Urban Belly

So, the only problem with Jacob being home is the fact that every minute is occupied. I don't really miss the down time all that much; in fact, I miss him more when he's gone, than I miss the free time when he's here, which I guess if a good thing. But it doesn't leave much time for reading and writing. We do a lot of eating however, so I have some material backing up on me.

Another consequence of having no down time is less cooking, and more eating out. Although this is mostly because I don't want to feed Jacob like I feed myself, the same things over and over. And trying new things takes time and planning. The good news is, I am leaving Chicago soon and I still have a long list of restaurants to try so hopefully this summer the list will grow shorter.

One of those restaurants to get crossed off the list was Urban Belly. We took a drive down on the hottest day of the year so far, a balmy 95 degrees, in an A/C-free van. The interior of Urban Belly was cool, dark, and inviting after the sweltering heat and soon the air conditioning made it bearable to eat a bowl full of hot, steamy ramen topped with pork belly, shiitake mushrooms, and sliced radish. All of the food was full of flavor, and I experienced it like a punch in the mouth. It can't even be compared to our conception of Chinese take-out. The pork & cilantro dumplings were pan-fried and served with a traditional tangy, soy-based dipping sauce. Each bite oozes with a zesty lemon kick and rich pork goodness. The short rib & scallion rice did not shine like the rest of the meal, but it was still quite tastey. The twist came as a long-grain basmati rice, prepared like traditional fried rice and topped with slices of asian-style beef short rib. The lamb & brandy dumplings were the last thing we tried. These were steamed bundles, drizzled with what I think was a brandy-laced sauce (I can't remember), and served on top of braised edamame. The flavor was one of the most intense things I have ever experienced. Almost too intense. Strong to be sure. But still delicious.

The website does a much better photographic justice to the food than I do. But the good news is I now have a new digital camera! Jacob got me a Canon point-and-shoot digital camera for graduation, so things should look much better from here on out.