Tang Du Restaurant

Tang Du was, at least in part, the victim of unfortunate timing. Opened at the site of a former Sam Woo location – the decaying, less popular SW Seafood space – in early 2019, this Shanxi-style restaurant offered Northern-style Chinese food, which was locally underrepresented at that point. Although we really enjoyed and appreciated the fair pricing of items including their ro jia mo burger-like sandwich, hand-cut Shanxi noodles, cold Chinese buckwheat noodles, and eryngii mushrooms, both patronage and service began fizzling around the time of the pandemic, which was compounded by publicized political attacks on China. When we visited, we found the large dining room nearly empty, with a modest staff retreating to the kitchen or elsewhere.

By the time Tang Du closed in 2023, the food had become inconsistent, and the service was sometimes actively bad. Despite numerous positive changes to the surrounding plaza, including several new restaurant openings, the location (adjacent to a row of Tesla chargers) has surprisingly remained undeveloped since Tang Du’s closure.