Cake and Commerce

urbanbelly, Chicago IL: "Pan-Asian" through the personal lens of Chef Bill Kim

A photographer from RedEye capturing a few 'candids' for the paper

In the middle of a residential area in an unremarkable strip mall on Chicago's near northwest side, Chicagoans Bill and Yvonne Kim, along with Bill's brother Mike, have just opened up urbanbelly, a casual 40-seat BYOB storefront restaurant focusing on the flavors of East and Southeast Asia as filtered through Bill's experiences cooking at fine restaurants throughout the US.

To call urbanbelly "Pan-Asian" and to stop there is to miss something very important: urbanbelly isn't a typical Pan-Asian restaurant. There's no attempt on the chef's part to replicate authentically the dishes of a large and diverse region of the world. Rather he takes ideas, methods, and preparations from Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese cuisines and combines them with his own unique culinary sensibility from years spent in, among other places, the kitchens at Charlie Trotter's and Susanna Foo, as well as at his own place in Doylestown, PA. It is a deeply personal style of cooking and cuisine.

The restaurant has four tables, each with seating for ten. This view, above, is exactly what you would see were you walking in the door on a late afternoon in the summer, as the windows face west. Before you sit, you order your lunch/snack/dinner at the counter at the back of the restaurant, take a number and then find a seat.

When the restaurant is busy, as it has been and inevitably will become more so as soon as the restaurant is discovered (it has only been open a week), Yvonne Kim breaks into crowd control and management, something I don't think she really had to deal with for the 6 years she worked front of the house at the Michelin-starred Restaurant Daniel in New York.

Chef Bill has a view of the restaurant from his window by the counter, where he expedites all the orders.

His wife Yvonne is running around the front of the house, greeting everyone and making sure guests have water and silverware and chopsticks and know how to order. She's got a lot of energy. She has to. She's working at least 12 hours a day 6 days a week.

What I'm going to tell you next is absurd and almost embarrassing: I've been to urbanbelly 5 times since they opened 5 days ago. Why? I've been craving the food Chef Bill makes all my life. I was raised on dim sum Sundays and Japanese cuisine and added Vietnamese, Thai and Korean cuisines to my diet when I was in college. Chef Bill's cuisine hits almost every comfort zone in my brain and belly and I feel deeply satisfied after a meal there. The menu is limited - right now there are (luckily) only 15 items on the menu and I've tried every single one. I've loved 13 of the 15 dishes I've tasted - that's an 86.7% hit rate, great by any measure. And I'll admit - the two dishes that I won't order again weren't failures, I just generally don't enjoy (to my palate) overly sweet sauces. I find they dominate the rest of the dish too much.

Between my last visit on Thursday with a gang of hungry eaters and my visit tonight (!!!) with Evan Debacle and the great camera, we managed to get a few photos of some of my favorite things to eat there.

And now...the menu in photos:

#11 Udon: Shrimp, Vietnamese Coriander and Sweet Chili Lime Broth $13

See the small brown balls garnishing the dish? House-made fish balls those are. Mmmm.

#12 Urbanbelly Ramen: Pork Belly, Shiitake and Pho Broth  $13

Did you ever see Tampopo? This is precisely the dish you want by your side when you take in a bit of Juzo Itami. Sure the broth isn't a ramen broth, but the pho spices are subtle, vibrant, and addictive.

#13 Somen: Mussels, Chinese Black Beans and Young Coconut Broth $11

I love shellfish. I love coconut. And I love this dish. 

#18 Wrinkle Beans $4

Photo by Evan.

They're beans, fried until wrinkly but not crunchy. Not too spicy. But flavored just right.The beans change depending on what is available.

#19 Chinese Eggplant with Thai Basil $5

This has been far and away one of the most universally loved dishes at urbanbelly. The eggplant is cooked perfectly - it is tender yet soft and melts in the mouth. The flavor is bright and acidic and slightly sweet and savory. The crunchy fried shallots add a nice counterpoint and the fresh herb brings out the fragrance of the dish.

