An Evening Under The Stars At Urbano

by Steven Doyle

Keeping up with chef Misti Norris can be a full time career with all her pop-ups , appearances and consulting work she seems to be getting, and this is all a good thing. Last evening we caught up with the young and talented chef behind what used to be Tom Spicer’s garden and now is a playground for the owners of Urbano Cafe, Kristen and Mitch Kauffman.

The Kauffman’s run an extremely fun and interesting restaurant that is Urbano. It is there you dine in close quarters in what has become the best BYOB restaurant in Dallas. The food is ever changing and seasonal, which is always delicious. And the atmosphere makes for interesting conversation and often meeting new friends. With this comes the sharing of wine, laughter and one beautiful evening of wining and dining that is often overlooked in our city.  

With the passing of Spicer the Kauffman’s took over the garden and did some clean up of the space that is now connected from their cafe, to the middle outdoor venue (which is not BYOB, to their spill over dining room which can be used for special events itself. Look for enjoyable outdoor happenings filled with good food and music; we will keep everyone posted.

While the crowds gathered outdoors Norris took on her cheffing responsibilities. At first she engaged with crowd with an assortment of charcuterie, the most delicious and creamy pate, pickled vegetables and grilled breads.  This alone was worth the price of admission. She continued to prepare our meal on an open fire as the Kauffman’s plied everyone with a spot of wine until it was time to be seated on their patio where conversation heightened to a fever pitch as musicians played on in chorus to the large plates of food made their way to us.

Served family-style we enjoyed grilled root vegetables (oh, those beets), roasted chicken and pork, and so much more. The talk of the table was guided toward the creamer peas by their shear simplicity, but all the dishes seemed to take on that character of Norris’ seemingly light touch that had no need to over think any of the dishes.

Walking to our cars after the event we all shared our joy of an evening deliberated with cool breezes and stars that took us away from the city and into a place that we could have only imagined existed.