Beer Belly owners Jimmy and Yume Han are so excited about their new brunch.

This Sunday, Beer Belly in K-Town is kicking off its new Sunday brunch, “The Brunch of Shame” with a crazy menu by Chef Wes involving the likes of Lucky Charms pancakes, foie gras hollandaise and a pork belly Eggs Benedict!

And if that’s not enough to tub up your own beer belly, owner Jimmy Han was good enough to suggest some beer pairings for each dish.

• The Philly: Pork roll, egg & cheese paired with Craftsman 1903 Lager

• Lucky Pancakes: Lucky Charms pancakes with cereal milk whipped cream paired with Alesmith Speedway Stout

• Fried Chicken “IN” Waffle: Fried chicken double-fried in waffle batter paired with Golden Road Point the Way IPA

• Beer Belly’s Belly Benny: Eggs benedict, hollandaise, fried onion, braised pork belly, english muffin paired with Craftsman Harvest Saison

• The Protestor: Eggs benedict, foie gras hollandaise, shiitake mushrooms, duck confit, english muffin paired with Bootlegger’s Plum Riot

• What Hangover?: Beer-marinated short rib, horseradish roasted potatoes and two eggs paired with Cismontane Oktoberfest

Doors open on Sunday at 12pm.

Beer Belly
532 S Western Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90020 (map)
Facebook: Beer Belly LA
Twitter: @BeerBelly_LA

Trade a can of MGD 64 for something that comes out of a tap for a change.

So when I moved in to my new home, I found a huge stash of Coronas and Bud Lights (with lime flavoring nonetheless) tucked away in one of the kitchen cupboards. (Does that mean the house was blessed or cursed?) What was I going to do with all this crappy beer that not even the previous tenant wanted? I definitely wouldn’t serve it at a party, nor would I foist it on any of my friends (not that they’d take it anyway).

Fortunately, Beer Belly in Koreatown is willing to take it off my ever craft-beer-loving hands for its Inaugural Craft for Crap celebration on August 28 at 3pm. At this unique beer event, Jimmy and Yume Han, the owners of the bar, are offering to take your tired, your poor, your huddled masses of Bud Lights in exchange for a serving of some Cistmontane brew (and a penny*).

You can bring a forty, a 12-pack, one can, or, in my case, 24 bottles of shite and get a glass of Cismontane Citizen Steam Lager, Black’s Dawn Imperial Stout or Coulter IPA. Beer Belly says, “The economically minded should bring a can. The bold and determined should bring a case of 24.” Basically, it doesn’t matter how much beer you bring in, you’ll still get one glass.

The real question is what will BB do with all the bad beer it gets? It doesn’t know yet but is open to suggestions. Anyone got any ideas?

The bar is promoting this event as a way to convert your buddy who swears that MDG is the best and introduce folks to the wonderful world of craft beer. I’m saying it’s a good way to get your friend on the road to good taste and, let’s face it, what can be an expensive-ish habit. But who cares? Yay good beer!

Just in case you don’t know what would be considered bad beer, here are some ideas.

* The event was initially trading your crap beer for good beer but the California Department of Alcoholic Beverages (aka party-poopers) said that doing so would violate Beer Belly’s alcohol license so the bar is now charging 1 cent to trade your crap beer for the good beer.

EVENT:  SUNDAY, AUGUST 28 at 3pm

Beer Belly
532 S Western Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90020 (map)
Facebook: Beer Belly LA
Twitter: @BeerBelly_LA

Jimmy and Yume Han of Beer Belly.

Beer Belly craft beer bar is opening in Koreatown this Friday, and it seems to possess all the elements of what make a beer bar great: 1) an impressive selection of affordably priced, handcrafted beer on taps; 2) tasty bar bites; 3) beer-serious owners; 4) knowledgeable beertenders; and 5) parking.

The Bruery's Mischief Gone Wild from Jimmy's private stash.

The owners, Jimmy and Yume Han, are so young, attractive and hip, I wondered what their intentions were for opening up such a place. But after interviewing them for LA Weekly’s Squid Ink, getting past their sound byte tendencies and learning of their passion for craft beer as well as checking out their new digs, I see that they’re really serious about it all. They may be fairly new to the beer world but they’re eager to learn, open to suggestions and always willing to try something new.

And the beer community has embraced them, garnering them advice from the best in the business, like Ryan Sweeney of the Surly Goat and Verdugo Bar, Mark Craftsman of Craftsman Brewing Company and of course the Beer Chick herself, Christina Perozzi, who had not only trained Beer Belly’s staff of beertenders but helped the Hans curate their tap selection. Although according to her, they already had a good grasp of beer and “get it.”

