Belly Acres

Ed. Note: The font issue on the menu has been corrected! I had a lovely grilled chicken sandwich on our last visit and the monkeys were thrilled to see that the kids' meals are served on frisbees now.

Belly Acres
2102 Trimble Place
901-529-7017

I took the monkeys (Satchel, 12, and Jiro 10) to Belly Acres for lunch. It's in Overton Square where the Bayou used to be. It's also conveniently located across from the new parking garage, which is free until 6pm.

Belly Acres has only been open about a week, and as with all new places, people are buzzing about it. I was excited to check it out, especially since it has a very distinctive kid-friendly vibe to it.



Anyone who remembers the Bayou knows that one of the best features was the patio. The patio wasn't open today, but I can see it teeming with children and mommies with cocktails come spring time. I definitely dreamed of such a place when the monkeys were younger.

We were with our friend, Chip, and his two monkeys (Connor, 11, and Chloe, 8). When we went in (around noon thirty) the place was fairly packed, and with regular people. As in, not families. It was very much a work lunch looking crowd, which I think is a testament to the concept (citified farm fresh) and the excellent location. Anyways, I told the woman at the door that we would like a table for six. She politely informed me that we should order at the counter and then she handed us all menus.

UGH.

Ordering at the counter with six is kind of annoying and I was in the mood to sit down and leisurely look at the menu, since I hadn't been able to find it on my phone earlier in the day. We were in the middle of a crowd of people coming in and suddenly we were in a rush to figure out what to order. To make matters worse, no one over 40 could possibly read the menu with its 8 pt font. The menu board over the registers isn't much better. And honestly, having finally located the menu on the website I can barely read it on my computer screen. Seriously. (Chip agrees with me.)

Anyway, unable to read the menu thoroughly, I decided to get the black eyed pea burger because I heard a friend rave about it on the Facebook. Chip went with the Voodoo Moo Moo which the Flyer recently wrote up. The monkeys wanted basic burgers and weren't super hungry so I just got them the standard kid burger (Belly Burger) off of the "Little Bellies" menu.



We sent the kids to save a table while we did the ordering. We were given a street sign and our drinks to take to the table.



The kids were happy to have Abita Root Beer on draft in cups they could take home.



I was a little cranky about the drinks not being self serve since it was an order at the counter situation, but a waitress/runner came by fairly regularly to offer refills.

While we waited I directed Chip's attention to the bar area.



It's cool because you can sit and watch the kitchen action while you enjoy a drink. However, the bar front, which I didn't get a shot of, is all mirrors. So, uh, mommies, be sure and wear pants (or at least panties!) when you belly up to the bar.

HA!

The rest of the place is very cutesy. Everyone loves the soybean field.



If you look closely you can see the decorative corn stalks. I love the yellow booths in the windows. There's also a plane going through the wall and a tractor up front to sit on. (Honestly, if my kids were young enough to want to sit on the tractor and I had to navigate the ordering at the counter at the same time, I would need to order myself several drinks.)

After about ten minutes the food came out. Well, some of it. Connor got his chicken tenders and my monkeys got their burgers. That's when Satchel reminded me that he had asked for chicken tenders too. Dammit! I really have gotten used to them mostly ordering for themselves.

He picked off the pickles and sulked for a moment before digging in.



Connor, who is a sweetie, actually offered to gave Satchel some of his chicken but he declined. Chip tasted the chicken and said it was really good.

At least Jiro was happy.



He gave me a few fries, which were nice and crispy.

A few minutes later, Chip and Chloe got their burgers. They were both happy.

Then there was just me.

Waiting.

Finally my black eyed pea burger came out and I cursed myself for not ordering a regular burger. Or at least actually reading the description.



It was topped with sweet potatoes and pickled turnip greens--two of my least favorite foods. The patty itself was super mushy and I just didn't want to eat it. My fries were also on the mushy side, so I was bummed. But it was mostly my fault so I let it go. Satch gave me half of his burger, which was really yummy and it all worked out.

Considering they've only been open a week, the service is fine. And if you want a really good grass fed burger, this is your place. Price wise it's about $10-$15 per adult depending on whether you add fries and a drink. The kid food is a deal at $6.50 with large portions, including fries. I feel certain we will be regulars on the patio once it warms up.

Maybe as they go along they'll ditch a few menu items and increase the font a bit for those of us footing the bill.