Urban Eats’ owners Levi Rollins and Eric Munoz as well as food and beverage director Jason Grigar have created a comprehensive, one-stop food shop that understands Houstonians’ varied dining-out habits.
As the full name suggests, Urban Eats Bistro + Bar + Market is a multi-faceted eatery. It’s located on Washington Avenue. The first floor (photo above) serves as a small market offering local breads and pastries, oils, jams, salsas, pre-packaged sandwiches and more. It’s stocked ready for those on the go as well as for those looking to slow down, enjoy a cup of coffee and browse. Many of the market goods are made in-house, featuring locally sourced products. Urban Eats has partnered with Java Pura Coffee Roasters, Kraftsmen Baking, Houston Dairy Maids, The French Farm, Klein Bros., Angela’s Oven and Cloud 10 Creamery.
The second floor (photo above) operates as a full-service, sit-down restaurant and bar. The menu features shareable plates, salads, soup, deluxe fries, signature sliders served in pairs and desserts.
The monkey bread ($6) — fluffy yeast rolls topped with rosemary, garlic and smoked sea salt — is apparently a popular way to start a meal here: We saw plenty of orders fly out of the kitchen. Upgrade to the “monkey & friends” ($10) and enjoy those same rosemary rolls served with herbed dipping oil, pecorino romano, olives and dried cured Italian salami. For a lighter start to the meal — the route we took — the skillet-seared cauliflower ($8, photo below) with toasted pine nuts, golden currents, shallots and sea salt doesn’t skimp on flavor or texture. We also ordered the pan-seared Brussels sprouts ($8), which were studded with bacon and caramelized onions and tossed in balsamic dressing.
There are nine varieties of sliders, each served with a small salad and a side of shoestring French fries. The “cowboy sliders” ($13) are a slight variation on the classic cheeseburger (miniaturized, of course) — sirloin burger patties fitted between sesame rolls with cheddar, bacon and, to take it to the next level, crispy onion strings and spicy bourbon barbecue sauce. Up next was the fried green tomato BLT ($13). Served on a warm pretzel roll, the crispy fried tomatoes held up well to the hickory smoked bacon and cumin chili aioli. For $3, swap out the standard fries for one of the eight deluxe fries, like the B&C — standard fries topped with bacon, cheddar, green onions and the bourbon barbecue sauce.
If you prefer the casual downstairs market feel but with the bistro fare, it’s good to know that the entire bistro menu is also available at the first-floor counter. I enjoyed my first visit at Urban Eats upstairs in the bistro, so we stayed downstairs during a second visit and checked out the eclectic salad menu.
First up was the Brussels Toss salad ($11, photo above), which is a mix of romaine, arugula, flash-fried Brussels sprouts, sliced almonds and a bright vinaigrette. I’ve been on a goat cheese kick lately, so we also ordered the goat cheese crostini salad with toasted pine nuts ($11, photo below). Three crostinis each topped with a thick slice of baked and herbed goat cheese sat atop a simple mix of greens, tomato, pine nuts and golden currents tossed with rosemary balsamic and extra virgin olive oil. I suggest you follow each bite of the creamy, herbaceous goat cheese with a fork full of the greens lightly coated in the tart dressing.
While waiting for food or wandering the market, you will probably notice the wall art throughout the building. In addition to sourcing local provisions, Urban Eats also sources local up-and-coming artists, offering each a three-month exhibition, opening night event and promotion. All of the art is available for purchase.
My third visit to Urban Eats will be Friday or Saturday night after 9 pm to enjoy the “smooth, soft rhythms of local Standards, Jazz and Blues musicians.”
Urban Eats Bistro + Bar + Market, 3414 Washington, 832-834-4417, feasturbaneats.com