During my sneak peek visit last week, I got to check out what they’re planning to have on tap for their grand opening night this Friday: beauties like The Bruery’s Rugbrod and Craftsman Cabernale. At the time there was also Black Market Brown Ale, one of my new favorites, but Jimmy said he might have to switch it up since he’s been drinking that and the Eagle Rock Populist IPA while setting up the bar. Who could blame him? But I do really hope it’s still there for the opening.

Don't mind the dust. They're still setting up.

There will be a rotating list of beers on 12 taps which Jimmy promises will be recession-friendly, “nothing over $10.” And in the fridge is a selection of bottled beer like Rogue Chocolate Stout, Dogfish Head’s Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew as well as picks from Jimmy’s own private stash, a collection he’s amassed over the years with rarities like The Bruery’s Mischief Gone Wild.

For non drinkers who tag along with their beer-drinking friends, there is also a nice selection of artisanal sodas like Blenheim Ginger Ale (yay!) and Waialua Mango Soda. And a couple bottles of wine for those into that.

Naturally there will also be food, but a small and simple selection of shareable dishes. The night I went they had specially made boar bratwurst by Grindhaus Sausage Truck served with highly addictive onion stout jam that I wanted to use on EVERYthing. There was also asparagus, French fries with potato aioli featuring bacon fat and roasted beets and tofu salad with Asian pear and honey sesame vinaigrette. There was talk about meatball skewers but unfortunately they were not yet available.

Beer Belly bar bites. Say that 5x fast.

The bar is actually set up looking more like a restaurant than a beer bar. There aren’t bar stools at the bar or high tops, mayhaps due to license restrictions, but there is a drink rail. And seating is restaurant style with table seating at a bench along the wall and a couple of tables by the front, floor-to-ceiling window. It’ll seat 35 comfortably but 50 folks can squeeze in.

The space, designed by MAKE Architecture (who did Bodega Wine Bar), is beautiful and modern what with three different stains of mahogany on the walls and even ceilings, a very shiny concrete floor. Outside, striking street art by MR44 wraps around the exterior.

Beer Belly definitely stands out in this area of Korean barbecue joints, mom and pop shops and karaoke studios. A good thing considering it’s located off the street, tucked in away off the main drag. Hopefully, since it’s in walking distance of the Wiltern, possesses its own parking lot and offers a such a well-done beer list, it’ll be a destination for beer connoisseurs. Add to that that Biergarten, home of the Glutster burger and a decent beer selection of its own, is just up the street (less than a mile away) and you’ve got yourself a nice little beer bar crawl.

More photos of Beer Belly after the jump.

Beer Belly
532 S Western Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90020 (map)
(213) 387-2337
Facebook: Beer Belly
Twitter: @BeerBelly_LA

Fast-food childhood revisited. (Sorry for the cellphone picture.)

Last night, I tried the Glutster for the first time and boy, delicious. The burger, not the blogger. The decadent burger was created by Biergarten chef Eddie Hah (formerly of 8 oz) as an ode to kid blogger (really, 22 years old) Glutster, who is well-known in the L.A. food blogging circles thanks to praise by Pulitzer Prize winner Jonathan Gold, Chef Ludo Lefebvre and the New Yorker, not to mention his basic ubiquity on the food scene via TV shows, blogs, newspapers, magazines.

So it makes sense that he gets a burger created for him. And not surprisingly, the Glutster burger is for the daring and the non-dieting as it’s made with a pork patty, chipotle black beans, epazote aioli, pickled onion, fried green tomato and guacamole. And delicate eaters can forget it as well. In other words, DO NOT order this on a first date as there’s no way you can get around the messy goodness of black beans and guacamole sauciness sliding all over the place. Even my boyfriend of many years raised an eyebrow as I went through three napkins, wiping up my chin and my fingers. “Don’t look at me, honey!”

Now, Glutster, aka Javier Cabral, prefers the burger with the pork patty but you can also order it with either a beef or a beef-pork blend patty. Neil, owner of Biergarten, said he likes it with beef. I ordered mine with the pork, only cuz I’m not a big beef eater.

Suffice it to say, great burger. Like it reminded Javier of his fast-food-driven childhood, it took me back to my favorite Carl’s Jr. burger while growing up. I don’t really remember its name, I think it had “California” in it. But it was made with a big chile and guacamole and it was sadly only available for a limited time. Sigh. But here again was that spiciness and the creamy guac, this time accompanied with a bit of tang from the pickled onion and even char on the pork! Almost tasted homemade.

