Forkboy on Urban Cafe...

Urban Café began about two and a half years ago. It shares the first floor with a bar and Urban Market at the Interurban Building in Downtown Dallas. Coincidentally I live in the same building six floors up. The convenience factor is off the chart! If I am hungry or want a drink and just want to hang out then I head downstairs to Urban Café (usually the bar area). The Café has seen its share of managers and chefs. There has always been a hint of instability in the restaurant but that seems to have changed with the new management. The food is comfortable with a hint of southwest and tex-mex. This is evident in the fire roasted tomato salsa, fresh guacamole, and queso offerings. The nachos are wonderful. A huge pile of hot, thin tortilla chips with all the fixins including creamy refried beans.

The menu really has not changed all that much from the time the café opened. There is a Sunday brunch that is decent. I am particularly fond of the biscuits and gravy. Big ol’ biscuits with sausage cream gravy. Order the gravy on the side because you will get more. My opinion is that the gravy should completely cover the biscuits. Overall….very tasty. There used to be a kids menu that I miss greatly! The fried chicken fingers were the best ever!!

Breakfast:
The breakfast tacos are a favorite among the downtown crowd. I particularly like the basic bacon, egg, and cheese taco. American cheese, eggs (scrambled soft), and thick cut bacon. The thick slices of bacon make the taco! I also like the potato egg and cheese taco. There is a chorizo taco that is good but does not set well with my tummy. All tacos are $1.99 and are served with salsa.

Lunch/Dinner:
There is a great selection of salads and sandwiches available. My favorite is the 3-Layer Club (7.95). Fresh bread and great meat (they only use Boar’s Head). It is just a good sandwich, period. I was less than impressed with the Texas Cheese Steak Sandwich (7.95). It was ok but had more peppers than it needed (actually there should not be any peppers on it) and the roast beef seems far to dry. The only redeeming quality was the pepperjack cheese. The salads are huge and in my opinion count as a meal just by themselves. Stay away from the Taco Salad (6.95). It is super greasy. I am not a fan of the Black Bean Corn Relish that is mixed into it. The corn just seems completely out of place and tasted odd to me. More substantial offerings include the quesadilla’s (6.95-7.95) and the chicken fried steak (8.95). The best quesadilla on the menu is the Spicy Chicken Chipotle with grilled chipotle chicken, poblano peppers, onions, cheese, and jalapeños. This dish has some major kick and if you have heart burn issues then you might want to take your meds before ordering this. I order it without the poblano peppers because they tend to talk back to me within an hour or so (if you know what I mean…). Without the peppers, the dish is very enjoyable and still spicy and juicy. The crown jewel of southern cooking, specifically Texas, is the coveted Chicken Fried Steak. The CFS is so important that magazines run CFS specials (D Magazine just ran their CFS edition a few months ago). The best CFS is at the original Black Eyed Pea on Cedar Springs Rd. Urban Café’s CFS is fairly close in my opinion. Their CFS is a large and thick piece of meat surrounded by a golden brown crust. The steak is so tender that you don’t need a knife. Nothing gets on my nerves more than when a CFS is served with a tiny bit of gravy. I do not want to see my CFS. All I want to see is the gravy covering the CFS. So order the gravy on the side as you tend to get more gravy that way. The CFS also comes with toast and mashed potatoes that look like they belong on an elementary school plate (think ice cream scoop shape). They are a bit dry so cover them with gravy and all will be good. I would like to see Texas Toast instead of the whimpy slices of toasted white bread. Again, cover those in gravy as well! Over all the food is decent and the atmosphere is great. A large open space with lots of natural light greets you when you walk in. You can sit and watch the passers-by in comfort. There is also free wi-fi available.

Service:
There is none. You place your order at the counter and take a vibrating thingie and find a table (think Café Express). The vibrating thingie starts vibrating and you go up and get your food. Very easy and quick.

Food: 3.0
Service: NR
Atmosphere: 4.0
Health Score: 91 (very good)

Urban Cafe
1500 Jackson St.
Dallas, Tx 75201
http://urbancafedallas.com/