Some Like It Hot Pot

Fire Pot, 5760 SW Loop 820, Fort Worth, 682-385-9299. 11am-9:30pm Sun-Thu, 11am-10pm Fri-Sat.

When it comes to global food trends, Fort Worth has always lagged behind its big brother to the east, and even Arlington and the Mid-Cities have garnered reputations as ethnic food destinations while us Fort Worthians languish in a sea of barbecue restaurants and burger joints. It took forever for the Fort to get a decent ramen restaurant, for example. So, when I got word we were finally getting a Korean hot pot restaurant within city limits, I counted down the days when I could finally dive into a huge bowl of simmering, spicy broth without braving highway traffic.

Fire Pot opened several weeks ago in southwest Fort Worth, in the sprawling shopping center between Hulen and Bryant Irvin that seems to house every home goods and department store imaginable. There was a short waitlist on the Friday evening my husband and I visited, with people milling around a fairly large waiting area or visiting the “game room” — basically, a huge wall of claw machines. (Bring cash.) Several massive TVs in the dining area played college football on silent, while K-Pop played unobtrusively in the background.

For Korean food novices, it may take some time to get your bearings. Thankfully, the attentive waitstaff are happy to give newbies the rundown: Each white granite dining table is equipped with at least four heating elements where your chosen broth will sit and bubble.

Controls underneath the table allow diners to raise and lower the heat of the broth throughout the meal. This turned out to be an important thing to master. You don’t want your broth so hot that it obliterates the tender meat or cooks an egg yolk before it can emulsify into the broth. Frequent modification of the temperature was key.

The menu is broken down into appetizers, proteins, vegetables, and mushrooms, all of which are included in the all-you-can-eat price of $31.99 for dinner ($21.99 for weekday lunch). Most of the items are meant to be cooked in the hot pot, but having larger appetizers like chicken wings, gyoza, and several sushi options included in the set price is a nice perk if you’re really looking to stuff yourselves.

Our friendly server, Christian, took our order — initially, the flavor of broth we each wanted and our protein and veggie selections. Throughout the meal he would frequently appear to inquire about refills, but after delivering our broth he never brought us more food. Instead, it usually arrived on a miniature train car that snaked around the dining room, alerting us with a friendly voice when it was time to remove our items. A gimmick, to be sure, but one that never really lost the novelty throughout the meal.

Once, distracted by the train car, we were surprised to look over and see a 4-foot-tall robot waiter with cat ears patiently waiting for us to retrieve our meat and veggies from its tray. A third food-delivering mechanism, a refrigerated conveyor belt under the train track, carried ad hoc items, like raw eggs, fish and squid balls, and sausages. All of this lent a whimsical, Epcot Center vibe to the meal that’s not replicated anywhere in town. Plus, the menu is accessible enough that this would be a great way to introduce younger kids to the vibrant flavors of Korean food. To be honest, we were having just as much fun as the nearby children.

After taking a look at the sushi counter and not feeling brave enough (how often do they replenish it?), we opted to skip appetizers and go straight for the hot pot, along with a large order each of cold sake. Drink options are limited, with a few beer and wine selections and sake, and there is no bar.

We had six hot pot broth bases to choose from: house spicy, miso, tonkotsu (think ramen broth), Tom Yum, mushroom, original chicken (which has a touch of coconut), and tomato. My husband went for the Korean spicy while I opted for the more pedestrian mushroom. A handy sauce bar over near the sushi allows diners to customize their broths even further, and I was able to spice mine up to my liking by adding chile oil and kimchi throughout the meal, washing it all down with the refreshing sake.

Traditional hot pot is a communal affair, with families gathered around a single large pot of broth in the center of a table. But as Christian highlighted at the top of our meal, Fire Pot’s personal pot experience means not having to compromise. My husband was able to enjoy his extra spicy pot with ramen noodles, beef tripe, and whatever other weird stuff he wanted, while I sat opposite him with my less-spicy, umami-bomb broth simmering with rice cakes, beef ribeye, pork belly, and broccoli. We sank into a rhythm of filling the provided ladle with raw meat and veg, dipping the ladle into the hot broth until everything was cooked nicely, then serving it into our bowls over rice and noodles as the train/robot/conveyor belt combo quietly replenished our orders. It was easy to lose track of time — or how much we’d eaten.

The set price also includes dessert, which consisted of a selection of single-serve cakes perched above the sushi counter. Once we’d had our fill of soup, my husband seemed to enjoy his vanilla sponge filled with cream, while I polished off my generous portion of sake.

Fire Pot also offers the similarly DIY experience of Korean barbecue. Half of the tables are equipped with a barbecue grill in the center along with the heating elements. The barbecue section of the menu lists numerous grilling options, from beef and chicken bulgogi to lamb and calamari. For just an additional $5, diners can enjoy both interactive options simultaneously. Something to look forward to next time.

Fire Pot

All-you-can-eat hot pot dinner $31.99
Cold sake (large) $8