Service and Wait Time: Great service with informed wait time that you could take up to 15 minutes.
Rating
The Sam Scale: 8
The Charles Meter: Would Eat Here Again
Belly Bombz and the Ingenuity of Fusion
I remember during my first few weeks in college, a couple of friends and I on a job hunting spree went to the food court exhausted and hungry. We went to Kyo Chon, a place of Korean Wings and other delicacies. Knowing the guy over there also went to the same college, it is no surprise we ended up eating there. He won us over saying with full pride in his uniform and braces, “Dude, yo, man, when it comes to Korean wings – they’re better than other wings out there”
Something about what he said about Korean wings came back when about a year later, my girlfriend and I are at Belly Bombz, a new Wings and Sliders restaurant in Artesia, CA. Knowing that it was wings, I was more than ready to take on what they had in store. I love eating wings, sometimes more than I can possibly chew, and eat the rest of those the day after. My girlfriend recently heard about the place through her cousin, who has been there with her mom dozens of times. Unlike me, what won her was their other beast in the cage – their famous grave infested poutine.
Coming there a few weeks since their grand opening, the place was packed (albeit the place was a little small). As you come in, you are greeted with a mixture of aromas different than you would expect out of a sports bar; you are instead welcomed to a world where you are ready to relax with friends and be immersed in an ambiance of urban spunk and a little bit of a Seattle’s cafe charm. The result – a surprisingly amazing dining experience that dabbles with the word, “Fusion.”
DETONATING THE BOMBZ
We sat down and were greeted by one of their servers. Our server sat on the opposite end (Sam and I sat on the comfy booths at the edges) explaining to us their system of pricing; you order a certain number of wings, and any succeeding order becomes a few dollars less. Pretty fair, and so we decided to order a few pieces of their Spicy Garlic Parmesan and their Firecracker wings, and Crispy Pork Belly Slider each. We also tried their Garlic and Thyme fries (something we do not forget, especially when Sam knows there are fries being served in the restaurant), and Sam ordered one of their hard ciders to compliment the experience.
Waiting for the food, I decided to observe more of the area. The chalk board showing the wide breadth of drinks they offer at the place was decorated with cafe-style typography. Adding to that cafe feel are the incandescent lights that are bare and hang above your table. Away from that style are the marble black tables and flooring that gives a very urban feel to the area. Seeing Belly Bombz in that type of font also contributes to the urban feel, and of course the televisions that feature Sports to give the “Sports Bar” feel. The red walls and booths really make a statement that the food will not only be delicious, it is meant to blow your mind. At a glance and even by its depiction, it is fusion at its most peculiar, at its most unusual and unexpected, and yet it works. It sounds like a mess, but being inside gives you a certain feeling of not just comfort, but awe, building the anxiety for your food to come.
EXPLOSIVE CUISINE
And wow, did the food not disappoint.
The fries came in such a nice display, that our first instinct was, “Did we just order that? That’s your fries? That’s a lot of fries.” The combination of thyme and garlic gave the fries a very smooth and savory seasoning, and the addition to add Parmesan was a blessing in disguise. What was even better was the addition of the special sauce along with the ketchup that you can dip your fries on. The special sauce had a garlic taste that kicks in with a spicy aftertaste. You felt resolved just eating this alone and leaving the vicinity satisfied.
Then, like a B-horror movie, the beasts came out of the door.
Our orders of Firecracker and Spicy Garlic Parmesan came in a platter made from heaven. The wings were sprinkled with sesame seeds and onion leaks, and in the middle, a centerpiece of coleslaw that made the order feel sacred. Sam and I sat there, debating whether to touch it or not. She took a picture. The sliders came in. Even more coleslaw, this time added with pork belly (Sam’s personal favorite in any Korean place), and it was this reminded me that we were in a fusion food place. What was an illusion that was mesmerizing went from great to better knowing the place went full circle – you are in Belly Bombz, and they were ready to make your mind blown.
We finally decided to eat our first few pieces of wings, together of course. She took a Firecracker, I took a Garlic Parmesan, and I could not really remember how fast time went as we began devouring just about everything in our table. The wings looked nice enough as it is, but the spectacle of flavors it delivers as you eat them made it even more glorious. The Spicy Garlic Parmesan gave a good balance between tasteful, spicy and downright rife with attitude. Our contender, the Firecracker, is much like how that flavor is made in other Asian places, but with the Belly Bombz specialty of smooth classy cafe feel and a knock-your-socks-off spicy. Regardless of flavor, all of the wings were juicy and well-cooked on the inside that the meat practically fell of the bone, resolving your venture with each wing. The sliders also did not disappoint. In a place where Korean Barbeque was practically in every corner, the Pork Belly Slider is a welcome addition in their menu. To describe it in a way that would give analog to a KBBQ experience, it is like ordering the Pork Belly, cooking it, grabbing the salad and jamming it in your mouth. It sounds like a mess, but Belly Bombz has made it feel like it needs to be a must whenever you are at their place, maybe even something to make at the comfort of your own home!
STILL TRUCKIN' ALONG
While wing places like Wing Stop and Buffalo Wild Wings are there to be the hub for many to eat their wings and watch the game (whichever it may be), you definitely come to Belly Bombz for the food. This then hits some minor critiques for me – are the TV’s necessary? Of course wings become a necessity when watching sports at home or outside, so it is no question to add it in there. Or perhaps, maybe it is something to question. The food is charming and is beautifully made in such a peculiar yet aesthetic way; does one even have time to watch the game when you are in love with the food?
Perhaps if we are talking about critical points, there is a definitive feel about the food that lingers in your dining experience – it feels like food truck food. That is of course no wonder, seeing Belly Bombz began as a food truck business travelling around Los Angeles. It is not to say that food trucks are bad in any way at all, but it is very distinctive compared to many businesses that purely cater to the dining experience. Belly Bombz is however on the right track with treating its customers well inside the dining experience, and I hope to see more of the feeling dissipate, or maybe perhaps become something better.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I should take my friend here some time and see what he thinks about the food. The people of Belly Bombz definitely did something to not just spice up the formula with their wings and various food entrees, but ultimately bring something new and amazingly gorgeous to look at in the table. You are in for a fusion roller coaster ride when the food and the place come full circle, and I only hope for the people of Belly Bombz to continue forward. If you are looking for a place with your friends and would like to eat an amazing fusion of delicacies, Belly Bombz should be on your places to eat before or after work or study.
NOTE
You are probably wondering where is the poutine in all of this conundrum. Unfortunately for our time, we did not order it, and it was good that did not at the time. The food was amazingly filling that ordering the poutine would have just killed us. We did however ask what their poutine looked like. It was served in a big platter (About twice the size of the platter that carried the wings) filled with fries, garlic and thyme and served with gravy poured on top the amazing concoction. At some time, Sam and I will venture back again to give you all our take on the beast.
