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.
After you create your Custom Bowl, you bring it to the Mongo Cooks who will cook your creation to perfection over this 500′ Mongolian Grill. The meats and veggies are cooked first and then when they are near done, the sauce you created is added. It takes under 5 minutes for most dishes to be cooked.
bd’s Mongolian Grill also offers a variety of desserts including a line of Mini Desserts for only $2 including Cherry Cheesecake, Cookies and Cream, and Peanut Butter Cup. Other larger desserts include Caramel Apple Pie Sundae, Brownie Sundae, Mongolian Sundae, Root Beer Float, and Cheesecake.
Price guide: Appetizers $7 Unlimited Soup/Salad/Create-A-Bowl *Kids 3-6 yrs/$3.99 * Kids 7-11yrs/$5.99 *Adults/$14.99 Desserts $2-6
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!
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Cuisine: Indian
Restaurant Features: All-You-Can-Eat Lunch Buffet & Dinner Buffet, Flat Screen TVs, On-Site Parking, Patio
Location: Minneapolis (village of St Anthony)
Address: 2700 39th Ave NE Minneapolis, Minnesota 55421 (612) 789-2828
Hours: Sun-Mon 11am-10pm
Links: * Taj Indian Grill Website * Taj Facebook Page * Google Map
Atmosphere: Taj Indian Grill is located in a newer shopping area in the Village of St Anthony, just off Stinson Blvd. The large space is open and inviting, with brightly colored walls and hardwood floors. The kitchen is adjacent to the front of the dining room, allowing customers to watch their food being prepared (if you so choose!) Next to the kitchen is the Buffet, which is open all day every day.
Menu: Appetizers at Taj Indian Grill include Samosas (chicken or veggie), Potato Fritters, Hot Wings, Spiced Potato Patties, Fish Pakura (with masala chickpea batter), Chila Paneer (pan seared chicken or shrimp).
Tandoor specialties include Chicken Tikka, Shrimp Tikka or Lamb Tikka.
Meat Curry Specialties at Taj Indian Grill include Chicken Tikka Masala (tomato based), Vindaloo (tamarind and coconut milk) with choice of Meat, House Curry, Butter Chicken (tomato butter cream sauce), Khorma (sauce of almond, cashew and saffron), Thai Green Curry, Sweet and Sour, Lamb Rohgan Josh, and Mango Chicken. Choice of Chicken, Beef, Lamb, Fish or Shrimp with most dishes unless otherwise specified. All Curries are served with a side of Biriyani Rice.
Veggie Curry options are the Gobi Manchurian (cauliflower tossed with sweet chili garlic), Paneer Tikka Masala (Indian cheese in tomato-based sauce), Chana Masala (garbanzo bean curry), Palak Paneer (Indian cheese and spinach sauce), Malai Kofta (veggie dumplings in Khorma), Daal Makhani (spicy lentil curry), Vankaya Tamata (eggplant and tomato curry), and Navratan Khorma.
Taj Indian Grill also has a variety of Naan including traditional Naan, Aloo Naan, Garlic and Cilantro Naan, Bullet Naan (with green chili), Peshwari Naan, and Paneer Naan (indian cheese).
Dessert options include Gulab Jamun (dumpling/donuts in a sweet syrup), Kheer (rice pudding), and Falooda (Indian summer drink).
Price guide: Buffet $8.95 Appetizers $4-8 Entrees $8-11 Naan $3
What we ordered: We all knew we wanted to start with Samosas, so we got an order of the Chicken. These were very large triangular-shaped pockets stuffed with bite-sized pieces of mildly curried chicken. I was looking forward to eating these and they were even better than I had hoped! The wrap was fried to a perfect golden crispness and the chicken inside was tender and flavorful. It was served with some kind of yogurt-based dipping sauce with shredded carrot. We loved these!!
We also order the Potato Fritters, not really knowing what to expect. These were slices of potato battered with chickpea flour and seasonings, then deep fried. These were also good, with potatoes cooked al dente and served with a mint-cilantro chutney for dipping. We all liked these but would probably order a second order of the Samosas next time instead.
