While on a weekday night the cute first-floor grocery that makes up the "market" part of Urban Eats was calm and quiet, the upstairs was completely different. You know a restaurant is doing something right when it is absolutely packed with patrons whose laughter and gleeful conversations suggest they're having a grand ol' time for the first time in...years? Let's hope not, for their sakes.

Or maybe they were just as excited as I was about the restaurant's creative and delicious takes on traditional sliders and salads.

Someday, it will be hard to persuade our children that Brussels sprouts were once a dreaded vegetable, given the plethora of outstanding dishes featuring this cruciform such as the "Brussels Toss" at Urban Eats.  A generous serving of fresh arugula and hearts of romaine is the botanical backdrop for the real stars of the show: the Brussels sprouts flash-fried to flaky, crispy perfection. Almond slices and buttered pumpernickel croutons provide a hard crunch and richness that contrasts the softer, light greens, and a vinaigrette dressing adds a hint of floral tartness.


The Brussels Toss is refreshing, satisfying and a good foundation for a main course of Mob Boss Sliders, which as their name suggests are Italian, large and in charge.

Battered eggplant, salami and a decadent slice of juicy meat loaf are flooded with sweet marinara sauce, handfuls of mozzarella, and parsley, then stacked atop toasted garlic sourdough rolls. With your first bite, you worry the very strong meat, garden and dairy flavor famiglia will compete with each other to no avail, but ultimately a beautiful trifecta truce prevails as you chow down.

As the picture suggests, the Mob Boss Sliders are messy and interactions with them may leave you with crimson stains. Just like with the Mafia, natch.