# Probably the worst restaurant i've ever been to **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 16, 2004, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077 "2004-11-16T17:19:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077/41 "2004-11-16T20:56:29Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > That’s probably largely directed at me, and deservedly so. I forgot that the first time you go to one of those places, it can be disorienting. Sorry, **Wesley**. > > To those of us who have been and know what it’s all about, your rant was similar to this: > > “The other day I went to a restaurant with a salad bar, and they actually expected me to make my own salad! And it was so dry, because they didn’t even put dressing on it!” > > Which was probably the reaction I had the first time I ever saw a salad bar. LMAO. I had no idea what a mongolian BBQ was, I have never been to one. But yeah that is a pretty funny comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077/42 "2004-11-16T21:02:41Z")
> [@Vlad/Igor](#): > > Given that most restaurants in B’town last only two or three years, this one is probably one I never heard of. What’s it called, and where is it? Have you ever eaten at Leung Cheung, on the square? That was good food, but a bit pricey. Is the hole-in-the-wall chinese fast food place in the Eastland shopping center (on the end closest to College Mall) still open? We ate there once. Maybe twice, but that was it. > > Vlad/Igor I don’t know of any Leung Cheung here in town, I haven’t seen it. I just typed the name into the yellow pages and nothing came up, it might be gone. Are you talking about Yen Ching? I usually just go to Great Taste buffet on west third street because of the 3-4 chinese places i’ve sampled they have the best food and they are closer to where I live? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077/43 "2004-11-16T21:03:37Z")
> [@Wesley Clark](#): > > Usually I look up a restaurant’s name in the dictionary before I go there but that fucked me up a few times when I thought McDonalds made airline engines. That’s _McDonnell_, ya doof. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077/44 "2004-11-16T21:03:44Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Ah. > > Please refer to my apology in my previous post. I’m sorry too then. I didn’t know what it was, I thought it was a buffet type ordeal with more of a BBQ leaning. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077/45 "2004-11-16T21:08:34Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > Who cares if their General Tsao bites the wax tadpole? ISWYDT. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077/46 "2004-11-16T21:10:42Z")
> [@bodypoet](#): > > I know the place, Wesley. They have the sauces (not tons of them, but a decent choice) right at the end of the raw-meat bar. I usually screw up and add the wrong sauces, though. I think they’ll add them for you, if you ask. I’ve eaten there a coupe of times and liked it okay, but my favorite is just up the street from there–the Great Wall. Wonderful buffet, and Five Spice Shrimp, my favorite!! > > **Vlad/Igor** , Leung Cheung closed several years ago. MAN, I loved that place. I think the other one you mention is still there, but I’ve heard the food isn’t as good since it changed hands. > > Wesley, there’s a really good place on the west side, near KMart and Outback. Cheap, tons of food on the buffet, AND they have a Mongolian bbq, just in case you want to try again. I can’t remember the name, but it’s in the old landlocked Wendy’s building, right beside Outback. Good stuff, we eat there a lot when we have the cash. I’ve never been to the great wall but I think i’ll try them out sometime. Ponderosa here in town has a good buffet too, but nothing really stands out as really good there. Are you talking about Dragon? Great Tastes Buffet (they don’t have a mongolian BBQ at great tastes)? I usually go to great taste buffet, its near marsh and dollar general on west third street. Dragon is the one near Kmart, I have only been there once but yeah I think if I want to try a Mongolian BBQ again I’ll go to Dragon’s to try it since they also have a chinese style buffet. ---
**Author:** ![Genghis\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/45deac/32.png) [@Genghis\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genghis_Bob)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077/47 "2004-11-16T21:12:23Z")
> [@Wesley Clark](#): > > I’m sorry too then. I didn’t know what it was, I thought it was a buffet type ordeal with more of a BBQ leaning. Whoa. . . you thought \*\*TDN’s \*\* apology was a buffet type ordeal with more of a BBQ leaning? Funny . . . I thought it looked more like a pterodactyl . . . or a broach . . . ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077/48 "2004-11-16T21:15:06Z")
> [@Genghis Bob](#): > > Funny . . . I thought it looked more like a pterodactyl . . . or a broach . . . It’s a hat. See? ---
