Mongolian BBQ

Mongolian BBQ. Is there any better way to practice the fine art of gluttony? It's SO good. There is a place that I go to simply called "Mongolian BBQ and International Buffet". Don't get me wrong, the place is a hole in the wall. It's SO good though. The place opens at 11:30am and is packed by noon, which neccessitates having to get there at exactly 11:25am in order to get in and out in a decent amount of time. The line for the grill gets incredibly long once noon hits. This restaurant is also a considerable distance from my office, which doesn't stop us from going out there from time to time. The group who goes gets increasingly bigger every time. New people hear about it and want to join us. Those whove been can't turn it down. It's like greasy asian flavored crack. It upsets your stomach and everyone is in the bathroom exactly 45 minutes after eating it, but that doesn't stop anyone from going. It's so good. I'm convinced they have to be using drugs in their sauces. That’s the only explanation. God help us if they ever decide to start drug screenings at my office. We'd all fail of whatever they put in the food, even if it's just ridiculously high levels of MSG. For some, it's a challenge to go there. You create your own bowl by adding vegitables, meats, and finally sauces. The challenge is to find the exact right combinations of sauces. It's also like a game. Once you've found the right combo, you have to do a little ballancing act to get it just right each time due to the fact that everything is cooked on a large circular grill. Your bowl is dumped onto the grill at one end and wiggled around with sticks to start it cooking. Your stuff is moved over a little and the next guy's bowl is dumped in the spot your food just occupied, just as yours was dumped in the same spot the person in front of you was. Since sauce is difficult to move completely, there is a residue of the previous bowl mixed with yours. Not a lot, but some. So, THAT will influence the flavor of your bowl. So, the game is to watch a bowl ahead of you, possibly two bowls even, and adjust your saucing to compensate. The most influencial carry over flavor is the hot oil sauce. This is basically an oil infused with crushed red pepper and it's very spicy. If the guy in front of you goes nuts with the hot oil, you need to back off on yours. Most sauces will only carry flavors one bowl back, but hot oil will carry two back. So you've got to watch two bowls ahead for excessive hot oil and compensate. The salty flavors carry one bowl back, but not a lot. The sweeter sauces seem to burn up with your bowl and don't carry much, if anything, back a bowl.
It's fun creating your combination of vegitables (do I hit the broccoli hard this time or lay on the bean sprouts) and then adding your combination of meats (do I go with all chicken or combine the chicken, beef, and pork, or do some other variation). It's fun. You way them out, make your bowl, and then you get to eat the spoils of your effort. We always say to the newcomer "If you don't like the food, it's your own fault. YOU made it."