Our server highly recommended that we order the Chicken Tikka Masala, the most popular dish at Taj Grill. I asked if I could have the dish made with shrimp instead of chicken, and they were happy to oblige. This was a very tasty dish, with a creamy tomato and onion sauce. It was just mildly spicy although we could have ordered it spicier. It came with 8-10 medium-sized shrimp mixed within and fresh herbs on top. Very delicious and savory dish, the perfect sauce to dip your garlic naan (bread)!!
We also ordered the Mango Chicken, a sweet curry sauce made with curry, mango and coconut milk which was also seasoned with onion and other spices. This was also delicious! It was sweet but not too sweet, rather just enough to compliment the tingle that the spice brings. You can also order it mild if you don’t want much heat. The dish was full of large bites of tender white-meat chicken. Mmmmmmm!!
The third dish we ordered to share was the Vindaloo with Fish. Wow!! I loved the first two dishes I tried and then I tasted the Vindaloo and found my new love. This is one of the best curries I have had, it was so full of flavor! The sauce was made from a blend of hot and spicy onion, tamarind and coconut milk that contained several large pieces of white fish that were perfectly cooked. It had a fair amount of spice to it as well, but could be ordered to your spice preference. I could eat this every day it was so good!
Vindaloo with Fish at Taj Indian Grill~ Minneapolis, MN
Every entree came with a bowl of Biriyani Rice, a basmati rice cooked with spices. It was very light and fluffy, the perfect compliment to every dish.
It is also customary to eat Naan with most Indian meals, so we tried the Naan with Garlic and Cilantro. Yum! It reminded me of a soft pizza crust that was slightly buttery and topped with thinly shaved garlic and fresh cilantro. Great on its own but even better when dipped into one of the curry sauces!
I had never tried an Indian dessert before and was curious about the Gulab Jamun, which was described on the menu as dumplings. The dumplings reminded me of donut holes that were saturated with the sweet syrup that they were served in. This was a very interesting dessert, to say the least!
Service: We were greeted upon entering and sat ourselves. Our server had many recommendations from various sections of the menu and did a thorough job explaining each dish. It seemed to take awhile for our food to be prepared, but that only assured me that our food was all fresh and made-to-order. The cook and owner, Sahal, was very polite and appreciative of our business. We had a great experience at Taj and wouldn’t hesitate to go back again soon.
Overall Impression: A delicious and wide variety of Indian foods at extremely reasonable prices (nothing over $11), so go ahead and add Taj Indian Grill to your list of Good Cheap Eats! If you crave Indian food or even if you have never tried it, Taj Indian Grill is the place to go for a lot of flavor. Everything was wonderful but I highly recommend the Chicken Samosas and the Vindaloo. I will be back soon to try the all-you-can-eat buffet!
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Cuisine: Chinese, Mongolian
Restaurant Features: Catering, Lunch Buffet, Dinner Buffet, On-Site Parking. Take-Out
Locations: Woodbury, MN
Address: 8340 City Centre Dr (Woodbury City Centre) Woodbury, MN 55125 (651)730-8668
Hours: Lunch Mon-Sat 11am-3pm Dinner Mon-Thur 4p-9:30p Fri-Sun 4p-10p Sunday & Holiday Brunch 11:30a-3p
Links: Google Map Atlantic Buffet Website
Atmosphere: The Atlantic Buffet is located within a large strip mall called Woodbury City Centre. When you first walk inside the reception/lobby area, the Atlantic Buffet in Woodbury has a cute little mini-pond set up with Koi swimming around inside, and live plants arranged around it. The main dining room is arranged into at least two dining areas on half of the large space, the other half of the restaurant has all the Buffet Islands set up. The dining areas contain both tables and booths and have a contemporary feel.
Here is a glimpse of the Buffets Islands (I think there were 6-8 of them).
In the way back of the Buffet Islands there is an additional area set up for the Mongolian Stir-Fry. You can choose your own ingredients and then you have the chef ccok it for you on the Mongolian BBQ.