**Author:** ![Genghis\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/45deac/32.png) [@Genghis\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genghis_Bob)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077/49 "2004-11-16T21:17:08Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > It’s a hat. See? Or a grail-shaped beacon, perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheValley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077/50 "2004-11-16T21:30:52Z")
> [@fessie](#): > > Probably none, the point was just that it’s carbonated onsite using tap water & CO2, as opposed to being bottled carbonated water that’s been brought in. I’d hate to tell you how long I worked for Coke before I learned that. Ah, I gotcha. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Yamirskoonir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/c0e974/32.png) [@Yamirskoonir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yamirskoonir)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077/51 "2004-11-16T21:38:05Z")
[slight hijack] Anyone care to post their records for number of _full_ bowls eaten at a mongolian BBQ place? In my circle, the record is currently held by one of my bro’s best friends. _Twelve_ bowls. I shit you not. The next guy came in behind at ten. And then they were all sick for a day. [/slight hijack] ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077/52 "2004-11-16T21:53:03Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Yep, you’re right. I was thinking those big tanks were full of carbonated water. They were full of CO2. My bad. > > This also means that any name brand soft drink you get in a restaurant is only as good as the municiple water supply. Which, in America, is one of the safest in the world. So safe, in fact, that many bottled waters are simply tap water- a good think considering that tap water is far better regulated and has way more saftey checks than bottled water. The chlorine taste is an issue, but when mixed with a ton of sugar, I don’t think the taste makes much of a difference. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077/53 "2004-11-16T22:16:39Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > Which, in America, is one of the safest in the world. So safe, in fact, that many bottled waters are simply tap water- a good think considering that tap water is far better regulated and has way more saftey checks than bottled water. The chlorine taste is an issue, but when mixed with a ton of sugar, I don’t think the taste makes much of a difference. Normally, yeah, but once in a while it can get kinda funky. Once when I was visiting my parents, their tap water tasted like shit. Literally. Drinking it was so gross, I can’t imagine any amount of sugar masking it. And here at work, the tap water has a strong odor that says “Don’t drink me” with a capital DDM. Yes, I know these are exceptions. But even perfectly fine water picks up off flavors sometimes. Which can make for a tasty soft drink, but it’s not exactly what you get in a can. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077/54 "2004-11-16T22:28:52Z")
I love Mongolian BBQ but not every one of them. It’s hit or miss around here. At Panda Garden (?), which also does a Chinese buffet, mostly miss. Asian Garden looks better but I don’t know if it’s a chain like the above one is. I don’t recall ever being given a watered down drink, though. ---
**Author:** ![LordVor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90ced4/32.png) [@LordVor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LordVor)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077/55 "2004-11-16T22:39:33Z")
> [@Wesley Clark](#): > > I’m sorry I didn’t look up ‘mongolian BBQ’ in the dictionary before I got there though. Usually I look up a restaurant’s name in the dictionary before I go there but that fucked me up a few times when I thought McDonalds made airline engines. I wont even go into the jack in the box mixup I had. Sorry, you’re not getting off that easy. When you go to a new type of restaurant, you have to assume that there will be, well “differences”. It’s like going to a sushi bar and complaining about all the raw fish. Or going to a Thai place and complaining that that there wasn’t a single hamburger on the menu. And not just complaining, proclaiming to the teeming millions that This Restaurant is Propably the Worst Restaurant I’ve Ever Been To, simply because it’s view of what a Mongolian BBQ is supposed to be didn’t match your simplistic world view. Add in the number of people who are probably sick of your fucking whining about every little thing, and the flames you got aren’t surprizing to me. -lv ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077/56 "2004-11-16T23:00:33Z")
