Urban Flats

On Cooper Creek Road, north of University Park, this plaza has been a popular shopping spot for Lakewood Ranchers and those folks who are in denial that they actually live in Bradenton.
In the north east corner of the plaza and hidden close to Lee Roy Selman’s we found a place called Urban Flats. Not easy to find!!
Just opened in May, we thought we would give it a try. Many people have mistaken it for a shoe store…but not us….. Divas don’t do flats…except for Granola Diva and Dancing Diva {now wearing a cast...seems extreme twirling and flats don’t mix well …. stay tuned for Divas after Dark, the Diva Diaries} .
Urban Flats is a hip fun place despite it’s not so hip urban location. Two 12 seater high top tables are in the front bar that boasts a state of the art wine dispensing system that has 24 by the glass selections from around the world. The lighting is dim with hand blown amber lamps and there is photography of local Sarasota architectural landmarks all throughout. Nice touch - we felt right at home! Towards the back is the dining room with casual booths adding to the urban ambience. We forgot we were in a shopping plaza out east.

The open oven in the back cooks the flats in a 500 degree oven very quickly {don’t have the exact time but trust us, it’s fast}. Flats start with whole wheat unleavened dough and can be topped of with 18 different combinations. Very practical……

It was Wednesday evening and it was their Wine tasting for only $20.00 which included a small buffet. Great choice for one Diva but the rest of us wanted to get into the full menu and zero in on some highlights.
For starters we ordered the Baked Cheese and Tomato Bisque that came with a warm goat cheese dollop in the middle. It was creamy and delicious and enough to share. Sesame Crusted Seared Tuna with steamed baby spinach and wild mushrooms was served with a teriyaki and orange chili sauce that we all agreed was an excellent suggestion by Debbie, our wonderful waitress. Moving on to the flats we couldn’t resist the Fig and Prosciutto with bleu cheese and mozzarella that we could have sworn had a touch of cinnamon, but perhaps it was in the fig jam. Anyway, undeniably our favorite until we ordered the Oven Roasted Vegetable Flat which was loaded with sun dried tomato, pesto, roasted Portobello mushrooms, spinach, roasted red peppers, yummy caramelized onions and topped with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. We would have tried the Black and Blue (steak with bleu cheese), but we were satisfied with our orders. However our little “$20-all-you-can-eat-and-drink” Diva kept going and going and going……. Thank goodness for Designated Driver Diva!

For an affordable night out, with energetic atmosphere, we all agreed it was well worth the drive. Entrees are priced from $7.00 and go up to $12.00. Another Diva Success! And for all you night hawks, Thursday night ladies drink for free from 10:00pm to 1:00am. They have live music on Fridays and Saturdays too.
Urban Flats Restaurant, 8235 Cooper Creek Blvd, University Park 941-360-3528 www.urbanflats.net