#16 Seasonal kimchi $4

It changes from day to day. Today it was made from nappa cabbage, I think.

#2 Lamb and Brandy Dumplings $8

Photo by Evan

Steamed lamb dumplings with brandy and edamame. The filling was more subtle than other dumplings on the menu. They're good, but not quite as show stopping as the other dumplings.

#4 Duck and Pho Dumplings $8

Photo by Evan

Rich, crisp wontons filled with Duck spiced with star anise, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and a host of other things I can't even begin to guess are a crunchy, meaty treat that I've sampled 4 of the 5 times I've visited. Not one for fried dumplings, I find these delicious. But I love duck.

#9 Phat Rice $9

This is rice with the works. Short Rib, pork belly, pineapple, scallion, pea shoots and Thai basil have never tasted so good together. The first few times I tried it, it was either too salty or too limey. Today is was perfect. One of the best versions of fried rice I've tasted.

#5 Pork & Cilantro Dumplings $7

Do you know why these dumplings are so good? Because they come with a garnish of wrinkle beans, that's why. I have yet to taste these, but my pork-loving friends tell me that the cilantro is the perfect counterpoint to the pork.

I think the most common misconception of urbanbelly given its location and style of service and type of cuisine, will be that it is trying to be authentically Asian, whatever that means. I think to some that means 'cheap'. To others that means 'just like my momma made'. It isn't the case on either count. The food is gorgeous, made from great ingredients and carries a price that reflects that quality and effort. Perhaps Chef Bill and Yvonne need to call out their effort a little more to manage expectations a little better. Then again, if they don't, there's more for me and my friends.

urbanbelly / Urban Belly
3053 N California Ave
Chicago,IL 60618
(773) 583-0500

Comunidad Benedicion de Dios, San Salvador

On our second day in El Salvador, our co-host (and El Mundo and Miami Herald stringer photographer) Ethan James took us to a squatter community called Comunidad Benedicion de Dios. The settlement began in December of '07 and according to Ethan it has grown dramatically every time he's gone back to see it. The squatters chose an unoccupied but privately owned parcel of land for their settlement. And that's not sitting well with the local government.

A sign, spray painted on to a bed sheet, welcomes you to the community:

Apparently the city government will not provide services to the residents of the community as it would signal that they approve of the illegal 'seizure' of the land. As a result, there is no water, no sewage - there are no services of any kind. Ethan asked a resident how she gets water. "A water truck comes and sells us water," she said.

The residents of the community didn't used to be homeless. A succession of natural disasters - earthquakes and high-power, destructive winds - destroyed the homes of many. Since the government did not provide shelter or aid, many found themselves squatting, here, in the shadows of large homes and volcanic hills.

The homes are simple. Bamboo or wood branches act as supports for cardboard boxes, plastic tarps, old vinyl billboards and what little corrugated tin residents can scare up. The lodgings are primitive at best, with dirt floors, no plumbing, and kitchens that are little more than a grill placed over a fire:

Most of the structures look like they could be easily blown down by the big bad wolf. This one has street names on it, so people can find their way around the community.

This one, perched atop a small hill, is made from old billboards, TV boxes, and bamboo:

This one has a slanted roof and a tarp secured on the roof for some rain protection. Right now is the dry season, so residents don't have to worry about rain. Come May, the rains come at night, likely destroying much of the structural integrity of the homes.

In front of the community's "store", a little boy helps his grandmother find choice branches. The bamboo is long gone.

This house even has an address:

This house uses the side of a hill for its fourth wall:

All of the cardboard comes from grocery stores - grocery stores selling products that residents can likely not afford.

The community does have a president, who is their de facto spokesman. Ethan took his picture and told him he would come back in a few days to interview him. I'm sure Ethan took some incredible photos - if I can find his work, I'll link it here.

The president is the man with the spray-painted dot on his hat:

While we were there, the ice cream man came by with his cart. As we walked by he was thronged by young girls, clamoring for an icy treat. They laughed at us as we walked down the 'street' and giggled as they ran by us later.

