The bar is tucked away on Western Ave and is a bit hard to find. But once you're there, you'll be elated to know that they offer valet - something that is very important in this scarce parking area of Koreatown.
Beer Belly is snug and was rather empty at 6.30pm when we got there. However the hipster crowd started packing in at 8pm. You have to order your food and drinks from the bar, and the waiter will bring the food to your table.
For our beer sampler, the bartender helped us choose a balanced selection of Taps Cream Ale, Stone Vertical Epic Ale, Bootlegger's Chocolate Mint Porter and The Bruery Mischief.
Duck fat fries ~ Smoked Salt, Sweet Onion Sugar, Duck Skin Cracklins, Raspberry MustardThey also had an option to add duck confit for an extra $2. The fries were pretty darn good. They were crispy and a tad airy. I really enjoyed the crumbles of crunchy duck skin cracklins which tasted fatty and salty. The fries were served with a sweet fruity sauce which wasn't spicy. I thought the sweet sauce was an interesting and nice pairing to the fries.
Brussels Sprouts, Apple, Pancetta, OnionsThe slightly charred Brussels sprouts were dressed with a sweet and tangy apple sauce. The sprouts got its smokey and salty flavoring from the large chunk of lardons.
Duck Stewed Navy Beans, Duck Confit, Ground Lamb, Fried Pork Belly, CassouletWe were lucky to score the last cassoulet of the night. The cassoulet actually looked like baked polenta. The cassoulet was salty and somewhat creamy. The beans were a mixture of textures: some were mashed and some were firmer. I enjoyed the crispy fried skin and shredded pork belly that topped the dish. Overall a rich and satisfying dish with lots of meaty flavors.
Beer Belly is a great addition to the area. Don't get me wrong, I do like Korean BBQ and Soon Du Bu, but a cool bar serving good food and beer a couple blocks from the Wiltern is truly priceless. Their Sunday brunch menu sounds spectacular with dishes such as duck confit benedict and snickers pancakes. My only issue that night was that the bar area got real crowded, and since you have to head up to the bar for another round of drinks, the hassle of waiting behind a hoard of people while flagging down the one bartender was too much of a hassle on a weeknight. I ended up heading home for my last drink of the night.
Beer Belly
532 S. Western Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90020
(213) 387-2337
http://www.beerbellyla.com/
This isn't your typical Korean pub. It's not dark, dingy and smokey. In fact, it's modern and fits right in with the crop of gastropubs popping up all over town. The extensive list of European and American beers proves that this is a bar that wants to stands out in Koreatown. Owner Neil Kwon is really hoping to cater to everyone, not just Koreans. And you can see why. He himself seems to be a nice blend of Korean and American. He speaks perfect English, has big dreams for his bar, is well traveled and wants to share these experiences with everyone else. He wants to attract non-Koreans who are in search of good beer and food while at the same time, introducing and educating Koreans on such beers. He says that Koreans are slowly beginning to embrace this not-so-Korean bar. They are beginning to welcome Fat Tire into their drinking session. I also saw some patron begrudgingly but acceptingly step outside for a cigarette.
Large TVs make this place a good go-to spot for sporting events.
They offer over 25 beers on tap, from Belgium, Germany, Canada and the States. They are served in either a glass, stein and/or pitcher. They do offer Korean beer Hite but only on bottle. The prices were all very reasonable compared to other gastropubs.
We started with a Gouden Carolus and an Allagash White. I really enjoyed the Gouden Carolus which was so refreshing with a slightly sweet finish. Our waiter also brought by a basket of potato chips. Do not be fooled. These aren't Lays chips. They are homemade and pretty darn good.
Unfortunately after the hoards of Laker fans left after the game, they also depleted some of the beer options. My next beer was a Hoegarden in a huge goblet.
Fried chicken gizzards on a bed of pepper vinaigrette salad with citrus ponzu sauce
Spicy pork taco with kimchee salsa and for fusion sauce
Kings Hawaiian peanut butter sliders with seasoned patty, citrus peanut sauce, beer battered onion rings
They started the night with the mesmerizing Intro, track one on their debut album. If you don't know who they are, 
The restaurant is located in a small strip mall. Thankfully they have a valet, $1 with validation. It's tiny inside with about ten tables. Our party of eight took over a large part of the restaurant. It was empty when I arrived at 7pm but quickly filled up.
The menu's pretty simple with about 20 items. Unfortunately they do not serve alcohol and is not BYOB even though there's a liquor store next door. Kindda sucks because a beer would go well with all the meat we would be having. A brief menu research informed us that the must-get items were the beef short ribs and grilled mackerel.
Our waiter brought over banchan which included steamed egg, bean sprouts, kimchee, chap chae and spicy anchovies. I liked that they offered brown rice/purple rice with beans, this is LA after all.
Seafood soup with enoki mushrooms, mussels, octopus and tofu.
Braised mackerel simmered in a huge bowl with kimchee, daikon and bean paste. Mackerel is usually rather fishy so you have to expect that. The fish was tender and oily, and the sauce had robust flavors and was great on rice. The only issue I had was that there were too many bones in the fish which made it a very challenging task to eat.
Marinated spicy pork. This is my favorite dish at any Korean BBQ restaurant because the pork is usually tender and a little gristly. The pork was juicy and flavorful.
Steamed beef short ribs. Thick chunks which the waitress cut up into sizable portions with a scissors. The ribs were stewed in a sweet salty sauce and fell off the bone. The ribs had some fat and tendon pieces still attached which was my favorite part. The dish was so delicious that we ordered two more bowls. If it couldn't get any better, it seemed that the latter bowls tasted much better perhaps because the meats had been simmering for much longer.
