Old Street Malatang 老街麻辣烫

"Sort of like Build-A-Bear, this Capitol Hill restaurant lets you have total creative freedom—only over a steaming hot bowl of malatang. Choose from a list of soup bases like tomato or beef broth, then load up with ingredients like udon, taro root, and fish balls.  We recently checked out Old Street Malatang. Read our first thoughts here. " - kayla sager riley, aimee rizzo, gabe guarente

"Old Street Malatang is a build-your-own Szechuan hot pot counter on Capitol Hill. In theory, that sounds great—but in reality, this place provides the freedom of customization with none of the hot pot fun. The industrial-size fridges are filled with lots of ingredient options like bok choy, rice cakes, and fish balls. Then, after you fill up your bowl with toppings and choose a broth, it’s unceremoniously whisked away to the kitchen to be cooked. There are no aprons, no sauce bar—not even a noodle dance. And while the broth here is pretty good (specifically the spicy beef), and the individual bowls convenient, we’d much rather head to one of the many other great hot pot spots in town. Did we mention there’s no noodle dance?" - Kayla Sager-Riley