Oct 01, 2018 A Honest Review of Frito-Lay & Roy Choi’s Flamin’ Hot Spot Pop-Up Restaurant
Last week, Chef Roy Choi partnered up with Frito-Lay to launch a three-day pop-up restaurant in Hollywood— The Flamin’ Hot Spot. The menu was of course inspired by a cult favorite snack – Flamin Hot Cheetos. Reservations went live a week in advance and spots were quickly filled within 2 hours. Being a hardcore hot cheeto lover myself, I managed to snag a 10:45PM reservation for four. Was it really worth skipping dinner for a few hours and the 1 hour drive from OC to/from LA? I’ll get right into that.
The Flamin’ Hot Spot was actually just a redesigned concept of the Madera Kitchen on Cahuenga Blvd. As we entered, we were greeted by a security guard wearing shades very similar to that of Chester Cheetos’. Behind him was a long line of people who I assumed were walk-ins. The restaurant was dimly lit with random pops of red, orange, and yellow on neon signs and hot cheeto themed wall decor. As we waited for our table, we decided to explore the space. There were two areas for photo ops in the front patio. One giant Flamin’ Hot neon sign with some sequined hot cheeto pillows, and a giant hot cheeto animation wall where you could take AR videos with a kaleidoscope of hot cheetos as your backdrop. In the back outdoor patio was a bar where you could get “hot & spicy” cocktails. All dining tables were candle lit with red glass cups and hot cheeto themed table runners.
When we were finally seated at our table, it was go time. For each table, they handed out bowls of hot cheeto puffs in the shape of little chilis in two flavors: chipotle ranch and original. For the “Hot Ap-Paw-Tizers”, we decided to get all three: the Flamin Hot Elotes, Flamin Hot Chipotle Ranch Wings, and the Cheetos Sweet n Spicy Chili Meatballs. If I am being completely honest, the wings and meatballs were subpar. The ratio between hot cheeto to wing/meatball was off. Never thought I would ever say this, but is there such a thing as too much hot cheetos? The elote dish was by far the best appetizer as the hot cheetos served more as an accent on the perfectly seasoned corn.
For the main course, we decided to go with the Flamin Hot Rice Bowl and Hot Cheeto Burrito. Between these two items, I’d have to say the rice bowl was a complete miss. The dish came out cold, rice was hard and possibly undercooked, and with very little chicken. The burrito was good, but not great. Although I did appreciate the rich flavors of the short rib and equal proportions of the rice, burrito sauce, and cheetos. Overall, this was a great experience. For any hot cheeto aficionado, it is everything you’d want in a hot cheeto pop-up restaurant so I am glad I was able to attend. However, while I am not a food critic, if we’re weighting the overall experience based on purely food alone, it would have to be on the lower funnel of the scale for me. I appreciated the attention to detail on decor and atmosphere, but did have higher hopes for the food! In any case, always looking forward to Roy Choi’s next projects.