BD's Mongolian Barbecue

[TheFugitive]

Had always heard of this place ever since they joked about it on Seinfeld twenty years ago.
Had my first experience the other night while visiting my daughter in Toledo.

They hand you a bowl and direct you to a long counter similar to a salad bar.
The first area has various noodles and different meats (pieces of chicken, steak, pork,
shrimp, etc.).

Next area has a very wide selection of vegetables (broccoli, pea pods, onions, peppers, etc.)
You select the meat and veg ingredients you want and put them in the bowl.

Third area has a wide selection of sauces and dry spices.  There is a recipe board showing you
how to mix up particular flavors (Kung Pao, etc.).  Or you can just experiment and wing it.

You then take these ingredients to another area where they have a huge hot grill about
10 feet in diameter.  They take the ingredients from you and cook it for you, hibachi style.
You take it back to your table after it has been cooked.

It was very good (though I think I overshot on the cayenne pepper).  Washed it down with a local IPA.
Was a little apprehensive about picking raw meats out of what is essentially a salad bar....raw chicken especially. But it seemed to be very well chilled.  There was a tip jar at the grill and I tipped well because the kids working that (two guys and a girl) probably had to be poured out of their clothing at the end of the night.

This is a chain and they have locations in many cities, including Pittsburgh.

[BillyGr]

I've seen similar versions (but on a slightly smaller scale) within Chinese Buffets, where they have this as an option in addition to the "regular" buffets.

[ynkeesfn82]

In Southington, Connecticut we have Gobi Mongolian Grill. It replaced a traditional Chinese Buffet called Buffet 2000. It's still all-you-can-eat. While I was a regular at Buffet 2000 I've never been to Gobi. I think Gobi has the same owner or management that Buffet 2000 did because when I was still working at Shoprite a lady who worked at Buffet 2000 asked me if I had been to Gobi.

http://gobimongoliangrill.com/