co-authored by:
Steve Mizek (Little White Earbuds) & Chris Kornman (blood0range)

Give Avondale (Chicago) restaurant Urban Belly (urbanbellychicago.com) credit for at least one thing: the experience of dining there is unique to the neighborhood. Nestled in a miniature strip mall at 3053 North California between Barry and Nelson near the Belmont and Elston intersection, Urban Belly is a recent addition to a neighborhood of up-and-coming foodie hot spots. The attraction is akin to nearby Lula Café and Kuma’s Corner, in that the restaurateurs’ approach to crafting a dining experience occasionally eclipses the actual menu. Urban Belly founders, in trying to straddle the line between upscale and affordable eats, have created the façade of a hip establishment without the real innovation of design or cuisine to hold it up in its current milieu.

The five of us were taken aback upon entering by the size of UB; merely a narrow stall with two large Indonesian ship planks garnishing the walls and stuffed with four large, Chinese elm tables with an ordering counter in the back. Diners unlucky enough to arrive during peak hours (especially during the winter or ugly weather) are corralled into an even skinnier hallway and politely ignored by wait staff entering and exiting the kitchen and patrons seeking the washroom.

When a table finally opened we were escorted to the counter and urged to order before sitting down. Luckily we had the foresight to ask for a menu to peruse while waiting; it wasn’t initially offered to us. Urban Belly, owned and operated by Chef Bill Kim (formerly of Clark Street’s elite French-Asian Le Lan), touts a pared down menu of culinary expressions designed to evoke a sense of community among strangers via traditionally based Vietnamese noodle dishes fleshed out by a meager life-raft of pan-Asian dumplings, rices and a daily special. We ordered pork and cilantro dumplings ($7), lamb and brandy dumplings ($8), Asian egg noodles with tofu and Chinese eggplant ($10), the Rice Cake bowl of Korean BBQ chicken with mango($12), and the night’s special, a pork dish with Udon noodles ($12). A tip “jar” next to the register was stuffed with bills, asking customers to bank on quality service before experiencing it.

The restaurant is BYO with no corkage fee, and they also have a small selection of bottled beverages and ice water readily available. We were given a number and seated at one of the four long wooden tables, which sat about 10 people each. While waiting we grabbed out own silver wear sets and poured our own water.

Benches and stools are evenly spaced to encourage communal eating (which was strictly enforced by a stern hostess/head waitress, who chided us for our self-made seating arrangement) though our lingering neighbors didn’t seem to notice that their bags and coats were splayed out making our experience rather cramped. The small dining area sat no more than 50, and was overwhelmingly noisy, due in part to the poor acoustics of the loft-like ceilings. Thankfully the food arrived in short order, keeping our jaws working at cuisine in lieu of complaints.

I started with the lamb and brandy dumplings, which were seasoned with a semi-sweet curry and cumin sauce and accompanied by about a dozen edamame. The lamb and its sweetly savory surroundings struck a good balance between the flavors while still holding true to traditional notions of Asian dumplings (these were relatively thin skinned, and subtly starchy). Lauren’s cilantro and pork dumplings were crafted in a more traditional pot stickers-esque style and were plain and underwhelming. We agreed that for the price, our respective four dumplings were not much of a meal but a tad too expensive to justify ordering a second round. Perhaps distinguishing them as appetizers would properly gear diners’ expectations.

Mark ordered the Asian egg noodles, which were stir fried with a spicy garlic chili, tofu and Japanese eggplant. With a patina of sweat on his brow, Mark relished his dish, though I found the only vegetarian option remarkably under-seasoned, albeit well-paired with the eggplant.

The Rice Cake bowl was filled with perfectly boiled rice cakes in lieu of noodles and complimented by a few small and sparse mango chunks hidden among the ubiquitous sautéed red and yellow bell pepper. The chicken was simply breaded and fried and splashed sparingly with what was presumably Korean barbeque sauce (this faded into obscurity as soon as the soupy broth enveloped the presentation). Of all the noodle dishes this had the most distinctive presentation and flavor. Tyler’s special of thin pork strips dressed in a sweet mu-shu-like chili sauce and thick Udon noodles were a handful to scoop into one’s mouth no matter the choice of utensils. I liked the pairing but wished it had been prepared with more broth.

Despite all our efforts, Tyler and Mark were left with a substantial portion of leftovers, but they were scooped up by over eager wait staff before take-out containers could be offered. The meal closed with nearly-stale gummy ginger candies; there is no dessert menu.

Urban Belly capitalizes on its mundane surroundings by meeting lowered expectations with mid-range quality and priced food in somewhat confrontational surroundings. In a more open space with more thought given to the menu’s structure and a less harried wait staff the restaurant could offer a more enjoyable dining experience. Instead I was left wondering if we would have justified paying their prices for take-out. Perhaps Urban Belly would less underwhelming if received on a diners’ home turf.