> [@LordVor](#): > > Sorry, you’re not getting off that easy. When you go to a new type of restaurant, you have to assume that there will be, well “differences”. It’s like going to a sushi bar and complaining about all the raw fish. Or going to a Thai place and complaining that that there wasn’t a single hamburger on the menu. > > And not just complaining, proclaiming to the teeming millions that This Restaurant is Propably the Worst Restaurant I’ve Ever Been To, simply because it’s view of what a Mongolian BBQ is supposed to be didn’t match your simplistic world view. > > Add in the number of people who are probably sick of your fucking whining about every little thing, and the flames you got aren’t surprizing to me. > > -lv If you were important enough to pay attention to I would probably know what you stand for and could probably insult you back, but dammitall, you are just some bitter little troll who is tough on the internet so I can’t do that. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077/57 "2004-11-16T23:14:03Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > And I miss the one I used to frequent in downtown Minneapolis. I would go there once a week, and I had the art down to a science. You miss it because it closed, or because you moved? Just wondering as I’m sitting here in downtown Minneapolis, and some Mongolian BBQ would be wonderful right now. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077/58 "2004-11-16T23:23:24Z")
Hmm, I have to wonder If I may be a bit responsible for the confusion. In an earlier thread by the OP about “all you can eat buffets” I threw out Mongolian barbecues focusing on the “all-you-can-eat” ignoring the “Buffet” part and without going into the fact that they ar a little bit different. > **[What kinds of restaurants offer all you can eat buffets](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=277389)** > > I know most chinese restaurants and some steakhouses and some pizza places do. What other kinds of restaurants do? Are there mexican all you can eat places? All you can eat places that have seafood or mcdonalds esqe food (fries and various burgers)? ... If I set you up for a crappy night I’m sorry, but don’t give up on Mongos yet. They are really good, and if you can find a regular to show you the ropes a bit, it is great food, cheap and plentiful. One other thing, they usually prefer you don’t mix meats. Due to the different cooking times, they are afraid of contamination, and sometimes will look at your carefully crafted bowl, see the two meats, and throw it out and send you back to the start. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077/59 "2004-11-16T23:26:56Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Hmm, I have to wonder If I may be a bit responsible for the confusion. In an earlier thread by the OP about “all you can eat buffets” I threw out Mongolian barbecues focusing on the “all-you-can-eat” ignoring the “Buffet” part and without going into the fact that they ar a little bit different. > > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=277389](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=277389) > > If I set you up for a crappy night I’m sorry, but don’t give up on Mongos yet. They are really good, and if you can find a regular to show you the ropes a bit, it is great food, cheap and plentiful. > > One other thing, they usually prefer you don’t mix meats. Due to the different cooking times, they are afraid of contamination, and sometimes will look at your carefully crafted bowl, see the two meats, and throw it out and send you back to the start. Nah it wasn’t you, I just saw the sign as I drove by on the way home from college and figured i’d try it out. I like to try new restaurants in town to see which ones are good and which are bad. I might take bodypoet’s advice and next time I go to Dragons (if that is the place she is referring to) I will try their Mongolian BBQ. ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077/60 "2004-11-16T23:42:57Z")
I doublechecked: The buffet over by KMart on the west side is called Mandarin Buffet. It’s actually easy to miss the Mongolian buffet part of it, because you get distracted by the ice cream machine, and it’s tucked behind that. (At least **I** get distracted by the ice cream…) Dragon is over there too, but no buffet. Their food is pretty good–my kids and SO love it, I can do without. I much prefer the Mandarin place, which is pretty much across the parking lot from Kmart. Try the Great Wall! And let me know what you think. **Vlad/Igor** , the Trojan Horse (Greek food) is still there. Great food, and what atmosphere! The Grasshopper is long closed too–I was thinking of Yen Ching, which is still open. If your daughter comes here, let me know and I’ll fill you in on all the good places so you won’t starve. 😃 Gee, **LordVor** , ya never have a bad restaurant experience? For all we know, this WAS the worst restaurant experience WC’s had. Have you eaten there lately, by chance? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probably-the-worst-restaurant-ive-ever-been-to/275077.md?page=4)