No More Lotus
2009 May 3
It’s a sad day for me, because one of my favorite restaurants in Frederick has reportedly closed down. I say reportedly because I am holding out hope that perhaps, maybe, Lotus Chinese Cuisine has moved locations instead of shuttering there doors for good.
I got the first report when Morag (an FMO header entrant) emailed me to say their phone was disconnected. Then today my wife drove by and confirmed that they had indeed closed down.
Any other good places to get Chinese food in Frederick? Sigh.
64 Responses
leave one →
Sorry to hear this! I hate to see anyone go out of business.
The one Chinese restaurant I really like is in Urbana called Chopsticks. http://www.chopstixurbana.com/md/Home.html It’s located on the left side of the plaza where the Giant food store is located. It’s a small place, but the food is very good and large portions. They even have some sushi, although I’ve had better elsewhere. Their Mu Shu Pork is excellent, as well as their vegetarian eggplant dish.
Monica
I second Chop Stix. I wrote a bit about it last year.
http://frederickmarylandonline.com/2008/04/21/new-eatery-opens-in-urbana/
Sorry to hear that another place has gone under. I never did go to Lotus but I know it was highly recommended here.
Well I can tell you this much, the China Garden is a complete NO GO! But I’m sure you already knew that.
I agree with Jason. China Garden is horrible! Very dirty too.
I highly reccommend Peking Gourmet on Rt. 85 (in the shopping center with Golds Gym and the Common Market). Very good food and friendly staff.
Man, thats just no good. Peking Gourmet is ok, but Lotus was definitely the best.
I second the Peking Gourmet recommendation – excellent food, quick meals, fair prices. Very friendly owners, especially with my kids.
Lotus was awesome. Loved their Volcano Shrimp.
I sound like a broken record from the other posts but we like Chopsticks. http://www.chopstixurbana.com/md/Home.html
Chopstix sounds great but will they deliver to the North side of Frederick – I doubt it; it looks way too trendy. There was no information on their web site (when are businesses going to realize that this is the point of a web site).
After my desperate attempt to get food from Lotus I did call China Garden. I thought it was OK, but the person who took my order was rather rude.
I guess I will try Peking Gourmet next. I will make it my mission to find Crispy Beef as good as the Lotus.
I guess no-one knows why they closed?
I always wondered how Lotus stayed afloat in that location. Good food isn’t always enough, especially if no one knows you exist. Hope they relocate.
What’s the problem with China Garden? I’ve eaten there many times over the years and have always been pleased with the service and food. Granted, I probably haven’t been in a year or so. Has it gone downhill?
Their crispy beef was the best. sniff. sniff.
I was not impressed with ChopStix. They were pricey and I have had better Chinese food elsewhere. I do like Peking Gourmet. I had some really good Chinese food recently at the Red Chopstick, but alas, it’s in Sedona, Arizona.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh! )-* i can’t believe it! That was my favorite Chinese restaurant, too. i never had the Volcano Shrimp (do not recall even seeing it) but now that i know i missed it, i’m devastated about that, too! i always ordered that cold (but spicy!) chicken salad and was in Heaven till it was gone. They were always so nice in there. i, too, hope that they have just moved locations.
Hey there. I am another who has always had very good experiences when eating at China Garden, both with the quality of the food and the fast friendly service! I’ll admit the decor does need to be spruced up since it has had the same furnishings, and paint for many years now. That may give the “less than clean” appearance. Maybe they will soon invest in look of the dining room. But the food is very good and I go there about once a month for lunch.(Dinner is a little expensive.)
I also hope the Lotus hasn’t disappeared for good and may open in a new spot, but I have not heard anything to give that impression.
The only place my fiance would eat chinese food from. Guess I am all alone on finding a new place that hopefully he will like.
I loved Lotus to. I had no idea that they had closed. Where did they move to? Aside from Lotus, there is the HUNAN GOURMET, on 7th street in the Safeway Plaza next to subway. yummy, yummy!
Oh my, I’m in mourning about Lotus. My other half will be, too, when I tell him.
Living in Damascus, we weren’t able to get to Lotus as often as we would have liked. But, whenever we really wanted some “good Chinese,” we knew it meant a trip to Frederick–and Lotus. Forget about anything in Germantown or Gaithersburg.
Yes, the Volcano Shrimp was marvelous. Even that old standby Shrimp Toast was a cut above others. And, we often noted that Lotus was one of the very few places where we might find a bit more nuance in the sauces. (I’m just sick of the one-size-fits-all soy-sauce-based brown sauce and the sickly-sweetish reddish sauces used interchangeably in so many dishes.)
