College students are always trying to find the best deals; but don't take that synonymously with the cheap. I'm all for saving money and personal thriftiness, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to eat Top Ramen for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. While most of the time I end up cooking for myself, occasionally I'll go out to "The Ave" on University Way to try out the local cuisine; one such place that I have visited on more than one occasion is Ruzhen Mongolian Grill, a restaurant which specializes in East Asian food.

Ruzhen's is different from other restaurants, in the sense that you get to personally decide exactly what you want to eat. The food is displayed out, salad bar style, in various little trays, each section filled with a different part of the meal. From noodles to vegetables to meats, spices, sauces and tofu, there's something there for everyone, and it's easy to avoid the things you don't want as well.

You start by taking your bowl down this assembly line, and filling it up with whatever combinations and concoctions sound best. A personal bit of advice is to start off with the meats first; fill up the bottom with as much meat as you can, pressing it down to minimize airspace (and subsequently maximizing the amount you get). If you start off with noodles, you'll be quick to find that they're too slippery, and very hard to add anything atop.

When you're done filling your bowl, you go up to a circular, stone grill, from which one of the chef's will take your meal and grill it in front of you. This process takes about 2-3 minutes, and is pretty interesting to watch; after they're done, they'll put your meal on a large plate, and you're ready to eat!

A word of advice if you've never eaten here before: don't even try to eat all the food in front of you. I've been to Mongolian Grill about 3-4 times now, and the most I've eaten in one sitting is a little more than half. You get one "doggy box" which you must use judiciously; filling it more than you would think physically possible.

Make sure you like the meal you order, because you'll have leftovers for the next 2-3 days if you do it right. All in all though, Mongolian Grill is an awesome deal for college student and adult alike; the food is excellent, and the price is right!