660424 Sun Oct 18 05:15:26 -0700 2009 23 12 Boston Area 0 5111750 Went last night with a small group and was extremely disappointed. Now, I haven't eaten there that often, so I don't know all the ins and outs of the menu, but the food seemed completely different this time: all the supposedly "spicy" dishes we ordered, including eggplant in garlic sauce, scallops sichuan-style, and orange beef, were barely hot. Instead they had that sweet, gloppy, orange-y Americanized-Chinese sauce that I can't stand. The orange beef was pretty much inedible: fried cutlets of beef that were very tough and chewy, doused in that sweet sauce. The eggplant was OK, but also too sweet/not spicy. The steamed Sichuan dumplings were about the only good thing we ate. Others at the table ordered bland mixed vegetable dishes. I tried them, they were fine, but totally unremarkable. did we just all order the wrong thing, or have they changed management/chef? I see they are in the process of getting a liquor license, but in the mean time you can't bring alcohol in (why is that?). Too bad because I could have used a beer as consolation for the disappointing food. Sun Oct 18 05:15:26 -0700 2009 12377 bella_sarda 1 5111782 Having eaten there quite a bit back around 2005-2006, it was never really that good overall. The menu is promising, sure, but the quality was generally disappointing. I wouldn't say it's worth eating there if you have the ability to make the short drive over to Wang's or Qingdao. Sun Oct 18 05:50:40 -0700 2009 5111750 10607 Luther 1 5111929 I eat from there frequently and always like it. The food is tasty and not greasy. However, while I agree that some of the dishes could do with being hotter (e.g. the sichuan scallops), I can never resist the diced chicken with hot peppers which is very hot (unless you completely avoid eating the peppers). Sun Oct 18 07:49:42 -0700 2009 5111750 90719 chickendhansak 1 5111976 We ate there very frequently in its former space, and have continued to do so in its new space -- most recently two weeks ago. We have seen no diminution in quality or spiciness. I can't think of a bland dish that we've had there, but there are a few things I've discovered I simply dislike: peking raviloi, the sichuan steamed spicy dumplings, and the lion's head meatballs in clay pot. We usually order primarily from the list of house specialties, north-south dishes, and sichuan dishes. Favorites include the ma po (the best in the area, I'd argue), sichuan shrimp, scallops in black pepper sauce, whatever the special veg of the day is, and tea-smoked duck. There are several dishes I like quite a lot at Zoe's, but like slightly better at Qingdao, like the lamb with spicy cumin sauce, the chongqing chicken, and the spicy sliced potato. I'm sorry to you had a bad time. My guess is that it was a combination of it being an off night, and not ordering enough from the things they do exceptionally well. I hope you try it again sometime. Sun Oct 18 08:16:13 -0700 2009 5111750 47694 litchick 2 5112134 I'm assuming the sichuan scallops were pretty much equivalent to the sichuan shrimp, and they're in the "house specialties" section, but still I was not wowed. Since when does Sichuan-style mean fried and swimming in sweet, sticky sauce? I expected some complexity and at least a bit of heat in the sauce. Next time we'll hit Qingdao or Wang's. thanks for the input. Sun Oct 18 09:36:50 -0700 2009 5111976 12377 bella_sarda 3 5112240 The tricky thing is that there are some things on the menu, in different locations, that are nearly identical in the English names, but are actually different dishes. I don't speak or read Chinese, so it's been a process of trial and error for us. For example, there are two dishes that are basically called sichuan shrimp -- one is sweeter, and has a thick fried battered crust. It's got heat, but it's sweet heat, and a lot of bell peppers and onions on the plate. The other sichuan shrimp isn't sweet, and doesn't have that thick batter crust. Go figure. If I could read the Chinese names of things, it would probably be easier to remember which is which. Sun Oct 18 10:33:32 -0700 2009 5112134 47694 litchick 4 5112778 OK, this is kind of helpful. Next time maybe I can ask the server for the "non-batter-fried" version of the Sichuan dishes, and specify that I want it hot and not sweet. Although, most likely, there won't be a next time. This is what drives me batty about so many Chinese restaurants! Sun Oct 18 14:52:19 -0700 2009 5112240 12377 bella_sarda 5 5113078 Well, if you like ma po tofu, drop in there again sometime just for that. It's exceptional. Sun Oct 18 17:35:56 -0700 2009 5112778 47694 litchick 6 5113923 I *almost* ordered the ma po. Next time I most certainly will. Mon Oct 19 07:08:33 -0700 2009 5113078 12377 bella_sarda 4 5116137 This is an important point. I have had only good meals at Zoe's, and have found my favorite dishes to be very consistent. Last time we went, however, I ordered the Chongqing chicken and the waiter (a new waiter at the time) accidentally communicated it to the chef as Kung Pao Chicken, which I assume has a similar