needs (wheel chair access ect) I've called in advance and spoken to him and had no problems. I'm very sorry that this happened to your friend. I hope that they can become educated on how to treat people with guide animals.

Re soup at LSC: I think both the hot and sour and the wonton are disappointing, but especially the wonton. I'd be inclined to skip the soup.

Add another strong endorsement for the house special fried noodles.

JoelF wrote:Ma Po is more of a main course than a side, though.

That it is, for big Ma Po fans like eatchicago (and you too, Joel?) However, as much as I like LSC's Ma Po tofu, there's only so much I want to eat at a sitting, and that's typically about 6 to 8 oz. -- i.e., an appetizer or side serving. I'll hazard a guess most people feel the way I do about Ma Po serving sizes Accordingly, I think that unless you know there are a bunch of true Ma Po fans in your group, you might do best to scale back the volume on this to side portions. (And if you discover in the event that some of your guests can't get enough of the stuff, no doubt the kitchen could whip up another order or two extra for you, on the spot!)

I'm digressing, but Ma Po is actually one of the few dishes where the recipe I have has come out at home at least as good if not better than most of the preparations I've had at restaurants. Only LSC's has matched it. Too many of the sauces have been thin (meatless), not enough leek, not enough black bean. Hmm... gotta go find where I left that recipe.

This is such great feedback! Thank you all for sharing your recommendations and suggestions. I still have about a week to confirm our menu before I go down there and provide our requests in writing (to avoid confusion the day of the event.)

FWIW, I second LAZ's recommendation to double the shrimp. I've been to LSC with groups on a few occasions, and for whatever reason, the mayonnaise shrimp seems to be the one dish there is never enough of.

I say "whatever reason" as though I don't damn well know the reason, but I don't want to think about the reason right now because it's 1:08 AM and I can't go get some.

Another vote for the tea-smoked duck. It's delicious!!

Suzy

I would perhaps consider adding Boiled Beef (or pork) to the list. Hard to pass up the heat level achieved by putting about 1" of ground red peppers on top of a soupy cabbage/beef mixture. It really is quite impressive when it arrives (and tasty).
Jamie

Figgured I'd post another great meal report here rather than starting a new topic when it's just more praise...

Anyhow, after work yesterday I took 2 coworkers and their SO's to LSC. All were first timers. We worked late so we didn't get there till about 10:30 or 11pm. The downstairs room was still about a quarter full at that hour. While some folks were fairly adventurous, I still thought it best to stay away from most organ meats and other treats that I would go for so that I didn't totaly shock anyone. for 5 of us we ordered:

The house pickled cabage (wonder If I could get a quart of this too take home... I'll have to ask next time)
2x Szechuan Wontons
2x Chengdu Dumplings
Tony's 3 chille Chicken
Szechuan Boiled Beef
Shell on prawns with dry chille
Szechuan string beans
Orange beef tenderloin

for the folks that couldn't handle some of the hotter stuff (and more "authentic" dishes... even if not organ meats, etc)

Garlic Chicken
Mu Shu Chicken

Needless to say that everyone was beyond impressed with the food. One of my coworkers said it was the best meal of any sort he had had in 8 months and the best chinese in his life. Tony's chicken didn't last more than 7 minuets and the prawns, for those that could take the heat were probably the favorite. The orange beef was better than I expected but very sweet. I wouldn't order it myself but it's a good bridge for first timers that are still a but uncomfortable putting their meal entirely in the hands of someone wanting to order tendons and maw. The "American" dishes were actually not all that bad though for that sort of crossover food I'd rather be at LTH. Still it made sure everyone was happy.

Perhapse it was because it was late and there weren't many tables (though those that were there were very firendly... we were all chatting about our meals across the room) the service, while not fast or attentive on their own was very responsive. Evertime we needed something it only took a quick glance in the direction of our server to get his attention, not something I am used to in China town of any city... very nice!

Overall everyone was very pleased. Next work field trip: Spoon Thai!

Our small wedding reception was FABUOLOUS! Thank you for all your recommendations! Overall, the venue was perfect because it felt like home, accomodating our needs in every way. Here are the details...

We rented the private room upstairs, behind the bar. It was perfect for our group of 30... (a few guests snuck in!) The room had 2 large round tables that seated our guests comfortably. We had a handful eat on the coffee table that was in another corner of the room - which was fine, since it was all immediate family anyway (kinda reminicient of our dinners at home anyway.)

Our menu consisted the follow for each table:

individual servings of Wonton and Hot & Sour Soup
4 orders of Pork Potstickers
3 orders of Tony's Three Chili Chicken
3 orders of Crispy Shrimp in Mayonnaise Sauce (we ended up ordering 4 addit'l orders because it was a hit!!)
3 orders of Pork in Peking Sauce
3 orders of House Special Dry Ribs
3 orders of House Special Fried Noodles
3 orders of Garlic Spinach


It was a success because there was a perfect balance of spicy and non-spicy foods for our guests to try. They were pretty impressed and loved all the food.

The service was excellent as well. They were very attentive and personable.... even wanting to take pictures of our set up. Because of our wedding, they allowed us to bring in our own cake with no problems and no additional cake cutting fee.

To top off our reception, we took part in some good old karaoke - a must for our family get togethers. Normally, they charge $40 per hour, but because we brought in our own system and having no need to use their karaoke equipment, aside from their big screen TV, they gave us a 50% discount!

We got nothing but compliments on the food, service and entertainment accomodations. Thank you all for recommending Lao Sze Chuan and yoru favorite dishes. We will definitely be returning here to try those dishes we could not include at our reception.

