Urban8 Gives The Colony Eight Restaurants In One

After a handful of delays, The Colony finally has eight new restaurants to feast on, and they are all at one location. The new food hall, Urban8, which was originally scheduled to open Aug. 9, held its grand opening on Aug. 23.

Dueling piano covers performed by local musicians Matthew Tobin and Greg Asadoorian rang throughout the facility as prizes were raffled off and patrons stuffed their faces the night of the event. Although there will almost always be some source of entertainment at Urban8, this place is all about the food.

A great place to start is Rustic Flatbreads, an Italian restaurant with a focus on flatbread pizza. In line, you will feel the heat radiating from the flames inside their traditional, red-tiled pizza oven.

The Rustic Flats Dip ($7.95) is the perfect thing to ease your stomach into the plethora of foods you can eat at this food hall. It comes with a pile of soft, doughy flatbread topped with grated Parmesan cheese and two scoops of their seasonal housemade dip on the side.

If you need something a little sweet to soften your palate before moving on to your next full-fledged meal, Monster Yogurt, a family-friendly frozen yogurt and ice cream shop, is the way to go. This place is practically a buffet of sweet-tooth fixes for the sugar-addicted. There are eight yogurt flavors, such as Alpine Vanilla and cookies and cream.

However, where Monster Yogurt patrons can really get creative is with their choice of toppings. They have everything from diced almonds to sour gummy worms. The cherry on top of your cup or bowl of yogurt is the sauce. You have already racked up all those calories in the yogurt and toppings, so what more harm could come from dousing it down with some hot fudge or warm Nutella?

Now that you have thoroughly prepared for something savory and salty, it is time for a burger.

For those who are not familiar with Burger Craft, the first thing to try is the BC Burger ($6.99) with fries ($2.99). It comes with a grass-fed beef patty, caramelized onions, mild cheddar cheese and Burger Craft sauce. It is a greasy, meaty mess of American comfort food, and a delicious one at that.

As you sit and begin to feel increasingly bloated from all the carbs you have just ingested, someone from Stir, a literary-inspired cocktail bar, might stop by to ease your pain with a drink menu. A cold copper mug of Moscow Mule ($10) made with Western Son Vodka should at least give you the illusion of recovery from your food coma.

Unless you are a competitive eater, it is nearly impossible to sample all the eateries that make up Urban8 in one sitting. Just fill your stomach to capacity, take a couple days off and come back for Round 2. No one will think any less of you for doing so.

Urban8, 5265 State Highway 121, The Colony