I'm a spicy hunan. My brother is sweet and sour. My boyfriend is a black bean mutt.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you've probably never eaten at YC's Mongolian Grill (3206 S. McClintock Dr.), a restaurant that allows you to pack your choice of meats, vegetables, noodles and sauces into a bowl that "grill warriors" (YC's employees) stir-fried on a large, steaming grill for you.
At YC's you get a bowl that you can fill with any meats and vegetables that your heart desires. From beef to fish and sprouts to spinach, the possibilities are endless (and perfect for vegetarians who can just opt for vegetables and tofu). You then can top off your customized bowl with noodles galore.
After filling your bowl full of goodies, you get to create your own sauce to perfect your meal. The restaurant presents approximately 10 ingredients for sauce-making, including black beans, garlic, cooking wine and curry. One of the great aspects of this restaurant is that you can have a different bowl every time just from mixing different sauces.
It took me about five trips to discover my sauce of choice that I've stuck with for over a year now (spicy hunan, one of the recommended sauce "recipes" that YC's has listed above the food bar). If you don't like the first one you try, don't be discouraged because a YC's employee is also always more than willing to help you find the one that's right for your tastes.
But no matter what you put in it, the point of the game is to see how full you can fill your bowl.
The first time I went to YC's Mongolian Grill, my lunch partner told me a story about a guy who filled his bowl so high that he ate all he could for lunch that day, then ate off the same bowl for three more meals.
The key, my friend told me, is to organize your vegetables in way that they create a crater for you to stick the noodles in. That way you get the optimum bowl space.
While I have tried this technique in the hundreds of times I have eaten YC's (seriously, hundreds), I have only ever gotten two extra meals from my bowl. The only downside to this is the extra 50 cents per take-out box.
A large bowl at YC's is $8 and a small bowl is $7. Both include all-you-can-eat rice, soup, wontons, soda. Soft-serve ice cream is included at dinnertime, but is an extra 75 cents before 5 p.m. And YC's carries Coca-Cola products, so it's a welcome switch from the Pepsi monopoly on campus.
So whether you're a curry or a kung pao, YC's Mongolian Grill is a great way to experience great, cheap Asian cuisine.
Reach the reporter at Tara.Brite@asu.edu.
