Urban Eats (Hillcrest)


After hearing so much about Urban Eats, we finally got the chance to come here for lunch.


The space is a little smaller compared to what I was expecting, but I enjoyed the decoration and the space.


There were so many great items we saw on the menu that we wanted to try. It took us a while to come to a decision. At lunch hour, there were several groups of people dining in the restaurant, but there was only one server. She was buzzing in and out of the kitchen, and in and out of the restaurant carrying dishes and serving customers. We waited for a while until she cleared all she had on her hands to come take our order.


By the time we finished ordering, we were all starving. It was nice to have some bread. I enjoyed the honey-butter very much. It was sweet, creamy, and lightly melted.


We saw a lot of customers ordering this, so Darren also ordered the Beef Tacos. They used Angus beef for the tacos, and I tried some of it. It was well cooked, juicy and tasty. Not a bad choice for lunch.


And that’s the meatloaf. I hesitated on getting this when we were ordering since I haven’t had meatloaf for ages. But I ended up settling on trying the low + slow pork. I was glad that Michael ordered the meatloaf, and I got to taste some. Maaannnn, this is one delicious meatloaf! Moist, tender, flavorful. The tomato compote really complimented the meatloaf, with light flavors of sweet and sour. There wasn’t much to rave about the smashed potatoes and spinach. The meatloaf itself stood out from the others.


At first I didn’t really understand why this dish is called the “low + slow pork”, but it was no matter. When it came to me, I thought it’s “too small”, yet it was more than enough. They slow cooked the pork, so it was tender.  And it wasn’t too salty.  It had just the right amount of spices. I also loved the combination of mixing the dish with polenta, which was so smooth and creamy.  I thought it was egg. The sprouts and bacon crisps helped to balance the texture. One comment I have is that the polenta was a bit too oily for me, but I know that that’s what made it so soft and creamy.  Oh well.


Last but not least, here comes the best complimentary dessert ever! (Seriously, I haven’t gone to any American restaurants that offer complimentary dessert except for birthdays and anniversaries.) The warm, soft, chewy chocolate chip cookie was just right on!! Though we also liked the strawberry and whipped cream, we were all speechlessly indulged in the one piece of cookie we got. Perfect finish for a perfect lunch.

The only problem was that there was only one server, which took some time for her to get us our check. It was pretty busy during lunch, and we also overheard that it was her second day of work so that explained the slow service. Despite the service, we all agreed that we would come back for another visit.

 

Urban Eats, plates + bar
3850 5th Ave,
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 255 1882

Urban Eats, Plates + Bar on Urbanspoon

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About Jady

Yes, I love to eat. Enjoying food is a blessed experience; it brings people together, and helps create many beautiful memories (and even bad ones). Born and raised in Hong Kong, under the East meets West culture, a picky taste bud is in the blood. I have only been in San Diego for 3 years, and honestly there’s still a lot that I haven’t explored and tried. I hope to gain the most out of it before I leave the country by being a part of SDF.

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