Caesar’s Mongolian BBQ
11803 Del Amo Blvd, Cerritos, CA 90703 (562) 402-8025
Lunch 11:30-2:30, Dinner 5:00PM-9:00PM
One of the great things about Long Beach and the surrounding area is the international diversity and all the fantastic cuisine that comes with it. We have many different varieties of Asian food to choose from – and I am thankful for that fact – but today I am here to talk to you about Caesar’s Mongolian BBQ, just beyond our city’s boundaries in Cerritos.
Those that know me well are familiar with my eating habits, namely the fact that I am a bit of a carnivore. I once went 7 years without eating a single vegetable (okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration), but here’s the great thing about Mongolian BBQ: the vegetables are so delicious that even I love them!
If you’ve never experienced Mongolian BBQ, here’s a quick primer on how it’s done at Caesar’s. It is an all-you-can-eat ordeal where you build your own bowl (or two) of raw goodness and then hand it off to the cooks to work their magic. While there are loads of all-you-can-eat places out there, this one is strikingly clean and well-run. You start by choosing your meat (or meats): at lunch, you have a choice of chicken, pork, and beef. I usually lean towards chicken but dabble in the beef as well. The meat is shaved and frozen, so pile some frozen meat chips into your bowl. Don’t let the initial appearance worry you; the meat looks a bit strange at first, but by the time it hits your mouth it is absolutely fantastic.
Next comes the plant matter. They have a huge spread of vegetables that includes bean sprouts, carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, green and white onions, bok choi, zucchini, water chesnuts, and jalapeño peppers. The produce is brought in fresh daily and then cleaned and prepped in the kitchen, so all you have to do is choose which vegetables to gobble up. My usual combination is heavy on the broccoli, with a lot of white onions, bell peppers, zucchini and jalapeños. When they are cooked they are hot, crispy, and delicious. By this point, you have an impressive tower of meat and vegetables, but it’s not ready for prime time just yet. You can add lo mein noodles or tofu cubes if you wish, but the grand finale comes next.
What really makes this a meal is the selection of sauces that you ladle on top of your bowl just before it hits the grill. Your food will be shifted from your bowl onto the very hot cooking surface, so it’s important to spoon on plenty of sauce both to add flavor and to keep your food from drying out or sticking to the grill. There is a cheat sheet right next to the sauce station to help get you started, but feel free to experiment with different combinations. I generally roll with a spoonful each of garlic, red pepper, and curry and then top it off with two or three spoons of spicy base. This is basically a spicy but slightly salty broth that ties it all together. Finally, it’s off to the grill.
The Mongolian BBQ is a large round griddle, about 4 feet across, and watching the cooks perform their craft is entertaining to say the least. As you watch in anticipation, the cook will will stir and gradually move your meal around the circumference of the grill with a long, sword-like metal spatula. The aroma of your medley simmering in its sauces is almost too wonderful to handle, but thankfully it only takes about two minutes to cook up. When it is ready, the cook will transfer it to a clean plate for you to take back to your table and devour.
Perhaps my favorite part of the Mongolian BBQ experience is that no two meals are the same. Okay, I love the fact that it’s all-you-can-eat too, but the seemingly endless combinations provide the freedom to create new dishes every time. You can go as sinus-clearing spicy or as meek and mild as you like, load up on meat or go vegetarian, or just experiment until you find your perfect match. Dinner is $2 more than lunch ($8.95), and the only real difference is the addition of lamb and turkey to the meat choices, so unless you’re hankering for some baby sheep, do lunch here sometime soon. Caesar’s Mongolian BBQ is a weekly favorite for us at LB Food Review, and I know you’ll find something to keep you coming back too.