Will Urban Gourmet ever reopen?

[DJDiva]

I drive by Urban Gourmet everyday on my way to work - and it hasn't changed at all since the fire that occured back in October. The only change I've noticed is that someone has cleaned the sign off that says 'Urban Gourmet". The windows are still boarded up, and on the boards it says "We Will Open Soon" - this has been like that since October. Does anyone know when or if Urban Gourmet will ever reopen?

[chickendhansak]

I didn't know the Urban Gourmet, but City Slicker is close to me. I had a meatball sandwich there at lunchtime. The meatballs were fresh, tasty and clearly hand-made. My girlfriend and I ordered a buffalo chicken pizza there a few weeks ago. It was certainly well made, but maybe a bit over the top (that'll be buffalo chicken for you) on the richness. I'm looking forward to more food from this place. In fact I might even go back tonight!

[davis_sq_pro]

I walked by Urban a couple of days ago and there is a sign that says it will reopen soon. Anyone know what's going on? Just grabbed a City Slicker menu today, too. I can't wait to get a pizza! I was really sad to see the lack of the stuffed shrimp from Urban, which I really liked...

[heathermb]

Drove by this afternoon and the boards are out of the windows, replaced by new glass. Also seemed to be more work going on in there, so it's no longer a blackened space.

[enhF94]

aaaand there's a sign out front today that says they're hiring. Woo! C'mon, Yasser's Brother Mike!

[DJDiva]

I still drive by Urban everyday on my way to work and it's STILL not open! I don't understand what they are waiting for! And now Victors has built their own new breakfast place where sound bites used to be to try to compete with the new soundbites.

[houlette]

For a long time the construction seemed stalled, but lately things seem to be moving ahead inside. It still looks a long way from finished, though.

Is the location really owned by Yasser's brother now?

[oved_eflal]

City Slicker is actually owned by the folks who sold Urban Gourmet -- just a few months before it burned down! The pizza is the same, the gourmet sides...

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City Slicker Cafe
588 Somerville Ave, Somerville, MA 02143

Urban Gourmet
688 Broadway, Somerville, MA

[enhF94]

couldn't have said it better myself. If anyone can save El Guano, it's Yasser. Let's hope he throws out the whole mexican concept and... well, I know it's not easy to expand an existing restaurant successfully, but I wouldn't mind a larger Sound Bites. Or something new.

[wonderwoman]

i heard that yasser will keep el guapo as is, until soundbites leaves it current space (which, i just found out, it owned by victor's, who found yasser too much of a pain to deal with). which i believe will be in january '08. oh, i'm told yasser paid $1.5m for el guapo.

[tallullah]

1.5 is acurate but Soundbites will be moving over sooner than Jan '08. More likely it will be in the next month or so. And he won't be doing El Guapo food. Rumor has it that the landlord of the current space will attempt to open a breakfast place.

And to keep it food focused, the mushroom and borsin omlette is so addictive.

[yumyum]

Word on the street is Yasser bought the El Guapo space for over a million bucks. Sure hope the liquor license comes with it for that price, and hope even more that they do something about the food. It's truly dog-awful.

[peng]

I've now heard talk that Urban Gourmet will not be reopening, and that SoundBites has purchased El Guapo. Whether that means SoundBites will be moving into the El Guapo space, I don't know.

[peng]

They have many of the old dishes, along with a number of new ones. The address is 588 Somerville Ave. The phone number is 617-625-0700. It's not called Urban Gourmet. Their menu can be found at the following locations:

http://www.tuftslife.com/dining/menus/cityslickercafe.pdf

http://www.foodler.com/MA/Somerville/...

[DavisSquare]

Thanks for the links. I stopped in today and snagged a menu but wasn't hungry, even for a slice. Less atmosphere than the old Urban Gourmet, if that's possible (white Formica). Anyone had the food? There don't seem to be any other posts about it here at ChowHound.

[fenian]

I had never been to the old Urban Gourmet. I ordered for delivery from City Slicker. I was not really impressed. I kind of enjoyed the crispy pizza crust but it was a bit oily even for my oil-loving tastes. The toppings didn't meld well together. Maybe it's just me, but a pizza with an oily, crispy crust, portabello mushrooms, caramelized onions, gorgonzola, and lots of tomato sauce seems schizophrenic. I'd like those toppings on a California-style pizza without sauce. Salad with grilled chicken added was mediocre and overpriced. The grilled chicken itself was OK though. Cafe Kiraz does a much better delivery salad I think. I doubt I'll reorder from City Slicker unless I see some unequivocally positive reviews. But it wasn't so bad that I feel safe writing off the whole menu.

[gini]

Ordered from there this weekend. Had two different sandwiches: pulled pork & the bistro burger. The pulled pork sandwich was tasty - you could really taste the wine they braised it in. I didn't love the addition of goat cheese to the sandwich though. The burger was good for a burger delivered to your house - cooked somewhat medium(not that I got to specify). Both came on peasant rolls as they were out of their housemade foccacia. The fries were frozen-deep fryer fries, but they traveled well.

I'd like to try the city girl pizza before I make a final decision.

[peng]

I wait for the bus in front of Urban Gourmet every day, and I also get off the bus across the street from there. In all the months since the fire, I have never seen anyone working in the place. Nobody clearing out the old stuff, nobody bringing in anything new. Since SoundBites appears to have been given a reprieve on their lease next to Victor's, maybe they don't need to relocate into Urban's location after all.

But, now that the original owner of Urban Gourmet has opened his new place on Somerville Ave., it's not as big a deal that the place on Broadway is closed. Although it was nice to have great pizza right in Ball Square, the new place isn't that far, and they do deliver.

[cheesecake]

Could you say a little more about the new place on Somerville Ave.? Where? Is it called Urban Gourmet? Do they serve the same food? TIA.

[yumyum]

It's called City Slickers. A few people posted about it recently ... the same people and some of the same menu items as UG.