It's the last final week of classes for me (for real this time) yet Christel and I are still managing to find time to go out and hit some spots on my list while I'm still in Chicago. We checked out the menu online and it's just weird and fusion enough that we needed to check it out right away.

LOCATION: 1400 W. RANDOLPH ST., CHICAGO, IL 60607

Their tagline one on of the menu's online was "Long Noodles, Short Rice, Phat Dumplings" which just sold us. We figured we could order a little of each and go family style on this meal to test them all out. When we got to the restaurant the current menu was a little different from what we saw online but we had a basic idea and just altered our plan a little.

We ended up getting coconut curry pho, wok fried rice cakes, and togarashi fries which come with a curry mayo. Since it was so warm out we decided to just opt to sit outside even though it was getting a little later and windier. It was still a great decision and it's so nice to finally be able to sit out and eat in the sunshine.

Everything was so delicious and while I can be a little skeptical of asian fusion I was super happy at urban belly. The rice cakes were by far our favorite. There was shrimp, peanuts, toasted garlic and chives and had a great pickled kinda cucumber thing that was super well balanced with the textures and flavors of everything else. The menu describes this as their version of a Pad Thai which I like as a reference because it's pretty much a nail on the head with what they've accomplished. Christel and I are also both suckers for good rice cakes like this so it wasn't a hard sell for us. The coconut curry pho was an alright choice, a pretty good flavor but honestly just tasted like a normal Thai coconut curry with pho noodles in it. Not the most imaginative dish but also not a miss either. They nailed the coconut curry so it wasn't hard to like. The togarashi fries were also pretty good in terms of seasoning and the curry mayo was a nice touch. I'm not a huge fan of dips but mixed mayos and aiolis are usually pretty good in my book.

And of course we somehow managed to get lucky and there was a special deal for the 1st of every month where each dumpling was offered for $1 each instead of $1.50+ for dine in which sent Christal through the roof because she HAD to take advantage of the deal. So, even though we had all this food we went for a dumpling round as well and ordered two of each dumpling to test them out.

So here's the run down on each of the dumplings really quick

Pork and Cilantro - Pretty classic for a dumpling, it comes soaked in soy sauce and ready to eat without any need for dipping but it does get a little salty so maybe less sauce is more.

Chicken Curry - SUPER light flavor for what you think a curry dumpling would be. The chicken was a good texture and it was a clean bite but could actually use more of a kick.

Beef and Cheddar - If you like pizza rolls this guy is for you. Tastes pretty much like a beef and cheese pizza roll with a crunchy exterior and a pretty recognizable taste. The pickled onion on top was a great touch that made it a little different and 'elevated' it from the pizza roll world.

Sweet Potato and Maple - This was a perfect combination, not surprisingly, but it was a little tough to chew into and I'm not sure I'm a huge fan of the texture of the potato. I love pirogies but this was missing the mark for some reason and while the flavor was good I'm not sure I would get this dumpling again.

All in all, I say Urbanbelly was surprisingly good but then again I was skeptical to start with so I'm not sure that's saying much. I would go back but I'm not sure that I would ever really crave anything I ate.