Genghis Khan Never Ate So Well
Written: Oct 05 '03
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: lots of fun, lots of tasty choices
Cons: none in my area
The Bottom Line: This is a great place to have a fun and flavorful meal.
|
|
|
| fuche_bu's Full Review: BD's Mongolian Barbeque |
I've always liked a wide variety of foods. I like trying out different kinds of ethnic cuisine. Generally, if it seems adventurous, I am interested. My culinary tastes tend to lean toward Asia. I like Thai, Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese etc. It must be my fondness for hot, spicy dishes that keeps drawing me to the East.
So when I was in Chicago recently, I had the chance to indulge in something different. BD's Mongolian Barbeque in Wrigleyville is a fun restaurant. I first ate in this restaurant back in 1999. That was following some brews at Goose Island. I was then traveling with a group of friends and hunger was setting. My second visit came a week ago.
Now Mongolian food does sound awfully exotic although I am unsure how authentic it is. Let me explain. The way it works is you pay a set price for the meal. It is $12.95 for dinner. They have a full salad bar and include two different types of soup. When I was there last week they had a New England Clam Chowder and a Tomato Florentine. I don't have a Mongolian/English dictionary but I doubt Florentine or New England are Mongolian words.
But the salad bar and soup is really only for starters. The clam chowder was tasty but face it, I actually have been in states like Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The real draw here is the anything goes stir fry entree bar. It works like this:
There is a full entree bar featuring a variety of ingredients. The patron gets to choice what to eat. There is pork, beef, chicken and seafood as well as a variety of vegetables and condiments. You pick what you want and then take it over to the grill. You hand your bowl over to one of two cooks and they pour it on the grill and cook it to perfection. The cooks are very efficient in quickly frying the food and cleaning the surface off. They often have three or four dishes going at once.
It may seem overwhelming when you see the long entree bar with countless ingredients. Fret not, they have a bunch of cards suggesting a wide range of recipes. If you aren't creative or are unsure, you can sift through the cards until you find something that seems interesting. I like to pick out ingredients on a whim rather than try to make up a specific dish. There is trial and error since it is all you can eat.
My first dish was a meat and pork with veggies dish. They recommend not mixing different meats because the preparation calls for each meat to be distinctive. I did this anyway and didn't notice any conflict. They have a good number of sauces and spices that one can add. I went for heat, heat and more heat. Red savina peppers, cayenne pepper spice, garlic powder. Some Sricha sauce to further spice it up.
The cooks are jovial chaps who are well trained to work the crowd as well as the grill. I also grabbed some chopsticks for perceived authenticity. This place is geared for casual dining and fun. They have a full bar with mixed drinks, wines and local beers. I was content with water since I had consumed a few beers at a bar before coming to the restaurant.
Round two, I decided to go for seafood. They had mussels, shrimp, scallops and crab meat. They suggest that seafood can be mixed together in any fashion. After picking out some fish and veggies, I went for a garlic and ginger spice combo. It worked out very well. I was getting filled up quickly.
BD's Mongolian Barbeque is a place that will leave few hungry or disappointed. They focus their attention on letting the customers dictate the meal. Their motto is You Rule! The very pleasant staff works hard to make sure you enjoy your meal. It is also a comfortable setting. There are booths and tables. The booths are roomy and comfortable. There is artwork that seems to be related to Mongolia or Mongolian culture. The whole package makes for a highly recommended dining experience.
BD's Mongolian Barbeque is a chain with other chains mostly in the midwestern states like Michigan, Illinois and Missouri. There is one branch of the restaurant in Bethesda, MD for East Coast persons who don't wish to travel to the midwest.
The address for the Chicago branch is:
3330 N. Clark ST
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 325-2300
There is also a website to look up locations around the country:
www.bdsmongolianbarbeque.com
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
fuche_bu
|
 - Top 500 |
|
Member: George Schaefer
Location: West Bristol, PA
Reviews written: 1103
Trusted by: 327 members
About Me:
Busy at work and missing a lot of epinions fun.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.