Cucina Urbana

Good Food, good price, good drinks, those are just a few of the things I like. We wont get into the others, at least not tonight.

Ahhh Cucina Urbana, it was formerly Laurel a swanky french restaurant in bankers hill. In a matter of 45 days they totally remodeled it and created a new restaurant. The restaurant has two levels one when you first come in that has some small tables and then as you go down the stairs you have the bar, pizza bar a couple community tables and the rest of the dining area. The perimeter is long booth with two top tables.

Drinks, or should I say cocktails. You know I love them, the tails part at least. CU ( cucina urbana) has a great cocktail list, from the use of fresh ingredients and juices to their own house infused spirits. Your drinks take a little time to get to you but that's because they are made with tender love and care. This evening I had started with a Basil Lillet, it had great flavor with muddled rosemary served over crushed ice, it wasn't to tart and you only really caught the gin on the tail end, not the cock end. I followed this delicious libation up with yet another of course and this one was to be the Basil Gimlet, I love gin and when its Hendricks Gin its even better ( Hendricks is infused with rose petal and cucumber), fresh squeezed lime and muddled basil equal yummy. The drink was very refreshing and very limey (is that even a word).

Table for Due.

Dinner, oh yeah time to eat, well at least sit ( make a reservation). So my friend and I go down to the table and take our seats, its nice very dimly lit, table is kind of wide so you almost have to yell for the other person to hear you. So we decide on a few items for dinner and think we need to decide on a wine. OK so here's the deal with their wine list. Its all at retail, its like your buying it in the store, you just pay a corkage fee. I know lame, I'm buying your wine and your charging me a corkage fee. Think about, a $30 bottle of wine is easily 60 to 70 at a restaurant and all your going to pay is 30 plus 8 to 10 for them to open it. Its a no brainer. Uno bottle Pio Cesare 2006 please, lots of berry, dry, with soft tannins, I want to be back in Italy.

So we order a couple items to start the Bruchetta 3 ways.......

Uno : roasted tomato with balsamic vinaigrette and basil
Due: Humboldt fog goat cheese with micro greens and balsamic vinaigrette
Tre: Radicchio ricotta chives eggplant and of course balsamic vinaigrette.

Speaks for it self, they where awesome.


Now this was the fun one, Chorizo stuffed squid with a vegetable rague on top of cibatta. This was so good, i was nervous about the squid part but it was so good and it actually reminded me a bit of Haggis.




For dinner we opted to share a pizza and if your going to have an Italian restaurant you better have a great lasagna. Lasagna didn't fail, a nice bechemel sauce with sausage and a veal ragu. The pizza was just as good, pear and Gorgonzola with caramelized onions, candied pecans and an aged balsamic.







The restaurant was great, the food was good, the service was good and best of all the price was nice. 4 cocktails, 1 bottle of wine, 2 apps, and two dinners, with tip like $160. That's not bad at all.

Check it out, tell me what you think. (make a reservation)

Until next time......... Eat Drink and be Rudy