I was very nearly able to enjoy it without the guilt that so often plagues my indulgences now that I’m an adult with sucky metabolism. Regardless, last night at Glutster’s party, where he was celebrating his cover story in this month’s Saveur Magazine, I enjoyed the burger with a La Fin du Monde followed by a Gnomegang. Take that, diet!

If you didn’t know better, you’d think that Biergarten in Koreatown was misplaced there on Western Avenue. I know I did when I first heard about it. After all, it’s not really a beer garden, nor do they have karaoke. While there is a selection of sake and wine, its main focus is on fine craft beer (about 20 on tap) with a variety of Korean-influenced pub grub.

David and Jo sitting in a tree.

Suffice it to say, even in this day and age of the pop-up, color me surprised and delighted when Bastide’s former chef Joseph Mahon and bad boy sommelier David Haskell (Bin 8945) took over the unlikely location. At $56 a person for the six-course dinner, plus another $54 if you wanted to do the wine-beer-sake pairing, this was clearly not the meal for the usual clientele of Biergarten, home of the free pitcher of PBR (with any entree order).

But it definitely was the place to be for food fans and food bloggers the night I went; by the way I was comped for my meal and pairing. And since most of us were already friends, the last night of the Magnum dinner pop-up felt like a private party.

There was the world-famous Jo of My Last Bite trading naughty witticisms with Haskell. The always sunny Nguyen Tran of Starry Kitchen wearing his “LA Street Food Fest” banana costume just because. Test Kitchen regular Rydka not sporting his camera for a change. Sam Kim “expediting” behind the scenes in the kitchen. Mr. Brian Salt’s Hair making the rounds with his good buddy Brian Saltsburg and Test Kitchen’s GM, Stephane Bombet. I saw The Minty on the other side of the room and Rachel of Chicks With Knives. And EstarLA holding court with Savory Hunter and the Starry Kitchen gang.

As the night wore on and we moved through each course and each pairing, the scene got more boisterous. Friends visiting each other’s tables, peeps loving Nguyen’s banana costume a bit too much and a whole lot of hugging.

Duck leg confit

What can we say, good food and drink make us food geeks happy. (Menu with pairings)

And say what you want about David Haskell (I’m just glad to currently be on his good side), but the man is a brilliant sommelier. The standout pairing for me was the coconut soup with the sake. “It’s got some bitterness at the back of the palate. The coconut soup thickens it up and rounds it out a little bit more. There’s star anise in this and I’m going to bring out all the star anise using the tapioca,” said David. It seemed an unlikely combination and yet was so magical together, the sake enhancing the soup’s flavors and vice versa. David came out before each course to pour and explain the pairing. For a wine newb person like myself, I appreciated the schooling, plus David is a hoot.

One of the most anticipated dishes of the evening was the fried chicken with bacon, radish, arugula, celery and buttermilk dressing. Although it didn’t steal that special place in my heart reserved for Chef Ludo’s succulent fried chicken, it still managed to elicit a few mmms from the crowd, especially when paired with the 2007 G. Moulinier “Les Sigillaires”: St. Chinian, France: Syrah/Grenache/Mouvedre which David explained is meant to evoke Christmas dinner (?) as it possesses notes of blueberry which echo that in the sauce. He even broke out the good silverware. “You’ve gotta go with bling-bling with fried chicken,” he said.

The one dish I didn’t go for was the gingerbread waffle. Since I’m currently on dessert strike for December, this was a big no no. True, my dining companion, David’s publicist Eddie Allen somehow convinced me that despite that dollop of creme fraiche, this was not dessert. “It’s breakfast!” he insisted.

Chef Joseph Mahon

Yet after that first bite which tasted of sugared doughnuts I immediately stopped myself. OK, after the second bite I stopped myself. Very sweet and didn’t really taste of gingerbread. As for its pairing with soju, apparently this didn’t go over so well with some of the other diners. David said he chose the soju, which he realizes is an acquired taste, because he felt that the gingerbread waffle with its churro-like sponginess would cut down the alcohol in half. And to taste the waffle first and take a sip of the drink would be akin to sipping on ginger-infused soju.

In any case, I loved the daring and variety of the dinner. We went from carrot pudding to three types of meat and ended on a unique dessert, while the wine pairing strayed into beer and sake territory. I was definitely not bored and always delighted.

If you’re bummed about missing this Magnum dinner, not to fret, David says he’s working on coming up with another pop-up soonish. Currently he’s looking at Cube, The Foundary on Melrose and Eva Restaurant as potential locations.