Silver Lake: Gobi Mongolian BBQ

 

I was invited to check out Gobi Mongolian BBQ House in Silver Lake a couple of weeks ago. As restaurants start serving more all-natural and organic food in Silver Lake, it’s not a surprise that familiar cuisines get a healthy revamp. At Gobi, all the meats are certified and the sauces are house-made. The vegetables (and there are a lot of choices) come straight from farmers’ markets.

 

Since the main focus of the restaurant is DIY, there aren’t a lot of prepared foods. You can get the pan-seared sesame crusted ahi tuna to start. Or if you’re veg, maybe the crispy tofu salad or mixed greens. I opted to start with the Gobi Gimlet (cucumber-infused soju, fresh lime, mint). Later I tried the Ginger Blossom (soju, ginger, lemon-lime soda, fresh lime).  If soju cocktails or wine margaritas aren’t your thing, I highly recommend the craft beer or sake.

 

Start with either beef, chicken, pork or lamb. You may also order shrimp from your server and they’ll add it to the stir-fry.

 

I was so stoked to see so many choices for vegetables. I tended to put a lot of crunchy veggies in my bowl but couldn’t resist the thinly sliced squash and mushrooms.

 

After adding sauces and noodles (or you  may opt for white or brown rice), you bring your bowl to be cooked on the large round flat grill.

 

It only takes a couple of minutes for everything to be cooked. Dinner and a show!

 

Gobi has all-you-can eat nights on Wednesdays and Saturdays. I recommend making smaller bowls so you can try more combos. For my first trip, I went with pork, beef and noodles with a Kung Pao sauce. I added extra garlic and green onions in addition to the mushrooms, asparagus, tomato, broccoli, chard and bean sprouts.

Miss Amber from Wilson’s Where To Guide opted for rice instead of noodles for her first plate.

Gobi posted some sauce pairings with their craft beer above the veggies. For their BBQ sauce, they recommend a Heifenweizen or pilsner, smoked oyster sauce with smoked porter, green curry with white wine and Asian pesto with a Belgian or wit (wheat) beer.

For my next bowl, I skipped the noodles and asked for brown rice on the side. This time I went with the house-made Asian pesto sauce for my chicken, shrimp and tofu Mongolian BBQ. I made sure to add plenty of veggies to this dish. If you’re vegetarian, you may of course skip the meat and go for just the vegetables and tofu.

 

Gobi uses Pazzo gelato for their gelato cookie sandwich. I tried the espresso one and it was really good. I also liked the vanilla gelato with stout beer for a killer craft beer float (half off on Tuesdays).

I love all the various themed nights at Gobi. Besides the all-you-can-eat nights, there’s family night on Mondays where kids eat for free and all-night happy hour on Thursdays ($3 select craft and micro brews and $4 cocktails).

I don’t think I can eat at cheesy Mongolian BBQ places anymore after having high-quality meats and fresh vegetables. You definitely don’t feel as guilty knowing how fresh everything is. And it’s all very affordable with lunch at $9.95 a bowl and $12.95 a bowl at dinner. Kids 10 and under are $7.95.

 

 

Gobi Mongolian BBQ House

2827 W Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026 – (213) 989-0711