For other minor necessities, there is a small store in the community. This one sells bread - both the sweet and not-sweet versions.

We left in a hurry after we noticed a man eying us from a hilltop. As we walked toward our car, Ethan noticed a photographer from another paper, coming in with his camera to take shots of the community. Scooped - by just a few days. I left feeling terrible. These people were desperately poor and had no resources to provide the most basic of basic necessities for themselves - shelter. And here we were, rich Americans (relatively), taking pictures of their homes - in my case for my blog - and then going back to our lush compound where we had everything. The poverty is staggering.

Unless you are a corporate American, "Ideation" is just another stupid coinage

I was in my first year of business school when I heard the term "ideation" used. A large group of my classmates were attending an open house at Quaker Oats, now a division of Pepsi, at their downtown Chicago headquarters. On a tour of their building they showed us colorfully decorated rooms filled with baubles and toys and draped with gaudy colored cloth. Apparently this is how grown-ups spur the imagination: they put on stupid hats and play with Mr. Potatohead while whirling around with scarfs. This struck me as bizarre and artificial, and maybe even a slight bit embarrassing.

After the tour we gathered in our main meeting room and each of us -- and there 100 of us there -- participated in an exercise in which we picked up, what, some toilet paper and a clothes hanger, and talked about we thought they could be used for, other than as toilet paper and a clothes hanger. "I can wrap myself up as a mummy and still get radio reception!" one girl exclaimed.

I remember calling my friend Carol up and telling her how stupid I thought the concept of canned creativity was, and that the word "ideation" was another example of what was wrong with corporate America. Why was it so important to get creative around clothes hangers and toilet paper? Wasn't asking so many incredibly uncreative people to "think outside the box" (UGH!) just a futile exercise in regressing to the mean (definition: "things evening out" - basically any great ideas will be masked by the bulk of the boring ideas, which would fill most of a bell curve...but you don't need to know that, do you)? How do you sift through 98 bad ideas to find the 2 that are actually worth exploring? If you are corporate America, you test the idea with consumers...but what do they know about what they don't know that they want?

At that moment I declared myself a "canned creativity-free autonomous zone". I would never, ever, ever participate in an ideation again (this reminds me of foreshadowing, which I learned about in the eighth grade while reading Dickens in my "honors" English class...something about footsteps in the streets of London. Actually, it is more likely irony).

Fast forward to 2006.

Ideation is my life. And I don't think it is stupid anymore.

How did this happen?

And what the hell is this about?

(This is the stuff of ideation. Not funny hats, sheer scarves, modular toys or disco dance breaks. In a food company, when you get creative about food, it is a good idea to have food as your inspiration. Duh).

Over the last few years I've participated in an increasingly large number of ideation sessions. Some have been gala affairs lasting a couple days at offsite locations ostensibly chosen for their freedom from distraction. Other sessions have been low-key two hour brainstorming meetings in an available conference room. The quality of ideas seems not be related to the money spent but the participants' preparation (or, in adult speak, "pre-work" -- to call it "homework" or "preparation" would be too much for people who equate homework with enrollment in a degree program). The idea is that good ideas are out there and can be harnessed by a good facilitator and a group of area experts. Conventional wisdom says that teams are always more powerful than the individual but I do not always find this to be true in creative activities. If the ideation itself doesn't bury a great idea under a volume of not-so-great ideas, concept testing with consumers can also permanently put it to rest. I'm not in love with concept testing -- how can I, as a consumer, tell you that I think some product that you describe to me in writing is something I want or not? I can think of a number of examples of movies that sounded ridiculous when my sister described them to me (The Crying Game, Blue Velvet) but were very entertaining. What if David Lynch concept tested his scripts? What if art were only produced by market research? I'm not saying that supermarket food is art, but there is a measure of creativity involved, both in concepting and selling it. Large groups aren't always ideal.

