No MSG in this hot lunch deal

Appeal crimes reporter F.T. Norton and education reporter Teri Vance introduced me to the wonders of Genghis Khan Kitchen last week.

For $5.99, I got to pick the beef, chicken, pork and vegetables I wanted cooked. I traded a ceramic bowl of fresh ingredients for a plastic number. The chef, tiny Kam Leung, who came over from Hong Kong only five months ago, cooked my selections on a flat, round, 4-foot-diameter wok in the center of the buffet island. A smiling waitress delivered the steaming bowl of goodies about 2 minutes later.

"It's called a Mongolian grill," corrected owner Paul Lau. He came from Hong Kong 20 years ago. "When I was young," he said with a laugh.

Genghis Khan Kitchen, in the Crossroads Center at 260 East Winnie Lane, also offers an all-you-can-eat Chinese food buffet ("no MSG added"), and homemade pastries such as almond and butterfly cookies and the delicious Napoleon cream puff. The place looks great with shiny new pine framing windows into the kitchen where you can watch Lau and his staff work. It's well-lit with sunshine pouring in through front widows at lunch time.

The staff is friendly, and the food is tasty. The $5.99 price includes a bottomless soda. Awesome!

For dinner, the buffet includes more seafood with oysters on the half shell and the popular pepper shrimp. The dinner buffet costs $8.99 and also includes a beverage. For more questions on Genghis Khan Kitchen, give them a call at 883-7555.

As you leave, the whole staff says good-bye and thank you.

Chef Leung, smiling broadly, calls out from his position next to the Mongolian grill.

"Thank you! See you soon!"

n n n

They now have Fat Tire Ale in bottles over at Javelin's. I got the call from bartender Brian Evanson on Saturday morning. Fat Tire's the beer by New Belgian Brewing named for a bike trip from brewery to brewery across Belgium. The beer is created in Fort Collins, Colo. I was created there, too -- conceived on Poplar Drive west of the University of Colorado in 1976. Try the tasty, biscuit-flavored Fat Tire at Javelin's across from Jack in the Box at 306 East Williams St. Or give Javelin's a call at 883-6434.

n n n

Willie Nelson tossed his bandanna into the crowd three times Friday at the City Center Pavilion In Reno. The crowd was behaving itself well until Lyle Lovett joined him on stage for "Beer For My Horses." After a rollicking version with glaring lights and fans climbing onto their chairs, Lovett left the stage.

Nelson spoke into the mike.

"Well, thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, Lyle Lovett. Hey, Lyle, I think we could do that one again." The crowd exploded, and thousands sang along with the country super stars as they did the song over again -- "Whiskey for my men, and beer for my horses!"

Karl Horeis is a general assignment reporter for the Appeal. He can be reached at 881-1219.