Don’t stop there, Madisonians, read on, for there is this small sign tucked away at the Flat Top:
I’ve eaten at places similar to it before: you pile onto a plate a selection of stuff, you hand over your mess to the cook and you sit down. In minutes, your very own assortment is stir fried and set before you.
But the Flat Top really pushes it over the top, so that the entire restaurant spins around this stir-fry operation. At any one time, one or two dozen individual mounds are being swished and tossed on the huge flat cooking top. And no, they don’t (99% of the time) mix any of it up: you don’t get any of your neighbor’s spillings.
My eating companions have preferences. One of them especially likes a few select veggies, of the green and thin type, and so she carefully mounds her bowl with her favorites. There are also wonderful sauces and spiced waters that you can ladle onto your mound and she looks for her one or two precious blends each time.
Me, I have my cluttered mindset scribbled all over the plate. None of this meticulous selection and scrutiny. There are literally two dozen raw veggies (and a handful of fruits, plus raw meats and fish for those who like to throw in such stuff) out there to pick from and another dozen sauces and mostly I find them all irresistible, so that in the end, my plate looks like this:
It’s all very economical. Your mound of food is around $12 and for another couple of bucks you can get another round of it. If you take their wine suggestion, you’re out only $12 for the bottle.
I feel after dinner completely satisfied that I have covered all my veggie needs for a week. Guilt-free eating. As fresh and honest as it gets.
So one more little plug for a chain-ish place. Asian again. About to pop up in Madison. I’ll be there when it opens.
Sounds gimmicky. I don't like it.
ReplyDeleteAround Phoenix, you can find a restaurant like this about every two blocks. They're called "Mongolian barbecues" for some inexplicable reason, and of course they vary in quality. But I always do feel that I've eaten virtously after a meal at one of these places!
ReplyDeleteBy Phoenix standards, $12 is steep for Mongolian bbq, but most of the places I've been have formica tables and serve iced tea to drink. They're more the Asian equivalent of a mom-and-pop corner pizza joint than a fine dining experience -- even though they uniformly have very fresh veggies and delicious sauces. (If they didn't, no one would go!)
Chuck b: don't knock it until you've tried it.
I'm with joan, chuck. It's almost anti-gimmicky. The food is exceptionally healthy and suited to your taste so there's little waste.
ReplyDeleteWhy do I love these places? As a person who lives alone, you would have to buy a hell of a lot of veggie varieties to put together any such combo. At the Flat Top, the pots are refilled with fresh stuff constantly. It could not be a better example of an eatery that satisfies a craving for something that is not easy to replicate at home, even as it is extremely easy to prepare.
Hmmm.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in AZ, I went to a Mongolian bbq place a couple of times with friends. I really wasn't impressed. That doesn't mean that I won't try this new restaurant when it opens at Hilldale. Lord knows that Mall needs more food options. How many Quizno subs do I have to eat?
ReplyDeleteTonya: the point is not to be impressed, right? The point is to go out occasionally to eat something that is healthy, predictably prepared, has nice flavors, without blowing a fortune for it. Too few (any?) of those options in town. (And don't tell me about Lulu's. If you ever order their spinach pie, I promise you wont go back for a long time.)
ReplyDelete