Recently I went to San Francisco for an ideation at the Center for Culinary Development (CCD). I expected it to be held in a state-of-the-art kitchen (although I'm not sure why, as the kind of ideation I was attending was idea-generating, not prototype developing). Instead when I arrive I was led to a party room on the ground level of a tony apartment building on the edge of Telegraph Hill and a stone's throw from North Beach and Fisherman's Wharf.

They had strategically placed bowls of candy and trail mix and bottles of water and soda around the room. Not exactly 'brain food' but at 3 pm it sure helps fight the need for a nap.

CCD assembled five chefs from their Chef's Council to assist our group in our ideation. We brought 12 of our own people and there were three people from CCD there. Twenty of us sat in a circle and each chef explained a creation she had made to the group and how it fit into the theme we were investigating for a new product. The chef brought enough for each of us to sample some. We then brainstormed around the ideas behind the sample -- cooking method, others foods in the same category (I can't be more specific about any of these things as these are all potential new products), day parts (time of day for the product to be eaten. Examples are breakfast, AM snack, lunch, PM snack, supper) etc. We repeated this exercise for each of the chefs, each of whom brought a different set of skills and culinary expertise. We had a specialist who focused on India, another with a background in East Asian cooking, and three consultants who had spent many years in foodservice before leaving the restaurant kitchen for development work. They stayed with our group until lunch while we further refined their ideas. After lunch we continued to break down ideas and place them into thematic buckets. By the end of the day we had 10 distinctive concepts that were developed enough to show to consumers and discuss in focus groups. The efficiency of the meeting (it lasted no more than 8 hours and instantly produced 10 good concepts) was a significant contrast with almost all the others I had attended. Although more expensive (flying members of the team to San Francisco on top of running the ideation and concept writing) it was more efficient and faster than anything I had previously attended.

I liked how they ran it. And to think, I was beginning to give up on ideations.

Coming soon to a gourmet shop near you...

OK, this report is a little late in coming - the Fancy Food Show ended more than a month ago. I went, I saw, I reported to the folks at the Home Base. I usually don't go to the Winter Show (the Summer Show, in NYC, is 2x larger) but thanks to work I was able not only to go to the show but to eat a few very good meals.

Take a breath, get your mouse ready, because there are a lot of links here:

Fancy Food Show Notes Winter 2006

San Francisco

The Winter Fancy Food show featured much of the same items and vendors as always with the addition of a few new – and significant – exhibitors. Spices, bottled sauces and condiments, tea, coffee, chocolates, fair trade, olive oils, upscale convenience foods, ready-to-use upscale pie fillings, sea salt, and many ready-to-drink beverages were featured prominently. Ethnic Foods, Bold Flavors, Nostalgia Packaging, Unusual Ingredients, All-Natural, Anti-Oxidants, Indulgence and Upscale Convenience etc were trends seen in abundance. The world seems condiment crazy right now.

Design: Simplicity is in! Bright splashes of color, elegance, and a clear message was on display throughout the show, from Stirrings Cocktail mixers (www.stirrings.com) to China Blue Sauces (www.chinablue.com) to Tulocay’s

Napa

Valley

(www.madeinnapavalley.com) to David Rio (www.davidrio.com). Terra Medi (www.terramedi.com) , a line of Greek products, features eye-catching designs that reference its use of olives in all of its products. Retro products and packaging was also popular – but no one era figured more prominently than another. Some products referenced the 50s, others the 60s, and some were throwbacks to the early 20^th century in choice of design motifs.

Chocolate: Chocolate is everywhere, and no where does it figure more prominently than at the Fancy Food Show. Independents and Corporate-owned boutique brands competed for attention. For the first time, Godiva (www.godiva.com) exhibited at the show with its range of Platinum and Green specialty chocolates. Nearby, Hershey-owned Scharffenberger (www.scharffenberger.com ) and Joseph Schmidt (www.josephschmidtconfections.com ) had colorful busy booths.

