Hot pot or hotpot is a rising trend nationally, and now Fort Worth will get a taste with the opening of KPOT, a restaurant that specializes in this fun immersive style of eating.

KPOT is a chain founded in New York in 2018 that's been growing rapidly, and will open its first location in Fort Worth at 2600 N. Tarrant Pkwy. According to a company representative, the restaurant is slated to open by the end of the year.

According to company lore, the concept was founded by four mysterious friends with diverse backgrounds who are starting a cultural revolution by blending two things: traditional Asian hotpot with Korean BBQ, two styles that allow diners to cook the food at their table themselves with an all-you-can-eat experience.

In hotpot, a pot filled with broth is placed on the dining table over a heat source that keeps it simmering. Diners get an array of raw meats, noodles, and vegetables to dip into the broth and cook themselves.

Hotpot places have opened in Dallas and Collin County in recent years and drawn enthusiastic crowds.

KPOT also has a Korean barbecue element — similar to hotpot where diners do the cooking themselves but over a grill — with Korean favorites like galbi short ribs, beef bulgogi, and garlic shrimp. The chain is also noted for edgy ingredients like tripe, beef tongue, pork blood, and quail eggs.

Whether you choose Korean BBQ, hot pot, or both, KPOT offers more than 50 meats, seafood, vegetables, tofu, and noodles, providing customization for a personalized dining experience. You have the freedom to choose your ingredients and fully control your meal. However, that also means no blaming the kitchen if your food is overcooked.

It's set against a backdrop of a full bar and lively nightlife atmosphere. The idea is very much that you go with a group of friends: it's an interactive experience that encourages socialization and sharing.

By 2022, they had nine locations, and there are currently about 70 locations in more than 25 states, including eight in Texas.

Margaret Monahan Farrell, head of marketing for KPOT parent Vertex Hospitality Group, toldNRN that the company is locating KPOT in areas that are “rich in cultural and ethnic diversity but lacking a little bit in the various types of cuisine to fulfill the modern-day palette."

It's impossible to know whether she is the one who said "palette" when she meant "palate" or if that's on the NRN writer. Even if it were her (and it's probably not), it would still be up to the writer to not repeat an error. This is eyebrow-raising, since one would presume that anyone writing about restaurants would know his palate from his palette?

The opening date of the Fort Worth location might be taken with a grain of salt, as KPOT has also had at least one location on the books for Arlington at 1255 W. I-20 for some time, and the chain has a few locations penciled in that have not opened immediately.

Whenever it comes, it'll open in the same vicinity as Portillo's and Andretti Indoor Karting & Games. There's also going to be a Kura Revolving Sushi — the chain where you grab sushi off a conveyor belt — in the same center, so that's going to be quite the center of interactive dining.