Chinese name because it has a similar premise (though of course a far different execution). They were very happy to switch it for the right thing. Mon Oct 19 20:25:53 -0700 2009 5112240 184951 hckybg 5 5116472 It's nice of you but chong2qing4 and gong1bao3 don't sound the same! It probably speaks to the same inclination towards using the "race-based two menu system" that many other reviewers have mentioned on this site. In any case of less than 100% clarity in what you said, the waiter assumed you wanted the thing that non-Chinese are more likely to order... Tue Oct 20 02:54:12 -0700 2009 5116137 10607 Luther 6 5116911 They are pretty good about giving me the dry diced chicken with hot peppers when I ask for it, though they ask for confirmation. I can't imagine many non-Asian customers order that (twice). As a total ignoramus, I actually don't know if I'm SUPPOSED to eat the entire pile of fresh green and dried, roasted red chili peppers. But if I didn't, about 75% of the content of the dish as served would be wasted, so I eat as much as I dare (the day after effect varies!). Tue Oct 20 08:12:05 -0700 2009 5116472 90719 chickendhansak 7 5116932 The dried chiles are the ones that I don't always eat (not just on that dish), but more because the texture gets old and not due to the flavor/heat. I think it's all intended to be consumed though. Tue Oct 20 08:22:16 -0700 2009 5116911 111910 jgg13 8 5116948 Interesting to get another view. I agree about the texture. I actually quite enjoy eating them but I have a cause and effect theory about eating too many of them. That dish is addictive. Tue Oct 20 08:26:45 -0700 2009 5116932 90719 chickendhansak 9 5116953 I like eating them for a while, particularly when they're a bit softer than normal. But after a while it feels like you're chewing on leather for the whole meal, and that's just not something that I dig. Tue Oct 20 08:29:55 -0700 2009 5116948 111910 jgg13 6 5117991 Thanks for the clarification--it was a new waiter so I assume was just an innocent mix-up, as the other items we ordered (lotus root, I believe, and lion's head meatball) arrived as ordered. Zoe's has always been good about not questioning orders in my experience--I have ordered chongqing chicken probably 15 times and never been asked if I know what I am getting into. It is very good! Tue Oct 20 13:49:10 -0700 2009 5116472 184951 hckybg 7 5118091 That's one thing I've wondered about ordering via foodler & such, as they can't see you and can't hear your voice. I suppose they could see "John Smith" and realize you're not going to be chinese, but that'd be the only thing that they could base those decisions are on. I know that back in the olden days when you'd actually call in your delivery/takeout order that there were places where I could say "extra spicy" or whatever and it usually seemed to actually work whereas I'd get the funny look and it'd come out "extra mild" when I'd dine in. Could've been in my head, small sample size, etc tho, so YMMV Tue Oct 20 14:23:49 -0700 2009 5117991 111910 jgg13 3 5112243 Yeah, I don't really understand "Sichuan style." I mean, it's a decent description of something in a ma/la chile oil sauce, but in reality it is most frequently used to refer to unremarkable American style dishes. Sun Oct 18 10:34:26 -0700 2009 5112134 10607 Luther 1 5112165 re: the booze. it's illegal to byob, even with places that do not have a license. not in every town, but some and in somerville and boston, yes. Sun Oct 18 09:57:35 -0700 2009 5111750 30273 hotoynoodle 1 5115356 Yeah, Zoe's was our go to place for delivery a couple years ago. We ordered for the first time since moving back to Boston last night and I've got to say that it was pretty bad. Really bland noodles, mediocre dumplings, hard, stringy sesame beef. I don't know what happened but this is definitely not the Zoe's we remember. Any other suggestions for good/authenti chinese takeout in somerville? Mon Oct 19 15:01:49 -0700 2009 5111750 56871 dinnerbell 2 5115383 as mentioned above, both wangs and qingdao are nearby. also, mulan is very good and over by kendall, so not too far either. somerville is actually probably the best place in the city for chinese. i like zoes too, but they--like wangs and qingdao--are definitely inconsistent. Mon Oct 19 15:09:36 -0700 2009 5115356 22634 autopi 3 5115897 Id say inconsistent is the best word. I've ordered from them somewhat regularly for a few years now. I've noticed that there can be a huge range of quality, sometimes the same dish is prepared completely differently. I've just chalked it up to different chefs Mon Oct 19 18:42:04 -0700 2009 5115383 111910 jgg13 2 5116067 Sesame beef is not "authentic" anything, so that's probably your first problem. Mon Oct 19 19:52:12 -0700 2009 5115356 10607 Luther 1 5117043 I once ordered 4 Northern Chinese special entrees, and every one was underwhelming. Everything was OK, but I couldn't tell if the dishes were truly representative of the style/region, because they were barely indistinguishable from decent quality American-Chinese fare. Tue Oct 20 08:53:43 -0700 2009 5111750 23030 Dinsdale45