INSIDE: Belly's

Get your fill of beer, burgers and even fried eggs at new sports lounge

By Ellen Fox

11/10/03

If you like sports but think you've outgrown sports bars, try Belly's, a loungy-yet-masculine addition to one of Lincoln Avenue's emptier stretches. On one hand, there's afternoon football, cans of swill and Golden Tee; on the other hand, high ceilings, hip-hop and a martini menu.

The name: The owners settled on the name of their new place by concluding that everything "ends up in your belly."

Decor: Gone is the curious, swerving metallic facade that once marked the entrance to the space's former tenant, Technicolor Kitchen. In its place is an airy bank of glass-paned French doors (which open onto the street) and a gilded, fat-lettered sign. The only evidence of its predecessor is a couple of mod windows in the doorway.

Up front are clusters of high wooden tables and chairs, which look out onto the bleak-but-busy Lincoln-Ashland-Belmont intersection. A long bar shares the room with banquette seating across the way, while farther back, behind some artfully shambled bricks, is another, smaller bar.

Crowd: First-time partner Mike Bisbee, 26, hopes to woo twenty- and thirty-something professionals, like the legions of fellow Bradley University alums who packed the place on opening weekend.

On tap: Eight taps deliver domestic and imported beer. Miller Lite drafts are $3.50; Guinness is $5. The tall glass coolers behind the bar also stock a range of brews, from cans of Pabst and Schlitz ($2.50) to Grolsch pop-tops ($6). A martini menu is on its way. Eats: Paninis, burgers and customized deli sandwiches, all priced under $9. Anything can be topped with a fried egg for $2 more. Why a fried egg? "Because we like it. It's just our thing," Bisbee says.

Sounds: DJs crank out hip-hop, pop, rock and soul Thursdays through Saturdays; otherwise there's a jukebox filled with classic rock and pop. Hopefully they'll learn to keep the treble turned down; opening weekend was an ear-splitter.

Bottom line: Belly's feels like a male college grad's first condo: conscientiously decorated, but with lots of TVs and beer.

Belly's, 3210 N. Lincoln Ave. 773-525-3632.

Ellen Fox is a metromix special contributor.

Originally published Nov. 5, 2003.