HuHot Mongolian Grill — Restaurant in La Crosse

The Madison and Sun Prairie Huhots have closed down, and so whatever chance we can our family stops at Huhot in the Dells or La Crosse for a meal.

If you've never been here, you can see from attached pictures that the food is cooked by employees around a hot grill.

First, it is up to you to pick any type of pasta, a range of meats or seafood, and of course vegetables. There is then one more step before you bring your bowl to the grill, and that is where you choose from a variety of sauces to add to your dish.

Next, when you get to the sauce and oil table, choose from a variety of mild to hot spicy sauces and juices and oils.

My favorite go to is: Pad Thai noodles, steak and/or chicken slices, green 🫑, broccoli, peas, chick peas, mushrooms, zucchini noodles, and cilantro. Then for sauces: 4 ladles of black peanut 🥜 sauce, 1 ladle of kung pow yao, 1 ladle of burn the village, 1 ladle of lime juice, and 1 ladle of sesame oil.

Finally, you bring your bowl to the grill. It's nice and customary to tip the chefs, so bring some extra fives and singles...or go higher if you're feeling really generous. Sometimes the chefs will do extra tricks for tips depending on who is working and what their skill level is.

Note: *Sometimes different Huhots have different local rules. The last time I went I got scolded by a little grandma employee because I dripped some of the peanut sauce. It did not irritate me because she was right, and thinking of other customers.

But if you're a spiller like me, I know that at least this worker would prefer you bring two bowls that are less full to one bowl that is overbrimming...in order to avoid spills.

It's fun bringing people to Huhot who have never been to one before. My daughter and I brought her roommate who was visiting for the first time. We had a blast. Don't forget you can order rice from the waitress...and several desserts await if that is your thing. I usually don't have room, because the dinner is all you can eat, and three bowls is usually enough to keep me from pissing off my diabetic nurse by ordering one of their s'mores or cheese cake bites.

The Wannebo family really does love this place, though. Not too fancy...but a long way from McDonald's, if you know...

This place is incredible. At only 13 dollars a seat, it's well worth the price even if you only get one bowl--but as a "do it yourself" place, you really have to know what goes into making good Asian food to get your money's worth.

Hint--it's not the szechuan, chili, or soy sauce that make up the body of your flavor. It's the various types of garlic, ginger, and sesame oil that give Asian food its deep, complex flavor--and you don't need much. (That's why the sesame oil ladle is small. Probably diluted with vegetable oil too--that stuff is as strong as whiskey when it's straight.)

I thought the cheesecake rangoon would be a silly gimmick dish, but it actually has a really balanced flavor. They clearly took into account how much more cloying it would be when warm and...

HuHot is a chain restaurant that allows you to create a meal from a large buffet of meat, seafood, vegetables, and sauces. At the table, you can review cards (that look like Trivial Pursuit cards) that give suggestions on different entrées to make. You then go to the buffet and fill a bowl with the foods and sauces and let them cook it over a very large flattop.

Typically, the buffet is well-stocked and you can go up as many times as you'd like. So there is a real value if you eat a lot. If you're not all that hungry, you might want to come back later. The dinner service is a bit more expensive but they apparently have better seafood available.

The egg drop soup is pretty good. Each time I've been there, service has been good but half of the service is provided...