My friend is a vegetarian so she ordered a vegetarian bibimbap. It looked good but GASP, it had beef in it. We returned it and within a couple minutes, a new bowl arrived. Suspicious. The bibimbap was not what we expected. There was no rice, let alone that nice crispy bottom layer of rice which is the best part of any bibimbap. Otherwise, the variety of vegetables and fried egg on top was lovely. After my friend almost finished the bowl, she found residue of beef. She didn't kick up a big fuss but I found it quite disheartening.
I liked how the skewers are the metal kind, not the flimsy wood ones that could potentially char up. Its DIY but the lady will help you if you don't know how to cook it. There is some procedure that goes into cooking. She used the bottom tier to cook the meat and turns the skewers from time to time, then moves them to the top tier to finish up. Thank goodness we had her to cook for us as I would have hated it if we had overcooked the meats.
Beer and ginseng wine. The wine was very sweet in a bad way (I cringed after my first taste), but after a feel glasses, you won't even notice.
They brought over an array of banchan consisting of egg custard, boiled peanuts, radish and some meat that tasted a bit like jerky.
Nothing special about the banchan. Wish they had more items such as kimchee and jap chae but you can't complain because it's free.
Mutton kebab (10 sticks per order)
Chicken (10 sticks per order)
Spicy eggplant, similar to the kind you could find in Chinese restaurants. The eggplant was cooked perfectly, a bit on the softer side.
The scallion pancakes were a bit thicker than some of the better ones I've had but it was still good in my books. Served with a spicy dipping sauce.
The filling tasted like that of a XLB but the wrapper was more like a char siew bao. Personally, I prefer the delicate, thinner XLB skin as this version was too filling. Why fill up on starch when you have organ meats awaiting you.
Chicken hearts (5 sticks per order)
The star of the night, the bulls penis. One order is only a stick (I guess they figure you don't need 10 sticks of this).
Honestly I was a bit disappointed with this skewer, we all were. Not to sounds crass, but I was expecting a schlong, not something that was sliced thin and translucent. The pieces were tiny and definitely didn't feel like the "star" of the night. It tasted like cartilage which is not a bad thing, but I suppose we were expecting something similar in texture to gizzard or heart, and the size of a johnsonville.
Lastly, we ordered the Fake Dog. Yes, it's fake, don't shudder.
Our waitress said that it was pigs heart but it didn't taste like that at all. Perhaps there was some communication breakdown, which is very likely. Half of a piece that I examined looked like brisket because it was shredded, while the other half had a muscular texture which could very well have been heart. The meat was also smothered with a spicy sauce that overpowered everything. The dish was interesting but I wouldn't bother ordering it again.
The restaurant is located in Chapman Market in Koreatown, a historical cobble stoned complex that houses retails stores and restaurants. They offer valet ($2 with validation) which is a good thing since parking can be a hassle in the area. 
It's clean and well lit inside the restaurant. Each table was fitted with a grill and the ventilation seemed pretty good.
We started with some cold Korean beer. The menu is pretty simple; you can choose the small/medium/large platters for $39.99/$59.99/$99.99. We went with the medium platter since there were four of us. There were a couple other items on the ala carte menu but since our waiter barely spoke English, we had a hard time inquiring about them.
There was a raw egg concoction that cooked into a custard after it was set on the grill for about ten minutes. The egg custard was simple but well seasoned. There was also a tray of spicy rice cakes with seafood and cheese that slowly warmed up on the grill until the cheese melted and created a gooey layer over the chewy rice cakes. I liked the interesting texture of the dish and the spiciness. It reminded me of ddukbokki which is a spicy Korean rice cake and fish cake dish.
Seafood porridge/congee and salad. The porridge conjured up childhood memories at the table. It was simple and had a mild seafood flavor. Not sure what was in it but it tasted a bit like scallops.
Hard boiled quail eggs, edamame and vegetables.
Green lipped mussels in broth.
Finally, our waiter took some residual clam juice and poured it over rice. This was my favorite because it was so flavorful and spicy. It was a tiny portion, literally enough to fill a clam shell. I would have loved to have had my own clam shell rice, instead of having to share. I wonder if you could request refills on banchan like you are able to at most Korean BBQ joints.
I watched drooling as the various seafood cooked, wondering when it would be done. Don't worry, he'll let you know when each of the items are ready. Trust him, he has obviously been doing this for some time.
Our waiter then skillfully pulled out the edible parts from the shell, cut the meat up into pieces and reassembled them back on the shells. He also made sure to top off the pieces with juices that were collected in the shells. The scallops were tiny but absolutely tender and sweet. The octopus was good too with tentacles and all.
One of my favorites was the clams and conch. It was a nice contrast between the tender clams and the chewy conch. I loved the conch which tasted like a cross between snails and cockles. All the seafood was cooked perfectly and didn't need any seasoning besides its own briny juice. This preparation really captures the essence of seafood and is really all you need.
Prawns were steamed in tin foil then placed on the grill to finish off. They were sweet and not rubbery. I like prawns served whole as it keeps all the juices in and I also love sucking out those fishy prawn brains :)
We each got our own Grilled Oyster which was plump and juicy. I don't think I've ever had grilled oysters before and I have to say that I preferred this to fresh oysters because it was served warm, was dense and not slippery like fresh oysters, yet it still had a strong seafood flavor.
The soup was a light broth and was soothing and perfect for a cold winter night. There were a couple clams in the bowl.