Beer Belly in Los Angeles’ Koreatown may be best known for serving up craft beers curated by owner Jimmy Han, but the man behind the food has also been winning accolades and recommendations from patrons and food critics alike. Chef Wes Lieberher, hailing from Philadelphia, became an essential part of Beer Belly just a week before it opened. “I came in here during his [Jimmy Han] soft opening and he was in the kitchen rolling meat balls. I asked him what he’s doing rolling meat balls and he told me one of his cooks didn’t show up. I told him I’ll write him a menu, and if you like it I’ll come work for you,” Wes tells us. And the rest is history.
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Beer and food
Wes tells us the inspiration for his food menu is the beer. “I’ve done gourmet food, French food, Italian food, healthy food, but I just wanted it to be fun. I want people to be like ‘wow, this is a different version of the food I ate when I was a child,” Wes says.
The menu features evergreen items like the duck fat fries with smoked salt, sweet onion sugar, duck skin cracklins, and raspberry mustard on the side. You can even add duck confit to top it off.
To reiterate the fun, items such as deep fried Twinkies and Oreos can be found on the dessert menu.
The interview
Taste Terminal host Jace Milstead interviews Wes Lieberher as he discusses foie gras and winning a Korean BBQ cook-off.