Oh, and the best Mai Tai’s and Zombies we can recall having.
Sniff, sniff indeed.
The BEST place for Chinese in Frederick (IMHO) is China Garden on W.Patrick. They’ve been around for 15 yrs and are always busy so they must be doing something right. You will not be disappointed.
Oh my…was just wanting Lotus the other day. My family loved going there. Guess I will have to check around. Sad Sad
About China Garden…went there about a year ago with my daughter at her suggestion. i don’t recall much about the food, but i do remember thinking the restaurant didn’t look all that clean. The people were very friendly so that was a plus. Another thought i had was that i knew Lotus would always be my first choice if these two restaurants were in the running against one another!
The restaurant i mostly was devastated to see close up was Kyoko. You could not beat their sushi — and their service was top notch. i think you had to pass a Nice Test before working there! That’s a restaurant i wish would open elsewhere.
I am sad to see Lotus go but the food over the last several years has been inconsistent. But it was still a good place to get Chinese. The problem with China Garden is that the food is very much Americanized. The dining area has never struck me as very clean and I don’t even want to know what the kitchen looks like either. In all of the years, I have lived in this area, the owners have never put any money into sprucing up the place which might help make it more appealing to the eye.
I am sure Chopstix is good but for those of us who live on the north side of town, it can be a long haul.
Although Great Wall over on Kingfisher has been hit or miss at times, it is still pretty good. And the prices are reasonable. And their menu has not been overly Americanized either.
Almost all of the Chinese places in this area are Americanized. And many are trying to be too much. Can you really expect to find good Chinese food at a place that also has Thai, Japanese and American food?
knitplaywithfire, I’m not acquainted with the other Chinese restaurants in Frederick (having gone to Lotus almost exclusively). But, your comments re heavy “Americanization” seem to indicate that no one follows the practice I’ve seen in a couple of G-town/Gaith. restaurants where “authentic” Chinese dishes are available but are listed separately on the menu (usually in Chinese characters only) from the “Americanized” dishes. While this “authentic” menu is obviously geared toward the Chinese clientele, clearly non-Chinese patrons order from it on occasion. Ordering “authentic” also means that knives/forks go away (if they were on the table at all) in favor of chopsticks only. Those hankering for “real” Chinese food may wish to consider visiting “dual menu” establishments. If there are none in Frederick, perhaps it’s worth a drive to Germantown.
FrederickFan, I grew up in the Asian culture and my best friend and her husband used to own a Chinese place in Ohio. (Yes, he is Chinese.) So I do know about the other menu. But sadly, I have never seen it here in Frederick. I am going to just have to head down the road. I love good dim sum.
knitplaywithfire, I can understand how you’d miss the true Chinese dishes. It would seem that there aren’t enough residents of Asian background in Frederick and the surrounding area (or others willing to give such dishes a try) to support the alternate menu.
not about Chinese but Los Potrillos in the Rt 40 Giant is shut down also. Went to the bank next door today and there were signs on the door. hate to see all these empty stores/restaurants….
knitplaywithfire – Thought you might like to know that there’s a dim sum dining group associated with donrockwell.com If you read the bulletin boards under events, you will see that they periodically meet to enjoy a dim sum meal.
We have tried to meet up with them (dim sum is SO much more fun with a crowd), but haven’t been able to coordinate our schedules yet.
IF you do go – report back to us on your experience!~
I like Hunan Gourmet on Seventh St. near the Safeway.
China Garden is not too bad. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve eaten there, but I remember the food being a little on the sweet side. Maybe bc of the type of Chinese it is. The decor I always thought was like going back to the Chinese places I grew up with in the 70′s. Kind of stuck back in time.
I commute from Urbana to Bethesda, so I find it kind of funny (and I don’t mean to be offensive) that some on the north side of Frederick would say that it’s a hike to travel to Urbana. Chop Stix in Urbana isn’t bad. Their crispy beef is actually pretty good. We also have Babao, which I actually really like (their pork fried rice has has good chunks of pork in it). Some of their sushi is good too (my husband likes their tempura shrimp sushi) and their larb gai from the Thai menu is decent as well. Chop Stix usually has $5 off coupons on their take-out menu that you can use when you dine in or take-out.
Babao is fantastic! Especially the Sweet & Sour Chicken, drenched in that thick sweet & sour sauce. YUM. I usually do the delivery while at work. The first time I ordered from there I ordered (1) order of egg rolls, which common knowledge is actually 2 in 1. Well, due to lack of communication turned out in my favor when the delivery guy showed up at the door and I ended up with 6 orders of egg rolls. It was quite funny because the woman I spoke on the phone with was hysterical when I called back and told her I got 6 orders instead of (1), I ate egg rolls the rest of that week.