Menu: The items on the buffet change frequently, but there are over 100 items, including a decent selection of Chinese foods, Sushi, American foods, Seafood, and build-your-own Mongolian Stir-Fry. There is also a dessert and fruits table, and salad bar.
There is also a full Chinese Take-Out menu available.
Price guide:
- Lunch Buffet Kids 3-6 $4.25 Kids 7-11 $5.50 Adults $8.25
- Dinner Buffet Kids 3-6 $5.75 Kids 7-11 $7.25 Adults $12.50
What I ordered: There were many food items at Atlantic Buffet and I was determined to try a little of this and a little of that. Here is my Chinese/Sushi plate. The cheesy mushrooms were very good, as were the steamed dumplings and cream cheese wontons. The few bites I tried of the chicken & Broccoli stir-fry were okay, but I did not care for the other meat entree I tried (not sure what it was but the meat was stringy and chewy). The sushi was decent although there wasn’t a large variety to choose from, mostly California Rolls or Salmon/Avocado Rolls.
I made my own Mongolian stir-fry which was my most favorite dish at the Atlantic Buffet. I chose the ingredients I wanted at the Mongolian BBQ station (Beef, Broccoli, Pineapple, Onions and Noodles) and figured out my own combination of sauces (there was no guide to help!) which included cooking wine, teriyaki, garlic, chile peppers, and sesame seeds. I have found that the more sauce you put on, the better it tastes because the noodles and vegetables soak it right up.
I tried just a few items on my Seafood Plate, including tiny mussels (pretty good, not too chewy or rubbery) that were cooked in a fish sauce. The salmon was okay and I also tried a bite of Halibut.
For the sake of this review I also made a Dessert Plate. Nothing too exciting here but the rice krispie bar and almond cookies were good. They also have soft-serve ice cream.
Service: We were greeted upon entering and were shown to a table right away. Drinks were fast and continuous throughout our visit, as was the clearing of plates.
Overall Impression: Wide variety and selection of foods for the price. The Mongolian BBQ and Seafood Buffet offered the best choices, but I thought the quality of the the Chinese food was just mediocre.
Cuisine: Chinese
Restaurant Features: Lunch Buffet, Dinner Buffet, On-Site Parking
Locations: Maplewood & West St Paul, MN
Addresses & Maps:
Maplewood- 2950 White Bear Ave Maplewood, MN 55109 (651) 704-9801
West St Paul- 1200 South Robert St. West St. Paul, MN 55118 (651) 554-0558
Hours: Sun-Thur 11am-9pm Fri-Sat 11am-10pm
Atmosphere: Both the Maplewood and West St Paul locations are located within strip malls. Each restaurant has a large, open space for the dining areas. Silk Kimonos adorn the walls and here and there you will see silk plants as well. Rectangular-shaped wooden tables are placed close together throughout the space, easy to accommodate larger groups.
There are four large buffet islands, with additional tables for dessert and also a separate stir-fry section at the West St Paul location. Each buffet island has about 10-12 food items.
The West St Paul location also has a custom stir-fry area. Similar to Khan’s, choose your frozen sliced meats, Vegetables and sauces and the chef will cook it up in front of you on the Mongolian BBQ.
Menu: Appetizers include Egg Rolls, Cream Cheese Wonton, Cheesey Potatoes, Sweet Biscuits, Sesame Cakes, Pork Sausages, Egg Foo Young, Roast Duck, BBQ Ribs, and Steamed Dumplings.
Soups include Hot & Sour and Wonton. There is also Lo Mein, Fried Rice, White Rice, Rice Noodle and String Beans.
Chicken dishes include Black Pepper Chicken, Roast Chicken, Sesame Chicken, Moo Goo Gai Pan, Chicken with Broccoli, Chicken Chow Suey, General Tao’s Chicken, Sweet & Sour Chicken, Chicken Wings, Chicken Sticks, and Chicken with Cashew.
