Chicago: Belly Shack

I spent the weekend with Queen G in her new apartment.  We quickly fell into our old routine; me mounting Queen G's mirror on her door, us cooking and eating dinner together, and then a post-dinner movie on a laptop (but minus the impromptu laptop stand made of law books) while munching on grapes and watermelon seeds.

Sunday morning, we walked to church and then dropped by Belly Shack for lunch with a new friend:


I'd heard of Belly Shack before and had passed by its front door tucked under the L blue line on numerous occasions, but was never tempted enough to venture in.

While its exterior certainly resembled a shack, in the interior looked more like a warehouse:


The three of us got everything to share.  As usual, we stepped back and let Queen G do all the ordering.  We started off with the roast pork sandwich with chihuahua cheese in ciabatta, which was on their specials menu:


I don't remember what else was in it, but I do remember it tasting pretty good:


But for ten bucks?  I don't know...

We also ordered the togarashi spiced fries with curry mayo:


Now this stuff was addicting.  I couldn't stop eating it.

The somen noodle salad with shrimp, tortilla chips, tomatillo, and jicama, on the other hand, was rather disappointing:


Bland, flavorless, blah...I was not impressed at all.

The Asian wings with cornbread was also off the specials menu:


While the flavors were awesome, the wings could have been crispier.  Between Belly Shack and Crisp wings, I would go with Crisp every time.

We ended our meal with Vietnamese cinnamon caramel soft serve:


I really appreciated the generous pool of caramel at the bottom of the bowl, but to be absolutely honest, it didn't strike me as $4 worth.  I think anyone could have made the same thing at the dessert bar of a Fresh Choice or a Sweet Tomatoes.

Final verdict?  Good, but not worth the money or a return trip.

After lunch I found myself doing more odds and ends around Queen G's apartment (hanging the drapes, assembling a lamp, and changing the light bulbs on the ceiling fan) before I finally went home.  Some things don't change, even if the location does.


Belly Shack
1912 N Western Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 252-1414
http://www.bellyshack.com/

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