bd’s Mongolian Grill ~ Burnsville, MN

Disclosure: I was invited out to do this review and my meal was provided by the restaurant.

Cuisine: American, Dessert, Mongolian, Stir-Fry
Restaurant Features: All-You-Can-Eat, Bar, Dinner Buffet, Lunch Buffet, Patio, On-Site Parking
Location: Burnsville, MN
Address: 1025 County Road 42 West Burnsville MN  55306 (952) 435-0032
Hours: Sunday-Thursday 11am-10pm  Friday-Saturday 11am-11pm
Links: * bd’s Mongolian Website * bd’s Mongolian Facebook Page * Google Map *

Atmosphere: bd’s Mongolian Grill is located off Co.Rd 42 on the frontage road that runs around Burnsville Center (across from Macy’s), in the location formerly occupied by Macaroni Grill.  The inside of the restaurant is very large, with a giant, open dining room and another  smaller dining area up front (pictured below).  There are tables as well as booths, with plenty of room to accommodate a larger party.  The walls are bright and colorful, with really cool abstract paintings adorning them.

Near the front there is also a cool bar area, the perfect place to get a drink while waiting for a table on a busy night.

Menu: Appetizers include Wham Bam Shrimp, Eggrolls, Mongolian Ginger Wings, Nachos and Pan-Fried Potstickers.

There is a Soup and Salad Bar, with a basic selection of fresh salad ingredients and dressings.  There are always two soups, one that is the seasonal soup and the other rotates.  The Seasonal Soup is currently Beer Cheese.

The experience at bd’s Mogolian Grill is completely custom as you Create-A-Bowl just the way you want, from a large selection of ingredients that are set up buffet-style.  Your server will give you a red bowl to fill before you hit the buffet line.

First you start with your meats and pasta. Options include Chicken, Lamb, Strip Steak, Ribeye, Pork, Sausage, Krab, Scallops, Shrimp, Calamari, Mahi Mahi, Beer Pork, Ham, Montreal Rubbed Steak, Meatballs, Italian Sausage, Bacon, Cheesy Brats.  Pastas include Rice Noodles, Penne and 3 Cheese Ravioli.

Next you have your choice of fresh veggies including Bean Sprouts, Bok Choy, Broccoli, Carrots, Cheddar Cheese, Cilantro, Baby Corn, Cabbage, Edamame, Fresh Jalapenos, Mushrooms, Onions, Green Onions, Pea Pods, Peppers, Pineapple, Red Potatoes, Tomatoes, Water Chestnuts, Egg, Tofu, Asparagus, Cottage Cheese, Kidney Beans, Capers, and Apples.

Once you have your bowl filled, you will make a little dish of sauce and dried spices.  Sauce options include Asian Black Bean, Buffalo, Chili Garlic, Fajita, Kung Pao, Mongolian Garlic, Lemon, Peanut Sauce, Mongo Marinara, Shanghai Barbeque, Shitake Mushroom Sauce, Soy, Sweet and Sour, Teriyaki, Ponzu, Mustard, Pad Thai, Olive Oil, Sweet Orange Peel, Horseradish, Alfredo, Beer Cheese, Sauerbraten, and Thousand Island.

You can top your dish of sauce with any of the following dried spices: Chopped Garlic, Cajun, Cayenne Pepper, Chili Powder, Cracked Black Pepper, Curry, Granulated Garlic, Ginger, Lemon Pepper, Mixed Herbs, Peanuts, Seasoning Salt, Sesame Seeds, Crushed Red Chili Pepper, and Caribbean Jerk.

What we ate: We started with a trip to the complimentary Soup and Salad Bar while we waited for our appetizer.  I made a garden salad and tried the Chicken Chili, the soup du jour.  It had many ingredients and was pretty good, very mild.  I didn’t eat too much of this because I wanted to save room for all the other goodies.  My companion got the Beer Cheese Soup, which is one of the seasonal items they are promoting this autumn. YUM!! It was one of the better beer cheese soups I have had! It was savory and cheesy and you could definitely taste the hint of beer.

The appetizer we ordered was the Wham Bam Shrimp.  These crispy fried shrimp were tossed in a creamy buffalo style sauce with green onions, then served in a large margarita glass.  These were slightly spicy and very tasty! The breading on the shrimp was still crispy providing a delightful combo of textures.

I knew I was in the mood for Asian-flavors so the first bowl I made was with with strip steak, ribeye, rice noodles, broccoli, pineapple, mushrooms, tofu, onions, bell peppers and fresh jalapenos.  The sauce I used was a combo of Szechuan, Kung Pao, Chili Garlic, Cayenne and Chopped Garlic.  So good!

My companion’s first plate was made with ribeye, scallops, chicken, noodles, zucchini, and green onion.  The sauce was similar to mine with Mongolian Ginger and Kung Pao.  Very good!

With every meal comes white rice, brown rice, lettuce, or tortillas. You can also upgrade to Fried Rice for $3.99. I ordered the Brown Rice and my companion ordered the Fried Rice, which was basically brown rice with carrots, egg and onion tossed in. Nothing special about the fried rice.

I went for a second plate and this time I wanted to try something that wasn’t Asian. At the suggestion of the guy who was there to help customers with their creations, I made an Italian-inspired stir-fry of cheese ravioli, broccoli, mushrooms, marinated chicken, and green onion.  The sauce I used was alfredo, cajun, and garlic.  Quite tasty! I enjoyed the flavors and textures quite a bit but wish that I would’ve doubled the amount of Alfredo I had used because it wasn’t as saucy as I prefer.  I loved the grilled flavor of the chicken and other veggies with the alfredo and ravioli.  A great option to create for those who aren’t in the mood for Asian cuisine.

My companion made a second bowl as well, with mahi mahi, shrimp, beef, zucchini and peppers cooked with the shanghai barbeque sauce.  I tried this one too and thought the asian barbeque sauce gave it a wonderful smokey-sweet flavor.   The mahi mahi was delicious!

I was certainly too full to eat dessert but managed to try a few bites of the Caramel Apple Pie Sundae before taking the rest home.  The size of this dessert was HUGE! It actually comes in two sizes and I guess I chose gluttony! The pie had been warmed and placed in this dish and then topped with a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream, drizzled with caramel and then a ton of whipped cream on top.  It looked and tasted wonderful, it was just overkill after eating so much!

Service: We had great service at bd’s Mongolian Grill.  We visited late on a weeknight which was great because we didn’t have to wait for a table.  Our server explained how it all worked and was helpful with ideas of dishes to create, as were other all the staff who helped customers working their way through the buffet line of ingredients.

Overall Impression: I enjoyed bd’s Mongolian Grill a lot!  They have a great selection of ingredients so just about everyone can Create a Bowl that they can be satisfied with, even if they aren’t in the mood for Asian.  I loved the variety compared to other Mongolian-Grill style restaurants, plus bd’s addition of a Soup & Salad Bar.  The seasonal options are fun to try, I look forward to seeing what they will come up with next!

I would love to share the opportunity to try bd’s Mongolian Grill, so here is a Printable Coupon for $5 Off your next visit.  Good until November 15th, so head down to Burnsville fast!