1064 Gayley Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90024
(310) 824-3377
As a steady stream of students approached the ingredients bar at Mongols BBQ, a no-frills Mongolian barbecue establishment in Westwood, I was reminded less of a normal restaurant and more of an engineering competition. The premise is simple: You pay for a bowl, which you then fill with as much food as you can manage from the extensive ingredients bar.
With a practiced eye, patrons strategically layered their choices of meats and veggies into a precarious tower to optimize the bang for their buck. It’s a natural course of action for thrifty college students trying to jam several meals into the “all-you-can-pack” bowl. The food may not be the most memorable, but the experience and the value fit the needs of any college student eager to branch out from the standard Westwood dining scene.
First up in the extensive ingredients bar were deep containers of frozen meat – chicken, turkey, pork and beef. Then came the wide selection of vegetables and toppings, from broccoli and carrots to bean sprouts and ginger. The dish quickly got handed off to the friendly noodle expert, who topped the creation with an impressive heap of noodles and sauce. Mongols BBQ’s patrons choose their own spice and garlic level – I went with the spicy option, which included sesame oil, soy sauce and chili oil, as well as a hearty helping of garlic. The pile was then handed off to the grill master, who deftly stir-fried the combination using two long sticks.
The steaming plate the cook handed over smelled delicious, but with such a mix of ingredients there were bound to be some hits and some misses. The strongest part of the meal was the simple tomato slices, which absorbed the chili flavor and the richness of the oils perfectly for a melt-in-your-mouth richness. The noodles were satisfying as well, and the thinly sliced meat stayed nicely tender from the quick stir-fry. The most disappointing element, though, was the sauce.
As a spice enthusiast, I like a powerful flavor profile that makes its presence known on the first bite. These noodles, instead, had a gentler smoky flavor with only a hint of heat afterward. It was over my leftovers the next day that I realized the missing ingredient. A hearty dash of Sriracha, which brought the immediate kick that had been missing, finally made the dish feel complete. But whether one enters this beloved hole-in-the-wall establishment with hot sauce in hand or not, flavor fiends are likely to enjoy this change of pace from Westwood’s more typical restaurants.
The Bottom Line: Atmosphere: 3/5, Service: 4/5, Food: 4/5
Story by: Liz Schneider