It's like me cooking, but it doesn't suck.
Written: Dec 13 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Laid back atmosphere, great and creative meals.
Cons: Hit and miss formula, a little chlostrophobic when busy
The Bottom Line: If you want a very different, laid back, and fun restaraunt, it's the place to go.
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| LindsayBW's Full Review: BD's Mongolian Barbeque |
I'm a horrible cook. I can't make anything, I kid you not. Not even easy mac. Ramen noodles - forget it. All I can do is microwave soup and go through drive-thru. So I was a little nervous when a friend of mine described the atmosphere of BD's Mongolian Barbeque. She told me not to worry, and that she'd pay for my dinner, so I was in trying this mysterious place out from the getgo.
We arrived on a Monday night and the place was seriously dead. There were a few people there. The hostesses told us there was an hour wait on smoking, and I was shocked. They were kidding. Already I could tell I was going to love the staff of this place. We sat down and they explained the process of just how this place works. So let me fill you in!
First off, you know just about how much de niro you're going to need walking into this place. It's $13 for a meal. Period. (Not including drinks, of course). They start you out with soup and salad. Basic enough. Then you get to the real fun. Now, don't worry, you don't necessarily have to be the creative type: there are recipe cards if you have chef's block. Anyway, there is a buffet full of raw meat. And I'm talking almost every kind of meat here: Tequila lime chicken, chicken, sirloin, sausage, lamb, pork, crab, crawfish, shrimp, scallops, mussels, and more! I was in awe of all the dead animals. You pick out what kind of meat you want. They recommend that you not mix meats aside from seafood because they have different cooking times. Then you move on to the vegetables. The variety of vegetables wasn't that wide, but it was still decent enough: water chestnuts, carrots, sprouts, pea pods, mushrooms, onions, and even tofu (for the vegetarians). After this, you move on to another buffet of savory sauces. There was basically everything here too: lemon, garlic, soy, teriyaki, barbeque, and some of their own signature sauces too, plus tons more! Then there were spices. They tell you the hot ones start with C. Ha. Anyway, there was a huge variety here too: lemon pepper, black pepper, mixed herbs, ginger, cayenne, chili, curry, and a million other spices I can't remember. So after this very hard to decide process, you take your bowl over to a gigantic grill and the cooks really put on a show for you, flipping your meal with their giant tongs and jubilantly scraping it onto a plate for your dining pleasure. When you get back to your table, your server has conveniently left some tortillas and rice to complete your meal.
First off, I divulged in the salad bar without the soup. It was pretty standard. There was no okra, but I've come to expect that in Ohio. Two plusses was the crumbled bleu cheese and pepperocini, and the ranch dressing was as good as it can be in Ohio.
But the real excitement came as I went to create my first bowl. I was excited to see all the seafood and loaded up on crab and shrimp. For my vegetables, I added water chestnuts and pea pods, then moved on to put lemon and garlic sauces and lemon pepper on top. There was only one chef this evening (it was Monday, and it was dead) and he was extremely jubilant and good-humored. I was really impressed the way he chopped up my food and grilled it to perfection. It really seemed as if he put all of his effort into my dish. He was terrific.
Now here was the moment. I threw some rice in and mixed it around. And my food was delicious. Now the thing about this place is really, most of the blame is on you. If you're food is awesome, you feel like a king. Like I did. I mean, I can't cook, and I'd concocted this awesome dish! But if it sucks, you can only blame yourself, in most scenarios. But in some scenarios, you can't. I tried a teriyaki chicken dish my next time around, and my chicken was too done. However, I'm notorious for being sensitive over chicken, so it might have just been me. But anyway, for one night I was an awesome cook. Boo yah.
The atmosphere of this place is really what makes it a great dining experience though. It is one of the most laid back restaraunts you will ever go to. I felt like I could kick off my shoes and smoke a cigarette with my feet on the table. I didn't, but I felt like I could...
Anyway, the staff was very laid back, yet catered to your needs. I went back to this location on a very busy Friday night and the staff of chefs were about the funniest thing I'd ever seen. They were having a sing along around the grill and flipping meat in unison, and it was the most entertained I've been while dining since eating peanuts at the circus. They work the crowd as well as they work the grill. The hosting staff was just as nice. The servers were nothing special however. The first night I dined, the waitress was fine, but the second trip the waiter was horrid. Understandably, it was a busy Friday night, but you can't sympathize when all they have to remember is drinks. It's also kind of hard to understand if you have to tip them; they don't do much. And I felt much more comfortable tipping the chefs as they yelled "BANG THE GONG!!!"
On Monday, it was extremely comfortable dining there. I felt free to kick back and blow my smoke where ever. Friday night, however, we couldn't even get a table in smoking, and in nonsmoking, it was quite chlostrophobic, with small tables set up literally right next to each other. They did, however, have a crowd, so it was not surprising. There was interesting art work dawning the walls and televisions as well as a good variety of music. I felt very comfortable eating there.
Overall, BD's was a fantastic dining experience. I have a lunch date set up there on Monday. It's a great, laid back place where you can relax and be creative. And if you don't like what you make, hey, it's all you can eat, so dig into something else! It's like you're cooking, but it doesn't suck. Give it a shot!
http://www.bdsmongolianbarbeque.com
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
LindsayBW
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Member: Jessi Coplin
Location: Colby, KS USA
Reviews written: 116
Trusted by: 53 members
About Me:
I'm really poor. Please read / rate me!
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