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| - The only two things I miss about living in Michigan are BD's and Flat Top Grill. I have literally rerouted airplane trips to have layovers in Chicago and Dallas so I can run out for a bowl. Thus I watched the construction of Genghis with baited breath and high fived the lord for putting it two blocks from my office. For years, I got stirfry once or twice a week because one bowl lasts two meals (am I right, pro-stackers?!)
Sadly, it's been eight trips so far, and the place is still not quite right. I will absolutely keep eating there, but I always tell them honestly when they ask how my visit was, and many of the frequent irritations seem easy to fix! (Watch out, TL;DR coming!)
THE BAD:
1) The habitual mistake I see every time is how the grillers dump the bowl and walk away. I have even watched my pile sit still until it's time to sauce. The word "stir" in "stir fry" should have been on Day One of training, guys. Move that shit around! Aside from the performance aspect (which is supposed to be one of the selling features), it prevents food from burning itself to the grill, and flaking charred remains into my meal. When you watch them plate your bowl, you see a thin black layer of food lost to the grill, which wouldn't happen if they kept the piles moving. I cringe to think how much wasted food is hauled out of that trap every night. At BD's the guys rotate around the grill, so every pile gets flipped a few times. There's a fine line between leaving it long enough to brown, and ignoring it so long it burns. I lose half my crab every meal because it's left behind, blackened to the grill. STIR! MORE!
2) The guys who designed the buffet dimensions suck and the store owners should demand a do-over. I imagine it's hard to think of every body size and ability, but the back row is so far behind the sneeze guard, I literally have to bend over and press my shoulder against the rail to stretch far enough. For a while, they had a guy back there handing you the unreachables. Considering how much shrimp I eat, I sympathize with their tactics ... but the message is clear when they have two rows of fish and the shrimp in back: They don't want you eating it! I've gone at 4:00 and the scallops weren't out yet, so I can only imagine they somehow create an additional barrier. Portion it out in plastic cups if the cost is killing you!
3) The cooks need improvement for reading the card instructions, something time will fix I hope. I have asked for rice on the side, and it was mixed. I have asked for an extra sauce cup and they told me I have to ask my server. I walked five feet over and grabbed it myself from the station. I have asked for my bowl to go, and they handed me a plate. I have gotten a bowl to go, and they handed me a To Go box sitting on a plate. I ended up walking over to the server station and bagging it myself. Rookie moves, guys!
4) The appetizers are disappointing. Twice I have ordered appetizers and they arrived after my bowl. The citrus salt is too strong on the edamame. The lettuce gets soggy when you pour all the meat over all the lettuce. Some lettuce should be on the side so it can stay crisp -- pouring hot meat and sauce on lettuce equals limp cooked lettuce for the last half of the dish!
THE GOOD:
1) After a few rough trips, we wrote an email listing our problems and the manager invited us back for a free meal. Gold star response!
2) I pay $9 for Teriyaki Madness, and can get Genghis To Go in the same time for a dollar more -- but I get all the "Surf N Turf" I can stack. I eat half for lunch and the rest for dinner. Anyone who complains about the size of the bowls isn't doing it right and/or expecting the business to lose money. I punish the Station Buffets like anyone else, but stand-alone restaurant owners walk a razor thin margin. There's plenty of food and money for us all to go home happy and full, folks.
3) My friends and I have gotten diabolical with the game of stacking over the years. My personal best involves tucking snowpeas along the rim to create a retaining wall, and pressing the meat down with a broccoli floret (don't use the tongs, because someone might be allergic to something else touched in your bowl.) We are easily amused. ;-)
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