BD’s Mongolian Grill

EXPERIENCE

The big grill is the point at BD’s Mongolian Grill. You choose the ingredients; the grillers turn them into a cooked meal. The distinction is rather nice: dinner can be hands-on without requiring you to cook it. Meats, vegetables, noodles and sauces supply the decisions, while the cooking happens at the restaurant’s shared grill rather than at a burner built into your table.

BD’s dates its create-your-own stir-fry business to 1992. It has since added chef-designed bowls, but the market bar remains its defining idea. Choose the Unlimited tier for return trips; a single bowl and a bowl with soup and salad are separate choices. Soup-and-salad inclusions need to be checked against the chosen restaurant’s current package.

There is a casual restaurant around the grill, too, with table service and drinks. At Beavercreek, a broad timber pergola lines the windowed façade. Inside, the open round grill lets diners watch their chosen ingredients being cooked. The cook handles the hot surface while the diner decides what belongs in the bowl, an arrangement that gives lunch a little more activity than simply ordering an entrée.

Check the selected restaurant’s offering before heading over. A group can choose different bowls while still sharing the same outing, which is useful when one person’s ideal dinner involves plenty of vegetables and another has strong opinions about noodles.