Spices
Mapo tofu and chicken with explosive chili, then stir-fried rice cakes to take the numbing down a notch. Ask for the secret menu and you get stinky tofu six ways.
Why go
Julia Chen's line for the Infatuation is the reason to walk in: You're at Spices to fill up on massive Sichuan entrees without making your credit card break out into cold sweat.
1 She describes an all-day Richmond room that fills with families and weeknight groups, and she gives the whole order in one breath: Go for the mapo tofu or chicken with explosive chili, and throw in the stir-fried rice cakes to mellow out all the mouth-numbing.
That last clause is the useful bit, because it is a sequencing instruction. The off-menu stinky tofu list is the other thing worth knowing about, and you have to ask.
Order this / avoid
- Order: mapo tofu, chicken with explosive chili, rice cakes to break up the ma la. Then ask for the stinky tofu menu.
- Avoid: stacking every numbing dish on one table. That is what the rice cakes are for.
What locals & experts say
- The Infatuation SF (Julia Chen, 2 October 2025):
The all-day Richmond restaurant is as casual as it gets, and tends to fill up with families and weeknight dinner groups seeking a low-effort meal.
1 The page is marked Unrated, so there is no score to quote. - Coverage: that review is the only thing read at depth here, which is why this page is short.
Good to know
- Timing: all day.
- Booking: walk in.
- Getting there: 6th Avenue just off Clement, Inner Richmond. A separate Spices door trades under a similar name in the city and is not this address.
Verdict
could-visit — One bylined review from October 2025 that tells you what to order and what it will do to your mouth, and a secret stinky-tofu list with six preparations, which is a real reason to walk in rather than a general recommendation. The Infatuation leaves it Unrated, so there is no scored verdict to lean on, and the rung reflects that: a good cheap Sichuan room with one voice behind it.