As a vegetarian, I’m not particularly chuffed about Lotus closing–the dishes were fairly standard, aside from the Yellow Bird, which was borderline gross and the sauce tasted like Standard Brown Sauce from a Bucket. China Garden…I cannot for the life of me figure out what people are eating that they actually like. My husband eats meat, so it’s not just that the veggie dishes are…not BAD, but not good, either. It’s meh.
We go to Hunan Gourmet when the kids are begging for Chinese, b/c it has a full vegetarian menu. But really? still pretty standard fare. The sauces taste pre-made. I know real chinese would probably frighten the horses, but I’d be happy if the American-style Chinese tasted fresh and interesting. I’m just tired of garlic brown sauce.
I am sooooo upset that Lotus closed. I have been eating there for the past 11 years. I will greatly miss Antonio, Alfedo, and Jose. I wonder where they have gone to make ends meet. I loved the food and the service was fantastic. I have such great family memories there with my husband and children. It is a very sad day.
I missed Lotus closing and tried to take the family there on Mother’s Day. What a surprise. Went to Hunan on 7th St instead. Soup there was cool to warm, not hot, the hot/sour soup was VERY mild. Food was luke warm too. Maybe they were just too busy that day. Went to China Garden some 10 years ago and it was dirty inside. Maybe it’s better now. What I will miss at Lotus the most of course is the service – the gentlemen working there – Antonio, Alfredo, Jose, and the old guy (owner?) were the best. We used to go to Lotus with friends after church on Sunday about twice a month. They knew what our favorites were – would bring Kim Chi without even asking for it, and of course the small sherbet to top the meal off. They were always polite, professional, and took care of us. I wonder what happened to close it so suddenly. The buffet on Jefferson St. is very good on selection and quality, but buffet isn’t for everyone. Reminds me of when Pops in Wheaton closed down – no one made pizza like Pops.
Speaking of pizza…my husband’s fave is the Original Lido’s. Are you familiar with it? The crust is unique in that it is more like flaky biscuit dough. Not my favorite but what my husband loves most of all is the way all the toppings are just piled on.
OMG, Pops Pizza. I haven’t thought about that place in YEARS. The best pizza evah! Ledos is good, but it doesn’t hold a candle to Pops — or maybe it’s just the memory of going in their with my dad when I was a little girl.
I second (third, fourth, whatever)Chopstix. I agree the prices are slightly higher than some other chinese places, but I think the food is worth the price. The shrimp that they use is huge, and unlike some other places, the egg rolls, fried rice and such taste fresh, not greasy. I wasn’t too impressed with the service when they first opened up a year or two ago, but the last few times I have eaten in, the service has been excellent.
Let us hope that the key players responsible for making Lotus such a pleasant dining experience for so many of us come together again in a future restaurant.
Pops Pizza!! That was my FIRST summer waitressing job between my Fresh & Soph years of college. Back in the days when I had no clue what Italian was supposed to taste like.
Pizza was tasty – but the rest of the menu? Well, let’s just say that there were a LOT of Campbells cans in the kitchen…
That’s FUNNY! If only all the walls between the kitchens and dining rooms were glass…! (-*
I’m surprised Lotus closed but I honestly think the quality of their food has diminished over the years.
Travel to Thurmont and try out Simply Asia. They have an extensive menu and much to offer for vegetarians. Only negative about the place is that your meal is never the same way twice. It’s always good but I guess it depends on who is cooking that night.
Chef Lin’s Buffet off Jefferson next to Rugged Warehouse. I ate there for the first time over memorial weekend and was very impressed. They even have all you can eat sushi and crab legs! Very large selection of food. Give it a try.
My husband arrived at Lotus tonight to get some carryout on his way home and found a “For Lease” sign in the window. I sent him to China Garden- afterall they have gotten “Best of” several years now. What a disappointment. The food was cooked well- chicken was nice consistency and veggies were tender crisp but everything was flavorless and bland. The hot and sour soup should just be called “sour soup” there is no hot there.
I’m thankful to find suggestions for other places to try from the peanut gallery. We got our chinese food from Lotus exclusively and are totally at a loss for where to go. We will try Chopstix and Hunan Gourmet.
I’m in mourning over no more Lotus’ Crispy Prawn.
