Seeking Mongolian Restaurants Recs

Does anyone have information on Mongolian restaurants in Chicago or Northern Suburbs.

pd

OK, this probably isn't what you are looking for but when we were in Grand Rapids, MI, popped into BD's Mongolian BBQ.

It's like Flat Top. Pick your protein (shrimp, scallops, steak, rib eye, etc), oil (5 different kinds), vegetables and sauce and they cook it for u. Just Loved it.

Went to their Naperville location but they didn't let u pick your oil. It just wasn't the same. Good, but not like the experience at Grand Rapids.

Might have better luck at their Vernon Hills location.

BD's Mongolian BBQ
445 E. Townline Rd.
Vernon Hills, IL 60061
(847) 247-9600

gp60004 wrote:OK, this probably isn't what you are looking for but when we were in Grand Rapids, MI, popped into BD's Mongolian BBQ.

It's like Flat Top. Pick your protein (shrimp, scallops, steak, rib eye, etc), oil (5 different kinds), vegetables and sauce and they cook it for u. Just Loved it.

I haven't seen any Mongolian places in the city since BD's closed their location on N. Clark in Wrigleyville. I would say that Flat Top is similar, and you can also pick your own stir fry at Big Bowl.

HI,

The closest you may come to find a Mongolian restaurant is to go to those featuring food of Northern China, which includes Beijing. This would be Ed's Potsticker House, where I would ask the owner to help guide you for Mongolian leaning foods.

The very first time I went to Dragon King, where we had the Chinese banquet dinner a few years ago, I was with RST. When we were deciding where to go to dinner he teased us with the image, "Do you want to eat food touched by the warm breezes of the Gogi desert?" Or something poetic to that effect. The food at this location is also Northern Chinese, which again with some careful selections you may get a close proximity to a Mongolian dinner.

An aside: When Tonkatsu was on the north shore, it had these lovely, very quiet waitresses I assumed were Japanese. When Tonkatsu re-opened in Arlington Heights, they had Americans rather than Japanese serving. I inquired what happened to the Japanese waitresses from the original location. I was informed they were not Japanese, rather they were Mongolian. I told this to CrazyC who said Mongolians are often mistaken for Japanese.

Dragon King
2138 South Archer Avenue
Chicago, IL 60616
Tel: 312/881-0168

***

In Buffalo Grove, there are two places with Mongolian in their names. The first is by the really cheap ($2) Buffalo Grove Theater. This buffet has a flat top arrangement where you select your meat, vegetables and sauce to be cooked in front of you. I have never been, only know of it through friends.

Mongolian China Buffet
154 McHenry Road
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
847-520-9988

I have been to this restaurant which left no impression on me:

Mongolian House III
1034 Weiland Road
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
847-541-0081

You may want to make inquiries by phone before making any effort to visit. I have the feeling the only thing Mongolian about this place is the name.

Regards,

Used to date a Mongolian, and from what I understand there are no Mongolian restaurants that he knew of in Chicago. He mentioned that their food is so homestyle and simple, that it is much easier to make it themselves. Also a Mongolian restaurant would most likely not survive because of the simplicity of the food.

There used to be a Tibet restaurant on Irving Park Road across from TAC, but it is no longer. Their dumplings were similar to Mongolian dumplings(sounded like boatz). I really did not care much for Mongolian food (at least the stuff he made). A lot of dumplings, fried dough, etc... like Cathy2 mentioned, Northern Chinese food....

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

In Buffalo Grove, there are two places with Mongolian in their names. The first is by the really cheap ($2) Buffalo Grove Theater. This buffet has a flat top arrangement where you select your meat, vegetables and sauce to be cooked in front of you. I have never been, only know of it through friends.

Mongolian China Buffet
154 McHenry Road
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
847-520-9988

Regards,

I used eat here for lunch fairly often when I worked in the area. Above average Chinese buffet. Includes some unusual items like Salt and Pepper Frogs Legs. At least as good as the New China in Libertyville. The Mongolian BBQ is included in the basic price but it is just average compared to what I was used to in California.

I cannot vouch for this place in any way (never been there), but in looking for a "Mongolian" option one night, we came across this description of a place called China Garden in Metromix:

From www.metromix.com:

China Garden, with red, green and gold Chinese decorations, specializes in Mandarin, Hunan and Szechwan dishes. There is a banquet room available for parties, as well as delivery and take out. China Garden also has a buffet available for lunch and dinner, with a special seafood buffet on Friday night. China Garden's specialty is a Mongolian grill in which patrons get to choose a meal of beef, chicken or pork as well as sauce and vegetables. They can watch as their food is prepared on a grill the size of a round table that seats four.

China Garden
6350 N. Lincoln Ave.
773-588-1230

pdaane, are you looking for an authentic Mongolian restaurant or what's called "Mongolian barbecue"? As others have said, there aren't any real Mongolian restaurants here.

"Mongolian barbecue" is a synonym for "stir-fry bar." There are a lot of these around town; the best known is the Flat Top Grill chain. I doubt there's that much difference from one to the next, though.

Used to date a Mongolian, and from what I understand there are no Mongolian restaurants that he knew of in Chicago. He mentioned that their food is so homestyle and simple, that it is much easier to make it themselves. Also a Mongolian restaurant would most likely not survive because of the simplicity of the food.

So is what we know as Mongolian BBQ completely an American invention which a Mongolian would find completely alien? Or does it actually bear some resemblance to some way they eat? I always kind of suspected the former, figuring it was named Mongolian because there were so few Mongolians around to call BS on it.

Actual Mongolian food.

HI,

Due to traffic on Lake-Cook Road and a pending movie, I had dinner at Mongolian China Buffet near the Buffalo Grove Theater. The buffet didn't knock my socks off nor will it replace New China Buffet in Libertyville as a relatively local option for that type of restaurant.

Making lemonade out of a lemon situation, this was an opportunity to try a flat top 'Mongolian' BBQ. To me it is odd to be given a soup bowl, then fill it with noodles, vegetables, meat and/or seafood and your sauces. You're creating a hodge podge unrecognizable in Asian cooking where you cook the meat first, which might have been marinated albeit briefly, then put aside. You cook the vegetables often in steps depending on their characteristics. Once cooked, then you reintroduce the meat, some additional flavorings and maybe cornstarch slurry to thicken and add a gloss to the finish dish. Of course this is Mongolian BBQ, what do I know?

When I went through to make my selection I skipped the noodles, filled my bowl with onions and scallions, selected the frozen very thinly sliced beef, then stood there at the array of sauces. The viscosity of the sesame oil clearly indicated it was thinned as well as the oyster sauce. They had a few liquid additions I never encountered before: lemon water and sugar water. What I might have expected to see was not present: no cornstarch slurry or any other thickening agent. I went for the garlic water, sesame oil and oyster sauce for a weak approximation of Korean BBQ.

After I loaded up my bowl, I then had to wait for the Mongolian BBQ Master to exit the kitchen. Cooled my heels for a few minutes before he recognized I wanted to disturb his contemplations. He took my bowl, flipped on a fan and threw my selection onto the hot plate. He then proceed to rotate my selection with these 3 foot long chopsticks like a merry-go-round two laps around the plate. At some point he determined there was not enough liquid, then filled my bowl with water and splashed it onto the plate. After the two laps, he corraled my food back into the bowl and gave it back to me. This was all conducted with a stone faced Buster Keaton look similar to this chap nr706 photographed:



Naturally there was a tip jar waiting for my contribution, which I just happened not to notice.

I went back to the table to try out my concoction. Since the meat was cooked with the liquids, it had a grey mushy caste instead of seared brown. While the frozen beef may have been cut as thin as any I have seen before, it retained tough sinewy characteristics making an unpleasant mouth feel. The onions were barely cooked. While I guessed the outcome from the get-go, I still wanted to play the game to see if I was right.

From our table we had good sight lines to the Mongolian BBQ. I really came to enjoy the performance of people randomly grabbing ingredients and the stone faced execution. I cannot imagine anyone's composition was any better than what I enjoyed.

Mongolian China Buffet
Buffalo Grove Town Center
154 North McHenry Road
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
Tel: 847/520-9988

Regards,

Is anyone familiar with this restaurant? It's located near the corner of Butterfield and Finley Roads. I pass by it every so often.

Genghis Khan Mongolian Stir-Fry
2942 Finley Rd
Downers Grove, IL 60515

I have also eaten at the China Buffet & Mongolian BBQ in Buffalo Grove and had a similar experience as cathy2. I found that in my few experiences with Mongolian BBQ, the cooks typically do not measure up to the Japanese counterparts (I'm being generous) nor do they cook as flavorfully as the Chinese chefs with the "well tempered wok".

I'm guessing you haven't passed by Genghis Khan recently...it's been closed for the better part of a year. The space re-opened as a breakfast place.

Mark

Orignally it opened as the Rise'n Dine cafe. Then, most recently, Jimmy Bannos of Heaven on Seven bought into the concept as the chef partner and the place has been renamed Juicy-O. I'm there fairly often for breakfast meetings. The food is pretty good, but the service staff might be improved by ample use of a cattle prod.

Flip

Mt. Everest Restaurant in Evanston will get you pretty close to Mongolia -- it has Nepalese dishes on its Himilayan-inspired menu (as well as more traditional Indian.) For example:

Jhane Ko Daal ................... $7.95
A local style boiled lentils sauted in vegetable oil with cumin seeds, ginger, garlic, tomato and onion, garnished with cilantro.
Aloo Tama Bodi (Very popular mountain dish) ................... $7.95
Ruset potatoes, bamboo shoot, black eye beans cooked with mountain spices to its perfection.
Bhuteko Cauli ................... $8.95
Chopped fresh cauliflower sauted with tomato, ginger, garlic and Nepalese spices and herbs, garnished with cilantro.
Aloo and Bodi ................... $8.95
Fresh potatoes and long green beans sauteed with onion, tomatoes and Nepales spices.
Khasi Ko Masu (Goat meat with bone) ................... $10.95
Goat meat cooked in typical Nepalese village style local spices and herbs.
Khura Ko Masu (Chicken with bone) ................... $9.95
Chicken cooked in typical Nepalese village style, with local spices and herbs.

Frankly, we always order from the Indian section of the menu, so I can't vouch for the Nepali entrees. They do have a great lunch buffet.

Mt. Everest Restaurant
630 Church Street
Evanston, IL 60201
847-491-1069
http://www.mteverestrestaurant.com

>>Brent

I have to admit that I have always liked to head to Mongolian BBQ places since I encountered them in Pittsburgh in 1992. I like the ability to make up my own stir fry from the meat that I prefer (usually lamb or pork) with a ton of vegetables, served very hot.

In the past, I have encountered this option as part of an asian buffet (throughout the country) or at several of the buffets in Las Vegas (Rio was the first).

Since I was in Mundelein Friday and Saturday nights, I decided to try BD's Mongolian BBQ. Unlike other places, this place ONLY serves the stir fry You get a wide variety of meats, a better selection of vegetables, and a wide variety of sauces to top the completed meal with. For a reason that I am not entirely sure of, I ate there on both Friday and Saturday nights.

I would avoid the place for a number of reasons.

1) The restaurant is filthy. I am not talking about "middle of rush" dirt, but layers of accumulated grease. When your hoods have grease dripping off, it has been weeks since they have been cleaned. Most surfaces within ten feet of the cooking area have a light to heavy layer of oil.

2) The service is very flaky. On Friday night, I had to ask for silverware. Then I had to ask for rice, tortillas, more water, etc. Clueless teenage server. When I arrived, there were only ten parties in the entire place. I would say that about 80%+ of their staff is 23 yo or less ... and it shows

3) The "cooks" have little clue as to what they are doing. Whether you choose beef or seafood, they cook the life out of the food. You have to tell them precisely WHEN to pull it or at least some portion of the meal will
burnt.

4) Logistics are a real mess. Since Mongolian BBQ is their ONLY food station, when the place is busy, you need to wait in a line that is 2-3 deep. You are crammed with 40-50 other people waiting for their food.

For the full ride which allows you to go back more than once, it is about $15 which is a bit much for what you get.