Pork dishes include Mopo ToFu, Hunan Pork, Butter Potato, Double Cooked Pork, Hunan Triple Delight, Pork with Mushrooms, and Boneless Ribs.
Beef dishes include Beef with Broccoli, Mongolian Beef, Beef with Mushrooms, Peppered Beef, and Beef Ribs.
Seafood (most items served at dinner only) items include Mussels, Fried Codfish, Salmon, Popcorn Shrimp, Butterfly Shrimp, Salted Shrimp, Coconut Shrimp, Shrimp with Lobster Sauce.
Desserts include Soft-Serve Ice Cream, Cake, Fresh Fruit
Price guide: Lunch Buffet $8-9 Dinner Buffet $11-12
What I Ate: My visit was at lunch time with a group of colleagues, but I still wanted to try a selection of foods. I had Cream Cheese Wontons, Boneless BBQ Ribs, Steamed Dumpling, General Tao’s Chicken, Sweet & Sour Chicken, Fried Rice, and a Rice Noodle dish with veggies. The cream cheese wontons were the biggest I have ever had! They were stuffed full of a cream-cheese mixture that was slightly sweet. The steamed dumplings were very good, with a flavorful pork/onion mixture. The meats that I tried were okay, but I would not say these use high quality meat. The Sweet and Sour as well as the General Tao’s Chicken was kind of fatty and gristly and the batter was soggy.
I wasn’t quite satisfied with what I actually ate from my first plate, so I opted to wait in line for my own custom stir-fry. I chose beef, broccoli, pineapple, onions, pepper and mushrooms with noodles and several scoops of all the different cooking sauces. There is only one cook making stir-fry and he only cooks one dish at a time, so I had to wait at least 10 minutes for my plate. I was only able to get a few good bites in before it was time to head back to work, but I was very happy with my stir-fry dish.
Service: At Great Moon you must pay for your meal before you enter the dining room but from that point forward, there are many servers ava
ilable to take drink orders, clear plates, etc.
Overall Impression: Huge buffet with many options, but I would say food is just slightly better than mediocre in taste and quality. Make-it-yourself Stir-Fry option at West St Paul is a big bonus.
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Cuisine: Chinese,
Restaurant Features: Lunch Buffet, Dinner Buffet, On-Site Parking
Location: White Bear Lake, MN
Address: 3959 Linden Street White Bear lake, MN 55110 (651) 426-4565
Hours: M-F 11am-8pm Lunch Buffet 11am-2pm Dinner Buffet 4-8pm
Links: Google Map * King’s City on Facebook
Atmosphere: King’s City is located on a frontage road that runs along Hwy 61 and has been open since 1982. The restaurant itself is in a stand-alone building, with one big open space for the dining room. There isn’t anything fancy about the decor, just several square wooden tables arranged throughout the dining room, making it easy to pull them together for larger parties.
The buffet is one of the more popular features of King’s City for the dine-in crowd (available 11am-2pm and 4-8pm)
Menu: Appetizers at King’s City include Egg Rolls, Fried Wontons, Chicken Wings, Paper-Wrapped Chicken, Barbeque Pork, Fried Shrimp, and Cream Cheese Wontons.
Soups include Wonton, Egg Drop, Chicken Rice and Chicken with Chinese Greens.
Egg Foo Young options are the Vegetable, Pork, Chicken or Shrimp.
Chow Mein options include Regular, Meatless, Subgum, Mushroom, Chicken, Chicken Subgum, Chicken Mushroom, and King’s City Special Chow Mein. Lomein, Chop Suey and Fried Rice options include Vegetable, Pork, Chicken, Shrimp, Beef and Special.
Beef Entrees include Beef with Snow Peapods, Beef Tomato and Green Pepper, Beef and Green Pepper, Beef with Broccoli, Curried Beef, Kung Pao Beef, Mongolian Beef, Beef with Red Sauce and Beef with Cashew.
Chicken Entrees include Sweet and Sour, Chicken with Snow Peapods, Moo Goo Gai Pan, Pineapple Chicken, Chicken Almond Ding, Curried Chicken, Chicken with Broccoli, Twice Cooked Chicken, Chicken with Red Sauce, Kung Pao Chicken, Mongolian Chicken and Chicken with Cashew.
