I’m not the authenticity police. I don’t need everyone at my favorite sushi place to be Japanese and my French bistro to be run by the third generation Parisian. The Mexican couple taking over Monona’s Taste of China doesn’t bother me one bit. But giving a recent, still Chinese restaurant a Spanish name? It’s a certain brand of confidence.
Old Man’s Cottage means “old man’s hut” and its parenthetical subtitle is “The Best of Chinese Food”. The title of the page on its website reads: “Specializes in Crab Rangoon, Chicken or Roasted Pork Chow Mein, Seafood and Fried Rice.” If there are any misunderstandings, the restaurant seems to try to resolve them immediately.
Open for about a year, La Choza has had time to build a following; check out any local reddit thread about chinese food recommendations, it always comes up. I’m glad they let me target metadata, and if a site says seafood is good, then let’s eat the damn seafood.
Truth be told, I don’t order seafood very often in Chinese restaurants, but seafood in sizzling black bean sauce was an argument for changing this habit. The velvety sauce, brilliant green pea pods, and a generous portion of tender scallops, crab stick, and even lobster – plus an extra unadvertised shrimp or two in mine – were enough for at least a couple of meals.
The medium spice level was significant, but ordering sizzling dishes can be a bit confusing. For the record, according to a La Choza employee, “regular” is the lowest level of spice, and the spiciness increases from “mild” to “spicy.”
I noticed that General Tso’s regular chicken is essentially devoid of spices, and kung pao chicken is surprisingly sizzling for “mild,” so that works. Another surprise: If you order combo plates with a main course and a side, don’t expect any vegetables with your main course. My General Tso had no broccoli and my Kung Pao Bell had no pepper. On the other hand, the entire order of General Tso’s bold black pepper came with the expected broccoli florets.
The crab rangoons that came with my combination were a disappointment; the vegetarian egg roll was a little better. And (as I’ve found in Chinese restaurants before) an extra order of fried rice paled – literally – in comparison to the full order. My full order of shrimp fried rice had all the browning and flavor and, yes, peas and carrots, which the basic side order didn’t have.
The roasted pork chow mein was something of a disappointment, swimming in sauce with only a slight hint of noodles, which is a shame because the pork was good. He got lost in a similar way in the cabbage nest in the moo shu. I find a Ziploc bag of warmed, folded spring rolls (instead of the usual moo shu pancake) cute in a semi-homemade sort of way, but not great to eat.
The beef and mixed vegetables were exactly what I signed up for, loaded with peppers, carrots and broccoli. The fried wontons and bean curds were a bit over-fried and desiccated, although the garlic sauce with the bean curd squares was great. If you like sizzling sour soup with broth intensity, La Choza’s is sizzling and sour for you; I was tempted to cut it with some boiling water.
Portions at La Choza del Viejo are uniformly enormous and score well on the value play. Online ordering is still a blessing in our relentlessly digital world, but don’t be surprised if your food is ready sooner than estimated; this kitchen has experience and knows how to finish the ticket, sometimes faster than expected.
If you end up at the aged man’s cottage, make sure your bag includes an order of toasty, fluffy Chinese donuts. These are the ones with sugar, not the stick-shaped youtiao donuts often served with congee in more classic Chinese settings. After all, it’s an American Chinese restaurant and I really don’t care who does the cooking. This is called “successful fulfillment of expectations.”
Old Man’s Cottage
5415 Monona Drive
608-224-0017
lachozadelviejo.com
10:30-21:00 Mon, Wed, Thu; 10:30-21:30 Friday; 11:00-21:30 Saturday-Sunday.
$2-20
