Belly Shack

Yummy in my tummy! Want a hipster urban eating experience? Look no further, Belly Shack is the place, complete with the El running rampant over the top of the building. I like it. Feels gritty.

The food. The food is tasty to say the least, but not cheap by any means. I embarked on my maiden voyage with the intent of getting the tostones and hot and sour soup, then I got distracted by the Korean bbq beef (my latest obsession) with kimchi. I topped the order off with a passion fruit lemonade. At $15 I was less than amused when the plate and tiny carafe arrived. Like a good ol' American I was like, where's the rest of my order? But once I started eating it turned out to be the right amount of food. Go figure. I was full, but not stuffed and I couldn't even finish the carafe of passion fruit lemonade. Although I gave it the ol' college try because it was so damn good.

The table next to me ordered the togarashi spiced fries and they smelled sooo good! I also intend to go back and try the tostones and hot and sour soup. I have mixed emotions about the Belly dog with the noodles. It seems wrong on so many levels, but is probably really good too.

Very good. Very hipster. Very convenient (see before mentioned location of the El).

I tend to avoid "fusion" foods because it usually means watered down and not good, but Belly Shack is awesome.  I love Latin and Asian foods, so the flavors here are right up my alley.  Everything I've ever had here has been awesome - the brown rice bowl, the plaintain sandwich, and specials.  Their specials change quite frequently and they're always great!

I highly recommend getting a side of fries.  You won't be sorry, and the side is huge so you can easily share it with a few friends.  The soft serve desserts are also fantastic.  I love them all, but huckleberry lime is the standout combo for me.  It's like gourmet Fruity Pebbles.

My only complaint is that the dishes are a bit salty, but saltiness aside, this is one of my favorite spots for casual dining.  And it's a great place to bring visitors because it's super unique and BYOB ;)

I was looking to feed some out-of-town friends and I'm pretty sure I impressed them with my choice of Belly Shack. We forgot about the BYOB, but popped into the liquor store next door and grabbed two cases of beer, making it an ever better time.

The only issue I can see with this place is the seating arrangement as it can get crazy packed at random times. The chairs are a little weird and pretty uncomfortable. Lucky for us, there was only one empty table with 4 seats in the entire place. it's like we were meant to dine here. I ordered the boricua and shared the fries and tostones with my bf. Being Cuban, I have an incredibly high standard for tostones and these were pretty good- not as good as my mom's- but no one can top that. The Boricua with tofu was pretty good and filling. It was kinda bland for my taste but I still ate every bite. Then I went back up for dessert and got the cinnamon caramel. It was delish and not too overly sweet. No complaints there.

The modern-industrial decor is cool for being near a train stop and more of a fast-food spot. I just can't give this place 5 stars because it didn't knock me off my socks. It is a really good choice for food in this area and can't wait to try all of the other Belly restaurants as I've heard they only get better.