Pork Entrees include Sweet and Sour, Pork with Snow Peapods, Pork with Broccoli, Curried Pork, Twice Cooked Pork, Mongolian Pork, and Pork with Red Sauce.
Shrimp Entrees include Sweet and Sour, Almond Ding, Shrimp with Snow Peapods, Shrimp with Lobster Sauce, Shrimp with Broccoli, Curried Shrimp, Kung Pao Shrimp, Twice Cooked, Mongolian, Shrimp with Cashew, and Shrimp with Red Sauce.
There are also a number of Combination Dinners for either one or two people.
Buffet Includes Regular Chow Mein, Fried Wontons, Egg Rolls, Chicken Wings, Sweet and Sour Chicken, Chicken Lomein, and two Entrees (Changes Daily). *An order of 10 Cream Cheese Wontons can be purchased with Buffet for an additional $2.95*
Price guide: ‘Lunch Buffet $6.95 Kids Under 12 $5.25 Dinner Buffet $9.75 ($1 off for Seniors 55+)
Appetizers $4-7 Soups $3-4 Egg Foo Young $5-6 Chow Mein $4-18 Lomein/Chop Suey $7-9 Beef Entrees $8 Chicken/Pork Entrees $7-8 Shrimp Entrees $9
What I ordered: I had the dinner buffet, as I always do when I eat-in at King’s City. I had Chow Mein, Twice Cooked Pork, Chicken Lomein, Sweet and Sour Chicken, an Eggroll and Fried Wontons. The chow mein is very basic, celery with a small amount of ground pork (the best chow mein at King’s City is the Chicken Subgum which is not offered on the buffet). The Chicken Lomein was very good, tons of vegetables mixed in with tender pieces of white-meat chicken, and thin. The Twice Cooked Pork has a nice zing to it, and also has a nice mix of Asian veggies. The Sweet and Sour Chicken was also good, with bite-sized pieces of chicken breaded and deep fried to a crispy golden brown. The batter is slightly thick on the chicken, and sweet and sour sauce is served on the side to maintain crispiness of chicken. The Fried Wontons are very crispy, filled with a mixture of ground pork and spices (green onion?).
Service: King’s City prides itself on excellent service. The servers are all very attentive so used plates are taken away immediately and drinks refilled with a quickness. The owner, Sam, is a very friendly guy and is very personable with his customers (many of whom are long-term).
Overall Impression: Fast and friendly; very good Chinese food. The buffet is somewhat limited, but the quality of food is above average and reasonably priced. Can’t go wrong to order off menu. Awesome customer service.
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**A newer review of Khan’s Mongolian was published on 1/7/12 and can be found here**
Cuisine: Asian, Mongolian, On-Site Parking
Restaurant Features: Bar, Lunch Buffet, Dinner Buffet, On-Site Parking
Locations: Coon Rapids, Richfield, Roseville
Addresses and Maps:
Coon Rapids- 2085 Northdale Blvd NW Coon Rapids, MN 55433 (763) 767-3018
Richfield- 500 E 78th St Richfield, MN 55423 (612) 861-7991
Roseville- 2720 Snelling Ave N. Roseville, MN 55113 (651) 631-3398
Atmosphere: There are several small dining areas situated around the restaurant, made a little more private with the creative use of live plants. The dining areas all surround the centrally-located meat and vegetable buffets. All seating is limited to tables, but there is at least one dining space that allows for tables to be pushed together for larger parties.
Within the restaurant there is a small bar area to accommodate patrons who may have to wait for a table on a busy night, or for those who would like to try one of the specialty tropical drinks or wines.
Menu: The concept of Khan’s is one that allows diners to customize their own stir-fry dishes. Patrons choose from a buffet containing a variety of sliced frozen meats (beef, chicken, pork, lamb, shrimp and imitation crab). You take a bowl, fill it with the meats and noodles of your choosing, and then move down to the vegetable line where you can choose from a large selection of fresh vegetables to be used in your custom stir-fry.
