“Yes, the pastrami does actually melt in the mouth, but not before delivering brief, gloriously smoky, salty notes. ” — Warren Zhang
Can a slice of pastrami change a life?
Urban Butcher, a new and charmingly rustic Silver Spring establishment, answers that question with a resounding “yes.” First impressions are good: Urban Butcher effortlessly presents itself as an unpretentiously cozy, informal experience. Diners can sit at the couches by the door, a kitchen bar, a cafeteria-style table or a normal table (if you’re a square).
If the name, the meat display or the curing room haven’t clued you in, Urban Butcher is all about meat in a big way. Hams and other cured meats are made in-house; suckling pig is roasted every night at 7 to be served at 8. When talking about meat, some cliches are unavoidable. Yes, the pastrami does actually melt in the mouth, but not before delivering brief, gloriously smoky, salty notes. The 48-hour ox brisket layers unctuousness upon savoriness upon unctuousness — the carnivore’s equivalent of candy — before dissolving, again, on the tongue.
Many other dishes, including — gasp! — a startlingly elegant tuna ceviche, also bear the marks of considerable craft and refinement. An excellently spiced lamb tartare is presented in a tiny cylinder on a giant hunk of charred pita bread with hummus placed for convenient dipping. Haggis sausage gets served alongside pickled cabbage with just the right dashes of heat and mustard, allowing for delightful sandwiches.
Some dishes do require some more finesse. The suckling pig, for instance, was difficult to divide among the table, while the ragu was merely good and out of place compared to the rest of the restaurant’s miraculous works of meat.
Service, too, is a little rough around the edges. We waited a good while between being seated and receiving menus, likely the result of a hectic launch. The charcuterie and cheese portion of the menu definitely needs some tweaking, and figuring out the prices and which specific meats are offered are tasks far too confusing.
Dishes often came in brief, frenzied bursts, which posed a significant challenge to the recommended food-sharing approach to eating. But all of these issues are minor quibbles and are easily forgiven when considering the astonishing food offered at the Urban Butcher.
My meal ended on a perfect note with a collection of equally brilliant and crazy desserts. Bacon and maple gelato is an obvious attraction, a dish that deftly balances each component.
The real star, however, is the chocolate souffle, which is remarkable in its own right but attains a rare type of genius when paired with a scoop of velvety, luxurious goat cheese gelato.
Goat cheese gelato. Who the hell came up with this? What is this going to do to my waistline? How is this even possible? Those questions only rattle the mind after one pays the bill. The only thing in my mind while taking the first bite: “Wow.” My eyes rolled up — transcendence achieved.
