I am not the authenticity police. I don’t need everyone at my favorite sushi spot to be Japanese, or my French bistro to be run by a third-generation Parisien. A Mexican couple taking over Monona’s Taste of China doesn’t bother me in the slightest. But giving the new and still-Chinese restaurant a Spanish name? That is a certain brand of confident.
La Choza del Viejo means “the old man’s hut,” and its parenthetical subtitle on Google is “The Best Chinese Food.” The page title text on its website reads, “Specializes In Crab Rangoon, Chicken or Roast Pork Chow Mein, Seafood And Fried Rice.” If there’s confusion, the restaurant seems set on immediately resolving it.
Open for about a year now, La Choza has had time to develop a fanbase; see any local Reddit thread about Chinese food recommendations, it always shows up. I’m happy to let the metadata steer me, and if the website says the seafood is good, then let’s get the dang seafood.
Truth be told, I don’t order seafood at Chinese spots all that often, but the seafood in spicy black bean sauce was an argument for changing that habit. Velvety sauce, bright green peapods, and a generous portion of tender scallops, crab stick, and even lobster — plus a bonus unadvertised shrimp or two in mine — was enough for a couple meals at least.
The spice level at medium was appreciable, but ordering for spicy dishes can be a touch confusing. For the record, from an employee at La Choza, “regular” is the lowest level of spice, and the heat increases starting with “mild” and up to “hot.”
I found regular General Tso’s chicken to be essentially spice-less, and kung pao chicken surprisingly spicy for “mild,” so that checks out. Another surprise: If you order the combination plates with an entree and side, don’t expect any vegetables with your entree. My General Tso’s came broccoli-free, my kung pao bell pepperless. On the other hand, a full order of saucy, black-peppery General Tso’s came with the expected broccoli florets.
The crab rangoons that came with my combo were a disappointment; the veggie egg roll was a little better. And (as I have found before at Chinese restaurants) the side order of fried rice paled — literally — in comparison to a full order. My full order of shrimp fried rice had all the browning and flavor and, yes, peas and carrots, that the basic side order didn’t.
Roast pork chow mein was something of a letdown, swimming in sauce with only the barest hint of noodles, and too bad because the pork was good. It was lost in much the same way in a nest of cabbage in the moo shu. I did find the Ziploc baggie of warmed folded spring roll wrappers (in lieu of the usual moo shu pancake) to be charming in a semi-homemade sort of way, but not great for the eating experience.
Beef and mixed vegetables was exactly what I signed up for, laden with peppers and carrots and broccoli. Fried wontons and bean curd were a touch over-fried and dry, though the garlic sauce with the bean curd squares was great. If you like your hot sour soup to come through with stock-like intensity, La Choza’s is the hot sour for you; I was half-tempted to cut it with a little boiling water.
The portions at La Choza del Viejo are uniformly hefty, coming through strong with the value play. Online ordering continues to be a blessing in our unrelentingly digital world, but don’t be surprised if your food is ready faster than the estimate; this kitchen has experience and knows how to finish a ticket, sometimes faster than anticipated.
If you find yourself at the old man’s hut, make sure an order of warm, fluffy, Chinese donuts ends up in your bag. They’re the sugared ones, not the stick-shaped youtiao donuts often served with congee in more classically Chinese settings. This is, after all, an American Chinese restaurant, and I really don’t worry about who’s doing the cooking. That’s called “successfully meeting expectations.”
La Choza del Viejo
5415 Monona Drive
608-224-0017
lachozadelviejo.com
10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon., Wed., Thurs.; 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Fri.; 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Sat.-Sun.
$2-20
