How Urbanbelly, a pioneer of modern Asian cooking, changed the way Chicagoans eat ...Middle East

I remember 2008, a terrible time for restaurants in general.

The housing market had crashed and a recession was in full swing. Suddenly people stopped dining out in droves.

For chefs, suddenly fine dining became anathema. I can’t tell you how many told me they needed to pivot to comfort food.

For Bill Kim, a Charlie Trotter alumnus, his decision to open Urbanbelly — his interpretation of noodles and dumplings — predated the economic downturn. But the timing was fortuitous.

I remember visiting Urbanbelly in late 2008, situated next to a laundromat in an Avondale strip mall. The restaurant was counter service, the seating communal benches (which outside Avec, was still a foreign concept in 2008).

This was a time when ramen, in the eyes of America, was still the province of dorm room instant packets. A few mom ‘n’ pop restaurants in the Northwest suburbs served ramen, but not much in the city.

So it’s not incorrect to say Urbanbelly brought a sense of, well, urban cool to noodles, dumplings, and fried rice to Chicago in the late 2000’s. It wasn’t always the case that gochujang, miso, and fish sauce were everyday terms on a Chicago restaurant menu.

In the years since, Urbanbelly has relocated several times throughout the city. In May, Kim brought the restaurant to the West Loop’s Fulton Market district, located at 954 W. Fulton St.

At the new Urbanbelly, there’s happy hour skewers, Korean fried chicken, and a full bar with a beverage program.

Hence then, the article about how urbanbelly a pioneer of modern asian cooking changed the way chicagoans eat was published today ( Friday 10/07/2026 - 05:13 AM ) and is available on NBC Chicago ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.

Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( How Urbanbelly, a pioneer of modern Asian cooking, changed the way Chicagoans eat )

Also on site :

• Sony’s Indian Version of ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ Hosted by Amitabh Bachchan, Adds Google Gemini as AI Guide (EXCLUSIVE)
• Help! My Wife Turned Into a Religious Zealot and Spiraled to Her Death. Then Our Problems Really Started.
• ‘Naruto’ Movie Launches Global Casting Search to Find Actors to Play Live-Action Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura