#mongolian bbq

[foodcravings]

(via Instagram)

[siristaci]

I need to tell y'all about this Mongolian barbeque place in my city that was... something special.

But first, a little about me. I hate trying new things, had a really bad immune system (I promise that's relevant), have a hard time processing accents that makes talking to people with heavy accents anxiety-inducing, and another thing I was going to point out but can't remember right now. Hopefully I'll remember before posting this and amend it.

It's been closed for a few years, so you also need to keep in mind that my memories of this place are, at most recent, about 8 years old.

Y'all. Once I was finally convinced to try this place (about 17 years ago), I fucking loved it. Went as often as I could afford.

There were always only two people running the place- an Asian woman, who acted as the host/waitress/cashier and spoke just enough heavily-accented english to get by, and an Asian man, who was the cook and spoke even less english.

The place was dark and dirty. There's not a chance in hell it ever passed health inspections. The back corner of the dining area was difficult to see from the front (impossible when you first walked in and were day-blind) and no dining customers were ever sat there. There were, however, usually at least a couple of businessmen looking guys sat there who, if they spoke to each other at all, were too quiet to be heard from just a few tables away. They were rarely eating; just sitting there doing idk what. I didn't look often nor long because I just had this overwhelming feeling that it was best not to pay too much attention to them.

When you arrived, the woman would chat with you about what's been going on in your life since she last saw you (she had an excellent memory, even remembering me a few years since the last time I'd been there) as you were seated at booths whose seats no longer had functional springs and asked what you want to drink. You had to ask what drinks they had, since there was no menu. And no sign saying how much anything cost at all.

The food was set out in a buffet style. You'd load up a bowl with meat, veggies, and sauce, and hand it off to the guy, who would cook it and give it back to you. How long had the food been sitting out? Who knows? I went at various times of the day and never saw anything get refilled.

But the food was good, and I never got sick, despite the aforementioned terrible immune system. It was a tad pricey, but definitely a worthwhile treat.

After it closed, I was heartbroken and needed to find a replacement. I went to reddit to see if anyone had any recommendations. Or any idea why it had closed. Sure, it never had many customers at any given time. I think the most tables filled (by dining customers anyway) at once was 3 out of the maybe 12 available. But that had been the case for the 15 years I'd been going. Declining patronage couldn't be the answer.

I couldn't find a ton of references to the place; just a handful of posts asking the same questions I was. Any good replacements? And what happened?

But the responses were many. A few comments recommending the same three places. A lot of people sad to learn that it was closed or reminiscing about how good it was and how long it had been there- while most experiences had the same negative things to say as I did (health code concerns and a wariness of the men in the back), nearly everyone agreed that it had been a great place.

And there was a universally agreed-on theory that it had been a money-laundering scheme that was no longer needed.

Ah. Yeah, that makes sense, actually.

But here's the funny part. Recently, another post reminded me of this place. And I wanted to read those reviews again, but I didn't want to use reddit because, well.

So I just googled it. It's hard to find any reference to it at all since it's closed, never had a website, and it's name was similar to a national (maybe global? I don't care enough to look it up) fast food chain. All I could really find were old Yelp reviews.

Nobody on Yelp liked this place.

There were only two good reviews. One was just the same "LOVE this place! GREAT food and great atmosphere! Other things in all caps and lots of exclamation marks!" you see everywhere, and the other was this.

Y'all

Anyway, I just find it funny that everyone- myself, the people I introduced it to, the people I know who already knew of it, reddit, and yelp- all had pretty much the same experience, but reddit (and the people I know)- who all agreed it was sketchy all around- loved it and yelp- who only had health code concerns- hated it.

[williammarksommer]

Sums Mongolian Bbq

Auburn, California

Lincoln Highway (California) series

Hasselblad 500c/m

Kodak Tmax 400iso

[mongolianfoods]

Want to experience world-class food along with the facility of choosing your preferred ingredients and see your food cooked in front of you in the way you want.

At Mongolian Village West, we let you choose:

·         Your own noodles

·         Your own meat

·         Your own veggies

·         Your own sauces

This Mongolian Restaurant offers a unique experience where you pick all the raw food and sauces too and hand it in for cooking on a big skillet in front of you. You get to choose the "components" of your meal and the quantity. You even get choice for vegetables, starches, meats, nuts, proteins and sauces.

Watch your food being prepared by our expert chefs on a 600° 7-foot grill.

Come today and get complimentary miso soup and frozen yogurt.

Apart from these food choices, we even provide you the best Mongolian hot pan food.

Our menu draws inspiration from around the world with extraordinary classic dishes.

We specialize in Mongolian BBQ, Mongolian hot pot and a lot more.

You will definitely love our Mongolian food and visit us every time you crave for such an amazing food with so much of personalization.

Just let us know your food preference and rest be assured. Visit once to visit always.

We are here to serve you the best food even during this pandemic, take away and home delivery options are available.

Just give us a CALL - 613-596-4366

E-MAIL – [email protected]

Walk-in:- 2150 Robertson Rd, Nepean, ON- K2H 9S1

[feastuponthis]

[foodopia]

How to do Mongolian BBQ at Home

[fitnessgeekandcoffeefreak]

My hubby asked what I wanted for dinner and I replied, "Meat and veggies." The man took me to the best Mongolian BBQ spot and I did, indeed, eat my fill of meat and veggies :)

[foodcravings]

(via Instagram)