Erzsi wrote:I would consider calling LSC and speaking to the owner. It [the guide-dog thing] may be something that his employees don't know and need to be educated about. When I've been there with large parties and people with special needs (wheel chair access ect) I've called in advance and spoken to him and had no problems.

A general comment, that applies to more than this restaurant and this situation: It strikes me as "apologist" when ardent supporters of a place say, "Oh, if only you'd spoken to the owner, I'm sure you would have been accommodated." I'm sorry--it's up to the owner, proactively, to make sure his staff is prepared with the proper response to a predictable circumstance. It shouldn't be necessary to go over the heads of the staff to speak to the owner. When it is, it suggests an owner who treats training as an afterthought.

I'm not down on LSC in particular. Likely the guide-dog situation was one the restaurant hadn't encountered before and never anticipated (although you'd think it should have). I'm just saying that in general this "make sure you talk to the owner" prescription doesn't cut any ice with me.

riddlemay wrote:A general comment, that applies to more than this restaurant and this situation: It strikes me as "apologist" when ardent supporters of a place say, "Oh, if only you'd spoken to the owner, I'm sure you would have been accommodated." I'm sorry--it's up to the owner, proactively, to make sure his staff is prepared with the proper response to a predictable circumstance. It shouldn't be necessary to go over the heads of the staff to speak to the owner. When it is, it suggests an owner who treats training as an afterthought.

I'm not down on LSC in particular. Likely the guide-dog situation was one the restaurant hadn't encountered before and never anticipated (although you'd think it should have). I'm just saying that in general this "make sure you talk to the owner" prescription doesn't cut any ice with me.

I was not suggesting speaking to the owner to be more accommodated, but more so, to have him take the time to educate his staff. How else does staff of any establishment get trained or educated in something that they don't know if the owner doesn't make a policy or example of it all the way across the board?

I agree - I'm not quite sure if speaking to the owner would have solved anything because what my friend really perceived in addition to the lack of knowledge about the ADA laws was a language barrier that prevented them from trying to explain the situation. That's why they wanted to talk about the problem to the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce a group that would likely have someone who could communicate the laws in a language the owner/staff could better understand.

I'm the person who was refused entry to Lao Sze Chuan with my father and his Guide Dog (thanks for posting the story here, Tobermory).

Thankfully, there has been resolution to this situation... but first here's a little bit more description of what took place.

While we were at the restaurant, we did try to speak to the person who is in charge, but we were told that there was no manager there at the time. They flatly refused to call anyone who could make the decision to let us in (manager, owner or even 311 or the police to let them know that it IS a law that a service dog must be allowed into a restaurant). There seemed to be a woman in charge, but she would not come over to speak to us and stayed behind the row of servers giving them orders in Chinese not to let us in.

This is what made it extremely frustrating... that there was no way we could speak to anyone who had the power to change the situation. We go out to eat a lot and sometimes people balk when the dog comes through the front door, but usually it only takes a 1 minute conversation to explain that my father is blind, the dog is a trained, licensed seeing eye dog and that she is entitled by law to go anywhere that he can go. Most people recognize the law once they are reminded.

Obviously, they had never encountered this situation before. We are much more interested in educating than pursuing any legal action. We don't want any other patrons with disabilities to experience this frustration. Also, ultimately it is bad for the restaurant for this kind of event to take place, especially since they seem to benefit from good word of mouth on this board, Check Please, etc.

We felt that if we went away and didn't do anything to educate the restaurant that we would be remiss and would leave others to suffer the same frustration. We contacted a Judge who works with Lighthouse for the Blind.

He sent the restaurant a letter and received no response. Eventually he got in touch with a business leader in the Chinatown community who contacted the owner of the restaurant.

This week, we received a letter of apology from the owner and a promise to educate the staff of Lao Sze Chuan. They were also nice enough to enclose a $100 gift certificate to the restaurant with an invitation for us to try the restaurant as their honored guests.

We are excited to try this restaurant because of all the glowing reports about it on this board. We are adventurous eaters and were really looking forward to trying Lao when this unfortunate incident occured.

Thanks to everyone on the board for their support and suggestions as to how to resolve the issue.

rilkeanhearts,

Many thanks for writing in with the follow-up and further details on the incident itself. I'm happy to hear that the folks at LSC were eventually able to see the light, albeit only after requiring prodding from within the community.

I love(d) this restaurant for the food but, frankly, even after their offer of recompense I'm left with grave doubts concerning the degree to which the ownership accepts the fact that laws apply to them no less than to everyone else. The slow and begrudging attempt to make good the brutish behaviour of their staff bespeaks to me not just unforgiveable ignorance but really an attitude that stinks. As fine as their food is, I shall be happy for the foreseeable future to spend my money on the fine food of other, less benighted establishments.

Antonius

This is in no way meant to excuse the behavior of the staff at LSC, but one factor that has not been mentioned above was that the restaurant had been closed down by Chicago's Food Protection Division for several days last June, and especially given the staff's obvious ignorance of the law, they may have been especially sensitive to what they wrongly perceived as a possible health issue.

Here's another follow-up on the Lao Szechuan saga...

I'm happy to report that we visited Lao when my dad was back in town a couple of weeks ago. They were nice as could be and were happy to see us return with his seeing eye dog.

We enjoyed a fabulous meal. I am still craving those sliced potatoes with chilies and the ma po tofu (veggie version).

We will definitely be back!