Hu Hot Mongolian Grill is a different sort of dining experience. There is a menu, but more popular is the make-your-own stir-fry, prepared with spatula gymnastics on a giant flat-top grill that looks like something from a medieval dungeon. Fill a bowl with any combination of meats, vegetables, noodles, fruits, and sauces – then watch as they cook it with flair and return it on a plate. This allows for pleasing a variety of patrons, including picky kids and yes: paleo/primal eaters. I picked beef, pork, broccoli, carrots, bok choy, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, & cilantro, with Kung Pao sauce – one of the gluten-free options. While unable to gurantee no cross contamination, telling them of a gluten allergy initiates an impressive ritual of supercleaning an area of the grill and sequestering your food, even as other workers continue to circle, mixing and chopping the rest with spatulas flying. I suggest an extra tip for this special care. I doubt anything is organic or grass-fed, but the food is tasty and you choose exactly what ingredients are used. For a chain restaurant with wide appeal, Hu Hot is surprisingly paleo friendly.
Update (7/12/2014): I’ve since made additional trips to Hu-Hot in various cities and continue to be impressed. Just tried the one in Kenosha, and they’ve upgraded handling of “allergens” another notch. You no longer need to tell the cooks when you get up there – instead the server gives you a special color bowl to alert them, and the process is the same regardless of what kind of allergy or sensitivity you have. (The person ahead of me got the same treatment for an onion allergy.) I’m not sure if this change is chain-wide, but I think it should be.
610 Junction Rd #101, Madison
(608) 827-7110
