Urban Belly

The streets were flooding and the rain just wouldn’t stop, but there was still a line outside of Urban Belly last night. Chef Bill Kim’s (formerly of Le Lan) new dumpling house may be in a strip mall, tucked between a laundry mat, dry cleaner and dollar store, but ever since it opened late summer the masses have flocked to the cozy B.Y.O.B spot for dumplings, rice and noodle bowls. Come to think of it, never-ending downpours are actually a great excuse to indulge in chef Kim’s comforting pork and cilantro dumplings, udon noodles with shrimp and sweet chile lime broth and pork belly and pineapple rice. The counter service and communal dining tables make things casual, and the service is speedy and friendly, although slight tension ensued when our table-mates tried to gank our pork and cilantro dumplings. Their order arrived quickly thereafter and we both happily devoured our own made-from-scratch, refreshingly non-greasy dumplings. These dumplings are not to be messed with, and after the pork and cilantro, we went for the Asian squash, slightly sweet and served with orange segments. We’ll be back for duck and pho and chicken and mushroom. Although the rice bowl portions could be bigger, we were left feeling the perfect amount of full and properly warmed up for the nasty night (or maybe that was the side of spicy kimchee still in our system). Urban Belly’s open for lunch and dinner Tues.-Sun., torrential rain or shine. 3053 N. California, 773.583.0500

Pork and cilantro dumplings

Short rib and scallion rice