Genghis Grill

It's not on the list because it arrived in our little town after the creation of the list. But, it should have been. So, for the sake of our curiosity, we acted as though it was, and went there. It was really a neat place! I had a lot of fun because they let you participate in the preparation of your own meal. It's nothing too fancy, but it was fun and quite yummy too. When you walk in, they hand you a metal bowl and lead you to your seat. The server takes your drink order and explains how things work and then you're on your own. It's set up like a buffet but nothing is cooked. Awesome, I know! So the first counter you come to has all of the meats and you choose whatever raw meat you would like and plop it in your little metal bowl. Then you come to a little section of seasonings and spices where you have the option of seasoning your meat. I had sliced beef and seasoned it with a sort of garlic and ginger mix. There are not too many options in that section but plenty to get something good especially since you'll add sauce later. Then you continue down the line and pick your vegetables. There are quite a few different ones to choose from and as long as it fits in your bowl, the skies the limit. If you wanted, I suppose you could skip the meat and have only veggies or the other way around. We were not that lame, so we picked lots of vegetables and piled them on top of our meat. I had cabbage, bean sprouts, carrots, broccoli, little corn thingys, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts...and probably some other things that I can't remember. A lot of mine were sort of Asian-esque choices, but there were enough that it didn't have to be. Then you come to the sauces. You get another little cup and dip out whatever sort of sauce(s) you want into that. I got a peanut ginger sauce and Donavon got a spicy, signature blend. Then you take your bowl of raw food and your cup of sauce and walk over to this counter that surrounds a huge hibachi grill that a chef is working at. He walks over, takes your food, asks if you want rice or noodles and gives you a number. Then he throws your food on the grill and starts cooking it for you. I'm sure he gets a pretty good laugh out of the combinations people hand him! Then you go back to your seat and after a short wait, especially for this kind of food, a server brings you your custom dish. Sounds fun, right? It was. Yes, it is a chain and no it's not the best Asian food you can possibly find, but it was good, lots of food, and lots of fun. I would go back! :)