Jul 22

Jul 22 No URBN Legend Here...Just Good Pizza!

Is there any better way to celebrate your birthday than with pizza, friends and cocktails? I think not. And although it wasn't my birthday, (which mine will most definitely include all of those things) it was great to celebrate a friend's 29th at URBN Coal Fired Pizza in North Park.

v+nyOMlCQn6%aWRSdo1SWA.jpg — Just add pizza and it's a party!

One of my favorite spots downtown is BASIC pizza (owned by the same group—review forthcoming) and if you've ever been there, you get the same vibe as all of the other URBN locations (North Park, Encinitas, El Cajon and Vista). Rustic bricks line the walls and there's a modern, shall we say for lack of better words, urban feel. Their craft cocktails and trendy vibe are just a couple of reasons why I love this place.

But the main reason I love URBN (and I know you've been waiting for this) is the pizza. URBN serves up New Haven-style pizzas, which are thin-crust, coal-fired, Neapolitan pizzas made popular in New Haven, Connecticut. Not only is this style right up my alley (helllo thin, crispy crust!) but their different craft pies are what dreams are made of. For those of you not familiar, they serve a Mashed Potato pizza—you read that right—and no, it's not weird, you're weird if you don't believe it tastes like heaven.

Pro Tip: Come during 'social hour' for discounts on drinks. 4pm-7pm everyday!

For this visit to URBN my boyfriend and I started with two glasses of the house wine and the Crispy Brussel Sprouts, which did not disappoint (and believe me, I've been disappointed by Brussel sprouts before).

Also, side note, I love when a restaurant's house white wine is something other than chardonnay. Not that I have bad feelings about chard (let's be real, if it's wine, I'll drink it), but sauvignon blanc is my favorite and I was extremely excited that it was their house pick.

MF81BrBETQe92lt%9MftDg.jpg — The perfect appetizer

Accompanied by their house white wine, sauvignon blanc.

Since we wanted to try two different pizzas we decided to go half and half on one. Well, like most parlors, you have to stick with the same sauce base if you're going to split it down the middle—and so the debate began.

We ended up kind of cheating and ordering the Fresh Pesto Chicken pizza on red sauce so we could also try the Polpetta Con Provolone on the other half. I'll need to go back and try the pesto the way it's supposed to be served on a white base but for the sake of not getting into an argument over sauce with my better half, we called it a truce.

Half & Half FTW

This is a SMALL pizza. Yes, I could have eaten it all. No, I did not. Yes, it was hard to not devour the entire thing.

The pesto was served with (obviously pesto sauce), chicken, broccoli, red peppers and melt in your mouth mozzarella cheese. The other pie featured meatballs, ricotta cheese (which who doesn't love?!), and basil. Of the two, I'd say the pesto chicken was my favorite, but it was a close call.

%b5cFv+LT2W0BCVOcz8Iqg.jpg — The perfect slice of fresh pesto pizza!

Not only are there plenty of craft pies to choose from, but you can also make your own if you're feeling crazy. And for those of you reading with a growling stomach, you won't be leaving URBN hungry (unless you are the ogre from Shrek—or maybe someone like me who could eat pizza all day). The pizzas are served in two sizes: big and bigger. My boyfriend and I split the smaller size and still had two slices left to bring home—after eating three each. I could have eaten it all but my boyfriend restrained me, true love at its finest. So bring your friends, your family or heck go by yourself and enjoy a whole pie—you won't regret it (well maybe you will if you eat an entire pizza by yourself, I probably should not recommend doing that).