Buddha’s Belly

7475 Beverly Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90036
323.931.8588
www.bbfood.com
twitter.com/BuddahsBelly1

Parking: Free lot til 5:30pm, $5 Valet after 5:30pm; 2 hr metered street parking til 8pm
Days: Monday-Friday
Time: 4-6:30pm
Drink Deals: $4 Beer, Wine, & Sake; $6.50-$7.50 Specialty Cocktails
Food Deals: $4 Appetizers

Two years ago, I spent quite a bit of time in New Zealand on business. While there, I fell in love with sauvignon blanc, discovered amazing fashion designers, and made great friends. When my Kiwi coworker, Roslyn, told me that she would be visiting Los Angeles, she was sure to let me know that she wanted to be taken out for happy hour. This is why we’re great friends.

I took her to The Happy Hour Tour favorites, The Woods and Bodega Wine Bar, but when she told me she wanted to hang out at The Grove on Labor Day, I looked into a happy hour that would be new for both of us. To my surprise the nearby Buddha’s Belly was having an extended happy hour that very day!

On Labor Day, Buddha’s Belly had happy hour from noon to 7pm – yes, noon! The regular happy hour schedule is Monday through Friday, 4-6:30pm. I’m not too crazy about happy hours that start or end on half-hours because I feel that customers may get cheated out of the 30 minutes with last calls and all. Luckily, the service at Buddha’s Belly was really good so I imagine that they make sure their customers get to enjoy the full 2 ½ hour happy hour.

Although, I tend to favor wine, I went out of my comfort zone to try one of their unique drinks on the happy hour menu. I went with the Sake Sangria ($7.50) because I had never seen it listed at any of the many Asian themed restaurants JB and I have reviewed. The sake sangria looked like your average red wine sangria, but definitely tasted a bit different due to the ginger aftertaste. The great & powerful Roz (because she was so awesome to work with!) ordered the Plum Wine ($6.50). It’s a white wine that smelled sweet but actually had a crisp bite. For the second round, I ordered a Lychee Martini ($6.50) and Roz ordered a Lemon Drop Martini ($6.50). Both drinks were made with a nice pour, and I liked that the martinis were served in stem-less glasses. Love martinis, but hate the splish splash brought on by balancing the drink on a stem.

Sake Sangria

Plum Wine

The happy hour food menu features 6 starters all priced at $4 each. We ordered the Chicken Pot Stickers and the Shrimp & Scallop Steamed Dumplings. I must say the Chicken Pot Stickers were the biggest I’d ever seen - so no complaint on the sharing size… or the taste. My favorite dish was the shrimp & scallop steamed dumplings. I like dumplings, but sometimes I feel like I’m only being served the flavor of the listed ingredient and the not the ingredient itself. I was definitely able to see nice-sized shrimp and scallops in each dumpling. They were very flavorful, especially with the addition of the green cilantro sauce that the dumplings sat atop.

Chicken Pot Stickers

Shrimp & Scallop Steamed Dumplings

I’ve always been a fan of Buddha’s Belly so I will definitely return for happy hour. However, because of the early start time, I’ll have to wait for another 3-day weekend!

-JG

Rating: 4 Martinis