After filling your bowl with your preferred meats and vegetables, you then add sauces to flavor your stir-fry, such as Garlic Sauce, Cooking Wine, House Sauce, Dragon Sauce, Teriyaki, Curry, Lobster Sauce. There is a sign over the sauce bar that suggests which sauces and flavorings you should choose, depending on how spicy you would like it. After you have your bowl filled with meats, noodle, vegetables and sauces, you take it to the Barbeque Area, where your stir-fry is cooked right in front of you.
Price guide: $15 All-You-Can-Eat Buffet or $10 for a single plate
What I ordered: Everyone receives an appetizer as part of the cost of the buffet. There is Hot and Sour Soup, a Fried Wonton, and a tender BBQ Marinated Chicken Wing.
My first plate consisted of beef, thin noodles, peppers, zucchini, broccoli, onion, carrot, and pineapple. I love spicy and flavorful food, so I used a ton of the garlic sauce, fresh cilantro, several scoops of the dragon Sauce, cooking wine, house sauce and teriyaki. It was delicious!! I have been to Khan’s several times and have finally figured out the amount and combination of sauces that I like the best. One thing i have noticed is that it seems safe to go a little overboard with the sauces, because a lot of the moisture is cooked out and the noodles also absorb a lot of sauce. Despite how much spicy Dragon Sauce I added, it wasn’t as hot as I like it. The best part is that if you don’t care for your stir-fry, you can always go back to the Buffet line and start over with a new combination!
Sticky Buns are also served with dinner, a dough-like pastry filled with a buttery cinnamon/sugar sauce. I did not try this because I was already too full from the other good stuff!
Service: Our server was very friendly and prompt, kept drinks refilled and removed dirty plates in a very timely fashion. It can get extremely busy on weekend evenings, so it is a good idea to call-ahead for a reservation, especially if you plan to have a party larger than four.
Overall Impression: If you enjoy stir-fry, Khan’s is your place! The endless trips to the buffet for only $15 is a great deal.
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Cuisine: Italian,
Restaurant Features: Bar, Lunch Buffet, Sunday Brunch, On-Site Parking
Location: St Paul, MN
Address: 635 Payne Avenue St Paul, MN 55130 (651)776-4848
Links: Yarusos Website * Yarusso’s on Facebook * Google Map
Atmosphere: Located just a couple of miles from Downtown St Paul, Yarussos is the oldest family-owned Italian restaurant in St Paul, in operation since April 1933! The restaurant has two dining areas, the larger of which has both wooden tables and booths, with dark walls lined with decades of photographs. The smaller dining area is paired with the bar, with a handful of booth/table combos.
Menu: Appetizers include fried ravioli, Italian Chicken Fingers, Garlic Toast, Garlic Cheese Toast, Sausage with Peppers and Onions, and Mozzarella Sticks.
Sandwiches include Dago (sauce and cheese a la carte), Dago Supreme (smothered in sauce, cheese, peppers and onions), Italian Hamburger, Chicken Parmesan, Meatball Hoagie, Meatball Supreme, Sausage Hoagie, and Sausage Supreme.
Yarussos Pastas are Spaghetti, Mostaccioli, Rigatoni, Fettuccini, Meat or Cheese Ravioli, Baked Mostaccioli, Baked Mostaccioli Alfredo, Meat lasagna, and Manicotti.
Entrees include Fried Chicken, Meatball Dinner, Italian Hamurger Steak, Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Parmesan Alfredo, Eggplant Parmesan, Deep-Fried Catfish or Shrimp.
Desserts include Homemade Tiramisu, Chocolate Meatballs, Italian Spumoni and Double Chocolate Cake.
**Ten Daily Lunch Specials
**Pizza, Pasta, Soup & Salad Bar Mon-Fri 11-1:30 $8.50
**There is also a Italian Sunday Buffet every week 10am-2pm
**Family Take-Out and Catering also available
Price guide: Appetizers $3-7 Sandwiches $5-8 Pastas $8-11 Entrees $8-10 Desserts $3-5
What we ordered: We were given this complimentary loaf of bread. It looked good, but I did not try any of it.
I ordered the Dago Supreme. WOW. This is by-far my favorite dish at Yarussos. Standing about 5 inches tall and loaded with sauteed peppers, onions and fresh mushrooms, the Dago patty is layered between thick slices of Italian bread and smothered in sauce with melted mozzarella on top. The portion was big enough for me to have two meals!
Two of my companions each ordered the Large Beef Ravioli, which came with at least 20 large beef-filled raviolis and two giant meatballs. The sauce has a unique flavor, mild yet tangy, and completely meatless.
One of my companions ordered the Large Mostaccoli with a meatball.
When the food was served, one of my companions ordered Garlic Toast, which was soft and buttery on top yet crispy on the outside.
Service: We had a party of five and ended up seating ourselves in a booth in the bar area. Service was decent, but it seemed to take awhile for our food and drink refills.
Overall Impression: Nothing extravagant or gourmet, but Yarussos serves good Italian food that is reasonably priced for the large portions you get. Dago Supreme is a must-try and don’t forget to save room for the spumoni ice cream!
***Formerly known as Wild Ginger under the same ownership***
Cuisine: Thai, Chinese, Asian Variety,
Restaurant Features:Lunch Buffet, On-Site Parking
Location: White Bear Lake, MN
Address: 4440 Highway 61 North White Bear Lake, MN 55110 651-653-9781
Hours: Dine-In /Take out Mon-Sat 11am-8pm Lunch Buffet M-F 11-2pm
Links: Sam Thai Cuisine Website Google Map
Atmosphere: Located within a strip mall, Wild Ginger has just 10-12 tables available in the dining room (seats 24). It is decorated with a variety of Thai art and sculptures.
Menu:
Thai appetizers include Beef Jerky, Chicken wings, cream cheese wonton, dumplings, egg rolls, spring rolls, chicken satay. Thai salads include Laab, Som Tum, Yum Nua, and Yum Woon Sen. Thai curries are Gang Dang (red), Gang Keow Wan (sweet green), Gang Pah (country curry),and Panang. Thai noodles offered are Pad Thai, Rad Na, and Pad See Yew. Thai entrees include Rama Long Srong, Pad Him Ma Pam, Pad Hoo Raa Pha, Pad Khing, Pad Priew Wan, Pad Prig, Pla Rad Prig.
Chinese dishes include fried rice, chow mein, egg fo young, lomein, chop suey. Entrees include (chicken, beef, pork, or shrimp) Sweet & sour, Almond ding, Cashew, Lemon grass, Broccoli, Kung pao, Szechuan, Mongolian
Price guide:
Lunch Buffet $7.50 Thai entrees $8-10
What we ordered:
Chicken satay I especially loved the peanut sauce and the cucumber garnish that came with the satay.
Thai Beef Jerky
Green Curry (Gang Keow Wan ) A combination of coconut milk, Thai green curry paste, herbs, bamboo shoots, vegetables, and chicken. This is one of my favorite Thai dishes! It has a ton of kick and the vegetables soak up the flavor of the coconut milk just perfectly. 
Rama Long Srong- Mixed of gold peanut curry sauce with coconut milk on the bed of steamed young spinach. I love the sweetness of this dish, the peanut sauce is wonderful.
Chicken Panang- Chicken in a zesty blend of herbs, kaffir lime leave and coconut milk.
Sweet and Sour Chicken (Thai style)- Mix of pineapple, tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, scallions and onions stir fried in Thai sweet and sour sauce.
Service:
The owner of Wild Ginger, Sam, is a very nice man and provides 100% of the service at Wild Ginger. Refills are do-it-yourself.
Overall Impression: Awesome Thai cuisine, decent Chinese. Excellent lunch buffet with a variety of both Thai and Chinese dishes, at a very reasonable price. The small space of the restaurant often is completely filled during lunch buffet hours (11-2pm).
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