There are two trends in chocolate right now vying for attention: single-varietal chocolates and chocolate infused with savory flavors. Domori (www.domori.com) , El Rey (www.elreychocolate.com) ,  Valrhona (www.valrhona.com) , E. Guittard (www.guittard.com) were just a few of the companies offering chocolates by varietal. Infused chocolates – chocolates flavored with spices such as cumin, curry, chilies, tea, coffee, anise, lavender, thyme, green tea, jasmine, pink peppercorn, etc. Companies such as Michael Recchiuti (www.recchiuti.com) as well as Godiva and Joseph Schmidt are showing chocolates filled with infused ganache. Chocolate tiles are also infused. Dolfin, (www.dolfin.be/cadreinterneuk.htm) a Belgian company, offers many infused flavors in their products. “Maya” seems to be the buzzword for a number of chocolate companies, including Chuao (www.chuaochocolatier.com). “Aztec” is also used by some companies, including Jacques Torres, (www.mrchocolate.com) who was not at the show. There were two other unusual chocolates: one from Poco Dolce (www.pocodolce.com) , that was dusted with sea salt, and an Italian import that was filled with Gorgonzola cheese!

Upscale Entrees: Although Fancy Food is not a frozen show, there were a few exhibitors selling ready-to-eat entrees and hors d’oeuvres. A British company, Entrée (www.entreefoods.com) , was showing off simple heat-and-eat high-end cheese snacks. Another new exhibitor was Veroli, who showed off a line of frozen lasagnas, cannelloni, manicotti, eggplant parmigiana, and meatballs in elegant packaging.

Ethnic Foods: Indian foods were fairly prominent at the show. Ethos (www.goingnative.com) had a line of four heat-and-eat Indian, Sri Lankan, Nepalese, and Thai entrees. Tandoor Chef displayed a line of made-in-the USA Indian snacks and entrees. Maya Kaimal (http://www.mayakaimal.com/) had her four Indian simmer sauces on display as well. The best “Ethnic” flavors, however, were found in sauces, rubs, and spices. China Blue (www.chinablue.com) had by far the best breadth and depth of Asian-themed sauces. Kikkoman (www.kikkoman.com) had new products in updated packaging. A number of independent companies also displayed ginger marinades, miso sauces, and curry base.

Speaking of Sauces: There seemed to be a proliferation of sauces, dressings, vinegars, and oils. China Blue made a splash with their elegant bottles of Shanghai-inspired sauces. Their selection ranged from Shanghai Peanut to Honey Chili to Citrus Mango, Sweet Soy, Sesame Soy, Tangy Ginger, Sweet Anise, Black Bean, and Spicy Chili Bean. Steven Raichlen (www.bestofbarbecue.com ) , the BBQ Guru, presented an extensive line of rubs, brines, and sauces. This year his group debuted a rub made with instant iced tea. Tulocay’s (www.madeinnapavalley.com) featured a number of herb rubs and dry marinades, including Mystic Moroccan, Miguel’s Mexican Fiesta, Asian Accents, and Mediterranean Medley. Wet marinades included Korean Soy-Ginger, Thai Basil, Chimi Churri, Shanghai Tangerine Sauce, Yucatan with Chiles & Citrus, and Baja with Chiles & Lime. Frontera (www.fronterakitchens.com) introduced Texas Black Pepper BBQ Sauce. They also featured Original Sweet and Smoky, Roasted Chipotle Pineapple, Chipotle Honey Mustard, and New Mexico Red Pepper-Sesame. The Girl and the Fig (www.thegirlandthefig.com) featured flavored sea salts and a Fennel Citrus House blend seasoning for use directly on meats or as a brine. Mark and Stephen’s (www.markandstephens.com) had a selection of interesting mustards and jams. They showed Ancho Chili Jalapeno Mustard, Wasabi-Lime Mustard, and Horseradish Mustard. Terrapin Ridge (www.terrapinridge.com) had all of their sauces and dressings available in squeeze bottles. Flavors were broad and varied – from Asian to Mediterranean to Moroccan to Mexican. Kikkoman has also jumped into Pan-Asian Sauces. They debuted Black Bean Sauce, Hoisin Sauce, Plum Sauce, Thai Chili Sauce, and upscale Teriyaki Sauces. NoMU, (www.nomu.co.za ) a South African Company, had a line of innovative spice rubs. Products included Egyptian Dukkah, a spice blend for bread, Peri-Peri Dry Rub, Moroccan Dry Rub, Tandoori Dry Rub, Masala Dry Rub, and Curry Dry Rub. Angelo Pietro (www.pietrousa.com) had four simple dressings that are favorites in Japan and are considered versatile enough to be used as ingredients in center-of-the-plate proteins. The flavors were Soy Sauce, Sesame and Miso, Ginger, and Tom Douglas (www.tomdouglas.com ), the Seattle-based

