ELIZABITES

Basking in the glow of the heat lamps set up on the spacious front patio of the new Old Oak Tap last week, my friends and I randomly began to lament the loss of former Division Street Tiki bar, Rock-A-Tiki. With fruity cocktails, a sand floor and palm tree trunk bar stools, the place teetered on cheesy Cancun vacation spot, but warmed us up just the same. So I was thrilled to read Phil Vettel’s post in The Stew about the reopening of retro Tiki bar Trader Vic’s, slated for the end of November. Zombie cocktails? I’m intrigued.

Butterfly is one of the restaurants that I love and hate because it offers both Japanese and Thai cuisine on their menu. My first thought is, how good can it be when they are trying to cover two major culinary bases? My second thought is, I don’t have to decide on only one Asian-food craving when I go there. They actually have some pretty decent sushi if I remember correctly, tasty rice dishes, teriyaki and a great pad see ew. Apparently, they also have some sort of deep fried golden chicken wing thing that I have yet to try. I’ve gotten take-out and dined in at the location at 1156 W Grand Avenue, and I was happy to spot a second West Town location opening at 1421 W. Chicago Avenue at the end of this month. I like that it’s going to be located in one of the older buildings on the street with a fire escape in front, and not lodged into some empty storefront of a new construction condo. I also liked looking up and seeing this guy:

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