TEX-NEXT

Is Urbe the softer side of Hugo’s?

By Jim Ayres ––

I’m sick of Tex-Mex. Sick, sick, sick, sick, sick of it. And judging from TABC sales figures, lots of other people are getting tired of it, too. Tex-Mex restaurant sales have dropped over 30 percent in the last few years.

But I’m also a sucker for casual offshoots of fancier restaurants, and I made a recent and welcome exception at Urbe in Uptown Park.

Urbe is a more “approachable” (still pricey as hell) Mexican establishment from Chef Hugo Ortega of the Montrose classic Hugo’s. At Urbe you’ll find a Tex-Mex slant to the menu as opposed to Hugo’s focus on interior cuisine. And it’s all very, very good.

Urbe is sunny and expansive, with several private rooms as well as a (maybe) larger-than-necessary dining room. But that makes it comfortable, right? Yes, it does.

If I’m eating Tex-Mex, I’m certainly going to have a frozen margarita to drown it all down. Urbe’s recipe isn’t Hugo’s recipe. It’s better! This tajin-rimmed beauty is mixed with lime, passion fruit-agave nectar, and jalapeño for a kick.

Every dish our group ordered elevated our cheer. My Tacos de Chicharron overflowed with crispy pork belly, carnitas, refritos, pickled onion relish, red jalapeño and salsa verde. Habaneros provided heat. These tacos are stellar.

Just as dreamy is Urbe’s Pozole Verde. Charry smoked chicken is added to a traditional hominy, poblano and avocado blend, with Serrano and radishes giving the soup a lift. The menu pretentiously says that totopos are included; c’mon, that just means crisp tortilla strips!

My dining companions enjoyed Urbe’s Quesadilla, a blue corn stunner with queso, calabacitas, epazote, corn, pumpkin seeds, white rice and refritos. Their hand rolled Crispy Chicken Taquitos featured salsa albañil (brick layers’ salsa, popular in Mexico), crema and queso fresco.

But back to me! My Arrachera may have been my favorite. It’s a simple presentation — wood-grilled Black Angus skirt steak, rice, refritos, onion, guacamole, cilantro and habanero with tortillas. But the flavors Urbe coaxed out of it were complex and delicious. That the dish was so juicy added to my thrill.

Dessert? We just had to. Capirotada is brioche style bread pudding with Mexican vanilla and cheese ice cream, egg-noggy Rompope, vanilla crème fraiche and cookie crumbles. It will satisfy any sweet tooth.

Urbe’s Tres Leches is different than most. It’s chocolate, soaked in three milks and served with toasted meringue and berries. Most restaurant Tres Leches are dry and bland, and I found this one to be, as well. But my friends (one a self-described Tres Leches connoisseur) devoured it.

Parking at Urbe is easy, and the service is friendly and accommodating. Paying your bill may not be. The meal described above, for three and admittedly a feast, came to $200 and change. You could get all this at a run-of-the-mill Tex-Mex place for less, but I recommend saving your pennies for an outstanding restaurant like Urbe

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