On our way through Delaware, we pulled into the potstickers parking lot, for a quick bite to eat while we were heading northwards. We weren't sure if we were going to eat at the gastropub, the Mexican food or pot stickers, but we picked potstickers based on what we thought would be a quick meal, which it ended up not being.
When we walked in, we immediately noticed that it seemed like equal parts restaurant and nightclub. We also noticed that they had a Tuesday evening girls night promotion which included very inexpensive alcoholic beverages for females, making it a quite loud evening. We were seated quickly, and met Nancy our server, who gave us our menus.
I was surprised at how much potstickers tries to do with their menu. They have an extensive Japanese menu, a sushi menu, a Chinese menu, and items that are Korean, Hawaiian, and even Thai. The interior is extremely eclectic, with themes that remind me of PF changs and also nightclubs of my past including uplit bars and rotating mirrored balls.
I started with a hot green tea ($3.50) and then we ordered the scallion pancakes appetizer ($6.95), and for our entrees we chose the Kung Pao chicken ($17.95) and bok choy with shiitake mushrooms ($12.95). While we waited for our food, I went to the bathroom to wash my hands. The lady's restroom was interesting to say the least, with the giant I mean Costco sized Listerine bottle, multiple body sprays, perfumes, toothpicks, and other items that I'm not used to seeing in bathrooms in restaurants. Very odd unless you think of it in the sense of a "spruce up between songs at the club" sort of way.
The tear arrived first with the scallion pancakes. The tea was good but nothing special, and the scallion pancakes were extremely oily and soggy, not the crispy and flavorful onion dotted crisps I was hoping for. The scallion pancakes did however come with a side of kimchi which I thought was interesting given that it was Delaware, and the kimchi was surprisingly pretty good, but that was the only part of the dish that was enjoyable. We left most of it on the table uneaten.
When the entrance came out, we thought we had another shot on the restaurant redeeming itself. Hubby had the kung pao chicken with a side of white rice, and he stated that it was about the same or worse than Panda Express, which I thought was saying something.
My bok choy with shiitake mushrooms and a side of brown rice was the only real dish that earned them any stars. The bok choy was fresh and sweet, but even so the mushrooms seemed like they were either dried and rehydrated or pre-packaged. Either way they were not fresh and they were very rubbery. Shiitake mushrooms are packed with flavor and health benefits, but I couldn't get past this texture, and I cook them frequently so I don't know how they would have gotten it this way if it wasn't rehydrated or pre-packaged. The sauce over the dish was very mild and plain, however it was quite healthy in terms of being low sodium and I tried to think of it in those terms to try and eat as much as I could.
The service was friendly but not very fast despite the fact that by the time our food was coming out, most of the people were only on drinks. Also, I felt like the dishes were overpriced, given their lack of quality and general lack of presentation, especially for the $18 plate of Kung Pao chicken which was mostly vegetables and peanuts. The ambiance was lacking, given that it had an extremely clubbing vibe, and parking was difficult even on a Tuesday late evening. I'm not sure what the food scene is in Delaware, but this restaurant did little for us while we were passing through and if we were in the area again we would not return. read more