Interesting concept, weak performance.


bd's mongolian barbeque
445 E. Townline Rd.
Vernon Hills IL 60061
(847) 247-9600

FYI, bd's is a somewhat large Michigan-based chain. Which certainly helps explain the "cooks".

http://www.gomongo.com/

thats a shame but if you are ever in Grand Rapids, stop on in. So much better then any of the Illinois locations.

The selections of oils makes a world of difference.

I go to a place called MongolianStir Fry in Schaumburg. Right on golf and Roselle. It is the best stir fry place i have been to. All you can eat for like $15, with a buffet at the back with ~10 different offerings like sweet and sour chicken and stir fried beans and shrimp.

They bring out a platter with some appetizers such as crab rangoon and egg rolls, and offer a tasty sweet and sour soup for starters.

The vegetables in the stir fry prep area are finely chopped so they all cook equally, and they have an assortment of sauces to choose from. I think there are 4 different sauces, stuff like hunan hot, mongolian mild, and a couple others. They also have the usual stuff like hot peppers in oil, crushed garlic, sesame oil, lemon water.

For the price i think it is a very decent place to eat. It is not gourmet food, but then again i would not expect a serve yourself stir fry place to be. We have always enjoyed it though, and continue to go back when we are in the area.

I've long wondered if Mongolian BBQ is authentic. I first encountered such a restaurant in Taipei in 1972. It was pretty good.

Also in Vienna in 1966 I went to a place that had "shishkabob ala Ghengis Kahn." It was shishkabob with lots of chopped raw onions on top of the skewered meat.

Any Mongolian food experts out there who can enlighten us?

Well, believe it or not, we have had a report from Mongolia, which deserves a flashback mention....

Just received an e-mail that bd's mongolian in Vernon Hill has closed ... and that they are opening a new location in the west suburbs and one in Milwaukee.

If they couldn't make the one in a GREAT location work, what makes them think that they can put two more locations work?

Got to wonder how they can commit to spending all that capital ...

LAZ wrote:"Mongolian barbecue" is a synonym for "stir-fry bar." There are a lot of these around town; the best known is the Flat Top Grill chain. I doubt there's that much difference from one to the next, though.

I could see this viewpoint but from my personal view I find Flat Top to not be very good FWIW.

midnight wrote:I go to a place called MongolianStir Fry in Schaumburg. Right on golf and Roselle. It is the best stir fry place i have been to.

To clarify it is on the NW corner where a Korean market is as well.

This is the Mongolian place I go to as well, sometimes more frequently than others. They always carry lamb which I LOVE in a stirfry.

If going for lunch make sure to get there before the noon rush as there is only one grill and the line can get long.

--

Cathy2 wrote:An aside: When Tonkatsu was on the north shore, it had these lovely, very quiet waitresses I assumed were Japanese. When Tonkatsu re-opened in Arlington Heights, they had Americans rather than Japanese serving. I inquired what happened to the Japanese waitresses from the original location. I was informed they were not Japanese, rather they were Mongolian. I told this to CrazyC who said Mongolians are often mistaken for Japanese.

I don't mean to thread-hijack, but I believe you mean Takkatsu here, and not Tonkatsu - which is what Takkatsu specializes in.

161 West Wing Street
(between Davis St & Vail Ave)
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
(847) 818-1860

Sweet Willie wrote:I could see this viewpoint but from my personal view I find Flat Top to not be very good FWIW.

midnight wrote:I go to a place called MongolianStir Fry in Schaumburg. Right on golf and Roselle. It is the best stir fry place i have been to.

To clarify it is on the NW corner where a Korean market is as well.

This is the Mongolian place I go to as well, sometimes more frequently than others. They always carry lamb which I LOVE in a stirfry.

If going for lunch make sure to get there before the noon rush as there is only one grill and the line can get long.

--

Thanks for this post. The Mongolian Stir Fry in Schaumburg was my fist exposure to this type of restaurant. I then found out there is a Flat Top Grill much closer to where I live and have been thinking of going there instead. Good to know I didn't waste my time.

I believe that the BD Mongolian in Vernon Hills is closed.