Cox: Eat, drink like a rock star at Belly Left Coast Kitchen and Tap Room

With the blaring rock on the sound system, the 26 beers and ciders on tap (plus 23 more in bottles) and sports on three flat-screen TVs, Belly Left Coast Kitchen & Tap Room seems at first glance more like a man cave than a serious restaurant.

But on a recent evening, there were just as many women as men enjoying the space on Fourth Street in Santa Rosa, and the menu was far too enticing to be plain old pub grub. In fact, Belly is one of the premier places in town to kick back, hang out and have a beer and a bite of something delicious.

Belly is very much a reflection of Gray Rollin, the executive chef and partner in the venture. He’s a graduate of the California Culinary Academy, and also studied at the Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School in Thailand. He spent several years in Maui, learning Pacific-fusion cooking, which he has coupled with American favorites. And he opened a restaurant in Washington, D.C., to lure the lobbyists and lawmakers.

He’s well known in the music business as a tour chef for the likes of Linkin Park, Motley Crue, KISS, Black Eyed Peas, Sarah McLachlan, Katy Perry, Blink 182, Godsmack and Tori Amos. That explains the decibel level in the restaurant.

Maybe that list also helps explain the plethora of brews on tap. They include the Alaska Brewing Company, Allagash Brewing Company, Almanac Beer Company, Anchor Brewing, Anderson Valley Brewing, Auburn Ales and Ace Cider - and that’s just the “As.”

If you want wine with your food, the 20 wines by glass or bottle on the list are nicely priced, mostly between $20 and $40 a bottle and $5 to $10 a glass. If your mood calls for a cocktail, Belly offers a handful of those, too.

A good thing about Chef Rollin’s cooking is his dedication to spicy heat and rich flavors. High quality ingredients carry lots of flavor, his cooking methods intensify them, and he uses a lot of sriracha sauce.

For example, Rosemary Kale Fingerlings ($7 ??½) consists of roasted German fingerling potatoes sprinkled with salt and dotted with bits of sautéed kale, rosemary and Parmesan cheese melted into the mix. If that isn’t enough flavor for you, dip the spuds into some of the sriracha-laced ketchup provided.

Here’s a tip: Go to Belly and order the Hawaiian Kalua Pork Tacos ($12 ???½). You get two tacos. Does six bucks a taco sound too expensive? Not for these beauties. In Hawaii, kalua pork is cooked in an underground pit, where the meat acquires a rich smokiness. This Kalua-style, smoked, pulled pork is heaped generously on tortillas along with guacamole, sriracha aioli and a house salsa. They are delicious.

Two pieces of Grilled Artichoke ($10 ??½) also have a smoky aroma. Cut away the tough outer leaves and inconsequential inner leaves to get to the heart, which you then dip into a lemon-ancho aioli. This is big mouth fun.

The Italian Cheese Pizza ($12 ?½) had lots of good flavor, but a fatal flaw. The crust was so limp and soggy that when you lift a slice, it slumps and its load of gooey cheese tends to slide off. It’s difficult to wrangle a bite into your mouth, but once you get it in there, garlic, good mozzarella, and red sauce do taste wonderful. Thick slices of fresh tomato don’t add much flavor, but they help weigh down the cheese.

Carolina Ribs ($23 ??) are good, but don’t have the lacquer-like patina of authentic Carolina ribs, which are rubbed with spices and dry mustard, mopped for hours in a smoker with a vinegar solution, and brushed over and over again with spicy barbecue sauce. Belly’s version is simple: good, fatty ribs covered with spicy barbecue sauce. Sriracha potato salad and mango-pineapple salsa come with the ribs.

Three Pulled Pork Sliders ($13 ??½) were inflamed with a mango-cilantro-habanero sauce and accompanied by an excellent salad of mixed fresh greens. Naked cole slaw (it wasn’t dressed), better known as shredded cabbage, also adorned the plate.

To sum up: Eat and drink like a rock star at Belly.

Jeff Cox writes a weekly restaurant review for the Sonoma Living section. He can be reached at jeffcox@sonic.net.