Del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Furl
Google
Reddit
Stumbleupon
Y! MyWebRestaurant Review
bd's Mongolian Grill
Stir-fry menu lets you get creative
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
BEAVERCREEK — bd's Mongolian Grill — the lowercase letters are the restaurant chain's idea — avoided the initial onslaught of The Greene's opening by waiting a couple of weeks before putting out the welcome mat.
Extras
Photos
Twyla Etzweiler and Eric Westerfield stir fry at the communal grill for customers who watch in the background at BD's Mongolian Grill at the Greene.
A row of vegetable ingredients that customers can choose to be stir-fried at BD's Mongolian Grill at the Greene.
BD's Mongolian Grill at The Greene.bd's Mongolian Grill
- WHERE: 4488 Glengarry Drive in The Greene, Beavercreek [Map]
- HOURS: Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
- COST: $7.99 for a single bowl of create-your-own stir fry. Add $2 for the soup and salad bar, or add $4 to make it an unlimited stir-fry.
- DISHES TO TRY: Stir-fry with lamb or scallops and Kung Pao sauce.
- MORE INFO: (937) 427-1900 or www.GoMongo.com.
- MORE: Reader ratings, complete profile
More information
But customers have had no problem finding the place. Last Friday night, there was a 90-minute wait for a table.
The create-your-own-stir-fry restaurant is located on the western edge of the complex, across from the movie theater. Guests fill a bowl from salad-bar-type buffets that offer meats, seafood, vegetables, sauces and spices. Diners then walk over to a 600-degree, 7-foot-diameter grill and watch as the food is cooked, and as grillers stir the ingredients with long, sword-like spatulas. Sauces are added shortly before the dish is finished cooking, then the finished product is scooped onto a plate.
The precooked buffet choices are extensive. On the meat/seafood table alone, diners can select from fresh tuna, lamb, squid, scallops, shrimp, Surimi imitation crabmeat, sausage, beef, pork and chicken.
Don't like Asian? Fill your bowl with chicken and onions and choose spicy buffalo sauce, then wrap the chicken in fajita wraps, which can be ordered in place of rice.
There's a downside to cooking all of the ingredients of a stir-fry all at one time — and for the same length of time. A sprinkle of delicate cilantro fries up crisp during its few minutes on the grill, while a sturdy peapod remains, well, rather sturdy. Sliced tuna is cooked to pork-chop toughness and ends up dry.
But the ingredients are fresh, the sauces flavorful, and the ability to control every morsel that goes onto your plate, and to tinker with various sauces and spices and various combinations of ingredients, is empowering. And the act of standing at the grill alongside other diners, watching as your meal and your fellow guests' meals are cooked, adds a pleasantly communal vibe.
The restaurant's beer list adds to that pleasant vibe with seasonal brews from Bell's and Sam Adams, Newcastle Brown Ale and Blue Moon all available on draft. The wine list includes Sutter Home chardonnay and Chateau Ste. Michelle riesling.
