Beer Belly

 

And we're back!

My buddy Marty has been trying to get me to go to Beer Belly for awhile now. Marty happens to be a regular there. He has told me that once in a blue moon the chef at Beer Belly will make cheesesteaks, and he tried many times to invite me to go and experience this for myself. As we all know,  I'm a very busy lady, and it was never enough notice. This time however, Marty gave me plenty of notice.

So Chris and I met with Marty and his friend Lisa to finally have these steaks.

When Chris and I arrived, I was surprised to see that Beer Belly was tucked away behind this little Boba spot that I drive past all the time. It was really cute and colorful outside and bright and cozy on the inside.



Marty had already ordered the Pork Belly Chips.



The pork belly chips were nice and crispy, as they should be. They were seasoned really well and the aioli that came with it was really good too.

We all ordered the regular Whiz Wit Wit, and Chris ordered his without onions. We also got an order of Duck Fat Fries.
 

The duck fat fries were also tasty. Most of the fries I had were actually still really crisp, although Marty assured me they can be even more crisp and tasty. The raspberry dipping sauce that came with seemed like an odd choice to me at first, but it was really good and I actually think goes perfectly. I actually don't think I really had any of the duck, I was trying to save room for my steak at that point I think, but the guys gobbled them right up, and I know Chris really liked them, he said they were amazing.

Now for the cheesesteaks! Doesn't this look glorious?



CLOSER:


 No onions:


The meat was cooked perfectly, and cut to just the right size. There was a generous amount of onions and they were so good. There was a nice little peppery kick to the sandwich, and I thought it was just the right amount of seasoning. Chris felt that it was slightly too much pepper, (although he felt bad for saying so) but we all know that he's just delicate. Lisa also pointed out that he didn't have the sweetness of the onions to balance out the pepper. He added a little ketchup though, and I think that helped.

At the table next to us, there was a man with a big fancy camera, and I was totally hating on him for it, (because my camera is tiny and not fancy) and then Marty told me that was the owner, Jimmy. He overheard us talking about cheesesteak bloggin' and we ended up having a nice conversation with him. Jimmy's a really cool dude, couldn't be more friendly. He told me that they use Amoroso rolls, and they make their special cheese wiz sauce with beer. I asked him what kind of beer, and he said it can be any kind, I guess whatever they are in the mood for. It really added a nice subtle layer of flavor. At one point, chef Wes (who happens to be from Philly) came out and we talked to him to for a bit. We got the inside scoop that they are opening another restaurant called Wiz for all of us cheesesteak lovers. Sounds awesome, I totally have faith in these guys, and Marty and I will be there as soon as they open!

Here's Jimmy and Wes looking cool:




We saved room (barely) for dessert. Chris got the Deep Fried Oatmeal Cream Pie, and I got the Deep Fried Strawberry Pop Tart. Both were good, I preferred his over mine.






There was also a Buffalo Chicken Cheesesteak on the menu, and Marty and I thought about getting that too, just to try it. But we decided that it was just too much, so that will be for next time.
Overall, we were all happy and stuffed when we left. This is definitely a spot that everyone needs to check out. 

I want to go back soon to meet Marty and his fiance Virginia for dinner, and I'm totally going to get the French Onion Mac N Cheese (with carmelized onion beer wiz) and some Brussel Sprouts!




Beer Belly
532 S. Western Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90020
213-387-2337
http://beerbellyla.com