chef, featured eight spice rubs at his booth. Highlights included Spicy Tokyo Rub, Chinese 12 Spice Rub, and Bengal Masala Rub. One of the more interesting products was from Flavor Magic (www.flavormagic.net ), who have been selling their products exclusively on QVC. They manufacture sheets of herb and spice mixes. When a wet protein is placed on the sheet, the water releases the spices from the sheet and evenly coats the meat. They market it as a convenience for flavoring food with minimal work.

Peanut Butter? Yes, Peanut Butter. Peanut Better, Inc (www.peanutbetter.com) markets a line of 12 different peanut butters, categorized by Savory, Sweet, and Mixed Nuts. Thai Ginger and Red Pepper Peanut Butter was snappy and spicy, Spicy Southwestern would taste great in a sandwich. Other flavors include Onion Parsley, Rosemary Garlic, Hickory Smoked, Peanut Praline, Vanilla Cranberry, Cinnamon Currant, Deep Chocolate and Sweet Molasses.

Non-Alcoholic Beverages: Tea and Soda were the real news at the show and Coffee and Juice were less prominent.  Jones Soda (www.jonessoda.com) , who have shocked the world with their bizarre holiday packs featuring, among other things, Gravy Flavored Soda, showed off imaginative new all-natural RTD Teas. GuS (Grown-up Soda, www.drinkgus.com ) presented Sodas flavored with Star Ruby Grapefruit, Dry Meyer Lemon, Dry Crimson Grape, Dry Valencia Orange, Dry Cranberry Lime, and Extra Dry Ginger Ale. Their sodas are served at some fine dining restaurant and are formulated less sweet than traditional fruit sodas. Ito-En (www.itoen.com ) is pushing the healthful qualities of their green tea products. Sencha Shot contains 5x the anti-oxidants in regular RTD green tea. Teas’ Tea line is a 12-SKU strong RTD line with White Tea, Green Tea and Mugi Tea. Izze ( www.izze.com ) showed off their line of grown-up Soda, which includes Pomegranate, Clementine, Lemon, Pear and Blackberry. Hot Tea companies were in profusion. Mighty Leaf Tea (www.mightyleaf.com ), Republic of Tea (www.republicoftea.com ), Teaology, Adagio Tea, Boston Tea Co, Harney and Sons, Teance, Tempest Tea, Stash Tea, Tea Forte, Red & Green Company, Numi Teas, Honest Tea, Revolution Tea, Two Leaves and A Bud and a dozen or so other tea companies were at the show, all with similar items. One company, Tzu The, (www.tzu-the.com ) showed a single-serve tea diffuser that can be reused. 

http://www.specialtyfood.com/do/fancyFoodShow/LocationsAndDates

The next show is in Chicago, May 7-9

Welcome to Cake and Commerce

  So what's the point? Why bother with yet another blog about food when just about everyone else is doing it too? My intention was never to start a food blog, although all I have been doing for the last ten years is food. Not writing, but doing: cooking, buying, tasting, importing, contemplating, managing, growing. So far not too special, right? There are tons of people out there who cook and write, or who write and cook, or who do any number of other food things that make them expert at something.

But I've got this really cool job now where I spend the bulk of my day reading food and food industry magazines and writing about what I read. Sometimes in a powerpoint, sometimes in a newsletter. Every day I come across information that interests me but doesn't have a place at work. Hence the blog...a place to post all those things that just don't seem to fit in.