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The Golden Horde has Invaded Dearborn's West Village.

Instead of worrying about looting and pillaging, however, merchants, city leaders and diners - especially diners - welcomed bd's mongolian barbeque restaurant with open arms September 17th. The restaurant fills a vital niche in the West Village block, a development of shops, eateries and townhouses in the city's west downtown area along Michigan Avenue.

"We chose Dearborn a year and half ago after we did customer surveys at our Royal Oak and Ann Arbor restaurants and got a huge response from our customers from Dearborn," said Heather Eppink, marketing director for bd's mongolian barbeque. "We had also heard about the new developments In Dearborn and the synergy that was developing and wanted to get Involved."

"We are excited about moving into a great restaurant market such as Dearborn," said Billy Downs, the restaurant chain's founder. "We feel bd's brings a unique and fun dining atmosphere to this community."

bd's mongolian barbeque has additional state locations in Grand Rapids and Okemos, as well as in Colorado, Illinois, Maryland and Ohio.

bd's offers diners an "interactive dining experience" similar to that of Kyoto's Japanese restaurant, Instead of having an Individual griller at a dining table shared with other people (the Kyoto experience), diners at bd's get their own separate table and then head to the buffet-style counter to grab a bowl (or two or three - this is an all you-can-eat restaurant).

The buffet is stocked with a large variety of meats, vegetables, spices, sauces and cooking oils. There is a separate salad bar.

A waiter brought a bowl of rice and tortilla shells, and warned against mixing more than one type of meat in our bowls because beef, chicken, etc., do not cook at the same rate. He also advised that only a pinch of spice was needed, but at least three scoops of oils would make things tasty.

For diners who don't have their own recipe, the restaurant has index cards with suggested meals. Waiters typically ask customers whether they are vegetarians or have any food allergies.

After diners fill their bowls to the brim, they walk up to the grill. At the grill the chefs, while sometimes chanting songs, fry up the meals with a pair of giant chopsticks before sliding the steaming hot Ingredients back into the bowl.

The atmosphere at bd's is loud, boisterous, and most of all, fun.

The chefs at the grill are encouraged to "be themselves" by singing songs, talking with customers, or acting as stand-up comedians, Eppink said.

"The grill sure is the center part of the action," she said.

To spice up the action, occasionally a bd's employee will put on the "Mongo Man" suit, designed to look like a 9 foot-tall Mongolian warrior.

Parking is a key concern around the restaurant, and one that Eppink readily acknowledged. The tiny parking lot directly in front of the strip mall that houses will not accommodate all of the establishments' customers.

"There is a lot available in Dearbom and we are trying to educate customers where it's available," Eppink said.

There are two large parking lots behind the strip mall. On busy nights, a bd's employee will hand out maps to motorists so they can find nearby parking without waiting for a space up close, Eppink said.

"Opening weekend was fantastic. We were packed," Eppink said. One person quoted that they felt like they were in line for the Magnum at Cedar Point.

"We were amazed by all the Ford traffic we got," she said. There was a sea of people with Ford badges that came in and they told us that they had been waiting for our restaurant to open."

Because of the overwhelming response by Ford Motor Co. employees, the Dearborn restaurant will open a half-hour earlier than its other locations to accommodate Ford workers on lunch break, said Eppink.

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