I’m with you, Julia, about missing the Crispy Prawn at Lotus. I love shrimp and was never disappointed with the shrimp dishes at Lotus I tried over the years.
Re your mention of China Garden: I’ve never been there, but for a recent lunchtime meeting at my workplace, someone brought in carryout from China Garden–4 or 5 different dishes variously featuring chicken, beef, shrimp, pork, and vegetarian. I sampled all but the pork….to me, it was typical fair-to-middling Chinese. The chicken dish was choking in a thick, sweetish red sauce, and the remaining dishes were bland or unremarkable at best, more or less tasting the same.
But, I’ll go to China Garden myself and order something else before I write it off. Next, I may try Hunan Gourmet on 7th St., if only because I’m in that part of town fairly often. (Gee, I wonder if all of us who are now missing Lotus had gotten there a bit more often….it would have made any difference in terms of them staying open…..)
We have aways enjoyed the Hunan Gormet on 7th street. They have an excellent selection of vegetarian dishes.
Best in Frederick, though I maintain that “beef over fried potatoes” should have been named “beef over potato chips”. Could see the end coming – two consecutive March Sunday nights it was nearly empty. Peking Gourmet is ok but the menu is the usual fare, nothing special.
swiftfox, now that you mention it, I recall that my partner and I were surprised to find we were one of only two couples in Lotus one Friday night in March, I think it was. We hoped we were wrong about it being a rather ominous sign. However, they did have several carryout pickups while we were there. We said to each other something like “Hopefully their carryout business is doing a lot better than their dine-in.”
One thing about Lotus was those dirty fortunes they handed out, did anyone ever get one of those?
Geez, sounds like I really missed out on something! I’m curious about these dirty fortunes!
Hmmm, I missed out on the dirty fortunes, too.
With all the ”hoo-ha” about Lotus closing , ditch the traditional Chinese cuisine and head over to Lucky Corner on 7th & N. Market or My Thai on Thomas Johnson Drive, personally I’d rather eat Vietnamese or Thai anyday over Chinese, considering Frederick’s low-quality Chinese chains.
I second Rachels comment. Lucky Corner far exceeds any of the Chinese restaurants here in town. And yes, I know its not Chinese.
i too am in morning for the closed Lotus….loved the crispy sesame shrimp. our family celebrated many special occassions at this wonderful place…our best to jenny,her husband all the relatives who worked there and a special hug goes out to alfredo..he treated us like royalty………..always…we wish you and your family well.
and we miss seeing you more than we miss the food. GOD BLESS you all…debbie, mary and family
I just spoke with Antonio yesterday, and he said that they closed and moved to San Francisco to open a large restaurant there. Antonio is now working at the Santa Rosa Mexican/Salvatorian restaurant. Good luck to everyone!
Lotus Crispy Beef, Firecracker Chicken, Chicken in Black Bean Sauce, Hunan Chicken… so flaverful! We only ate there and have tried finding a place in Frederick ever since. Here is what we have tried and I’ll list them in order of preference.
Hunan Gourmet (7th Street) good hunan chicken, other dishes good too, and spicy when they say spicy.
China Garden (Good chicken in garlic sauce, rest is okay, no spice)
Chef Lin (had good pork dish, I’m not used to black beans in my hunan chicken, but it was good)
China Wok (yuck! blah! Don’t try it)
We are going to try the Peking place on 85 next.
It’s no coincidence that I’ve only rarely had Chinese since Lotus closed (sniff). But maybe I’m ready to give Hunan Gourmet (7th St.) and Great Wall a try–thx. for the recommendations.
I loved Lotus, but it is gone. I found Great Wall at Monocacy Crossing on RT 26. It is sooooo good.
Do you know if it’s the same ownership as Great Wall in Spring Ridge? I used to go there frequently for take out.
No it is not the same ownership. I asked.
I’ve found that the Peking Gourmet is pretty good (and even has some of the old staff from Lotus working there).
We tried Peking Gourmet and it was aweful! It even left a bad taste in my mouth. I think we will stick with the Hunan Gourmet on 7th street.
I never liked Lotus. I do however love China Garden, the Sweet n Sour Chicken is the best I’ve ever had, real chicken slices rather than nuggets.
I will agree that they can use a sprucing up, and should get the windows washed.
Eat with caution! 4/7/2010
5 of us got take out from chopsticks in Urbana tonight. Three became ill about 2 hours after dinner. One of the three become violently ill with flu like symptoms.
The three that got ill had:
Shrimp Lomain
Spicy Crispy Pork
Crab Rangoon
Sesame Chicken
Also, we ordered 2 crepes, which were not delivered.