Urbn - North Park

In last week's City Beat, I saw an article ("Pizza Haven") about New Haven style pizzas.

Hmmm, I've had New York style, Sicilian, and Chicago Deep Dish...but New Haven style was something I'd never heard of (runs for cover).
This location was on the corner of 31st and University in North Park. I passed it up even though it was on my Garmin. It's kind of easy to miss because the sign is so understated. While it may not look like much outside, inside it is huuuuge! Like 5,000 square feet/former warehouse huge. I love the brick walls and industrial feel. This place is probably packed for dinner but during lunch, we were the only people there plus some dude who sat at the bar.

There's even more seating in the back. TC and I sat at the very end of this super long wooden bar.

Part of the wall on the left was open (it is retractable). Did I mention how cavernous it was in here?

There's that lone guy at the bar. And sheeyit, that has got to be one of the biggest ceiling fans I've ever seen! Any lower, it would be Vic Morrow time.

The  view from our end of the communal table. Across the street is U-31 (a bar) and Aloha Sunday Supply Company (a new/used clothing store focusing on local designers).

Check out their menu online here. We just had to try their signature Mashed Potato Pizza. Yeah, carbs galore but WTF eh!

Next time I go here, I would like to try the Fresh Clam pizza (sounds so good!). TC and I wanted to try these Foxon Park sodas, which hailfrom New Haven.  TC got the Cream Soda - and for you Canadians out there, our cream soda is NOT pink!

I wanted to try the Iron Brew which our server described as a combo of root beer, ginger ale and cream soda. It didn't quite have that root beer taste but it was definitely different. When I saw the Arm graphic, I thought that Mary had tried this in one of her recents posts ("Porto's in Downey") but she actually had Iron Beer (with a similar flexing bicep graphic). I ended up bringing half of my soda home which Bert polished off later (and enjoyed).

I just realized I am barely wearing any lipstick in this photo. Ugh! I may as well be naked! [Outfit deets: the purple feather earrings were bought recently at the San Diego County Fair. Three pairs for $4.99 which was much better than the three pairs for $10 in Hollywood. I bought a purple (shown here), hot pink, and green. It's summertime and it's a fun look. Sleeveless black lace top by BR.]

We were just going to have the pizza but I thought having a salad would be nice as well. This was the Urbn Salad ($10) -Mixed greens with balsamic vinaigrette (on the side), blue cheese (this was quite repulsive for me as I had to pick and scrape off everything that had cheese on it), sliced green pears and candied walnuts (yum!). TC really loved this salad while I picked at mine. I should have asked for the cheese on the side as well. WTF was I thinking!

Here is Urbn's Mashed Potato Pizza ($15)which is served on waxed paper on the baking sheet. Man, this is just carbs on carbs but it was delicious! Mashed potatoes and fabulously crisp and porky pancetta along with fresh mozzarella and parmesan cheese. No tomato sauce you'll notice. The little metal dishes held seasonings (grated parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper flakes, oregano (?) flakes, black pepper, and salt. The only seasoning we ended up using was the cheese. I didn't see the need to add more to this pizza. As you can see, there is some "char" on the pizza due to it being baked in a coal-fired oven. The crisp was thin but strong enough to withstand the toppings. The crust was also quite good with a nice chew but I passed on eating my second crust.

I know garlic is not part of the equation here but this pizza would taste even more awesome with crushed garlic mixed into those mashed potatoes.

Urbn is the sister restaurant of Basic in East Village (same owner). Urbn opened Fall of 2010 and is just another addition to the many great eateries in North Park. Urbn is also a bar with an extensive collection of beers, wines, and mixed drinks but I was just here for the pizza, not to get shitfaced drunk. I'd like to come here again for lunch and try that other pizza...

Here are a few more articles and reviews:
Signon San Diego
San Diego Uptown News
Slice Pizza Blog
San Diego Dining News
SD City Beat
Discover SD
plus a nice overview of San Diego's Pizza scene from The Mesa Press
and lastly, the reviews from Yelp

and their official site.

Here's a video about Urbn's New Haven style pizza:

What's your favorite pizza "style" and pizza place(s)?