Upland Brewing Co.

Upland Brewing Company is a great local restaurant that serves a variety of pub food as well as some really creative entrees. They also make really fantastic beers on site. My favorite by far is the Wheat, it's basically perfect. Spicy and citrusy, they serve it with orange wedges which are delicious after they've been soaking in your glass of beer for half an hour. If you're into hops, you'll love the Dragonfly Pale Ale. It's too bitter and floral for me. I also like the Amber and if you like thicker, heartier beers, the Bad Elmer's Porter is good. Upland has a really nice patio, which is usually packed on weekends. Inside it can get really loud and seating can be kind of uncomfortable because a lot of the tables are very close together. Who likes to sit in the middle of a giant, loud, room feeling all exposed? But the food is good and the beer is even better, so it is usually worth it.









Upland always has weekly specials that feature local and seasonal ingredients. This time the appetizer special was the "Bulgogi." It was local flank steak in a Korean marinade, grilled and served with basmati rice. The beef was really tasty and nicely cooked. As an appetizer though it was kind of odd, it seemed like more of an entree type of dish. But yummy. We also had the soup of the day, mushroom barley, which wasn't very pretty but tasted really good.

Christine had her usual, the the Coconut Tofu Salad. It has leafy lettuce topped with delicious slices of coconut crusted tofu. She always gets it with the orange ginger dressing. I ordered one of the weekly specials, the Spice Encrusted Tuna Steak. It was served rare in a yummy plum sauce with a side of snap peas and sticky rice. It also had this crispy fried wafer thing that was really tasty and added an interesting texture to the tuna.








The real reason we went to Upland was Mariann's craving for their mashed sweet potatoes. Sweet Potatoes are definitely one of my top five vegetables and Upland does them really really well. The potatoes are mashed and seasoned but aren't so sweet that you think you're eating dessert. Mariann ordered the Pork Loin, because of the sweet potatoes I'm sure. The pork itself was very good, seasoned well with a nice crust on the outside and served with a mango-bourbon sauce. But the sweet potatoes definitely stole the show.

For dessert we shared the Blackberry-Blueberry Cobbler. It was so good. Tart but sweet and really juicy. Of course I spilled some on my shirt. It was served hot and bourbon vanilla ice cream got all melty and creamy mixed with the berries. It could have used a bit more crumble or crust but, really it was very delicious. Upland's dessert menu is pretty good, the carrot cake is delicious and the creme brulee cheese cake is pretty yummy too!

Upland is a great place to take people who are not particularly adventurous food-wise. They serve some really great burgers, including veggie and buffalo burgers. It is super popular, so if you want to get a good table go early or late! They also have live music on the weekends if you're looking for some entertainment.

Upland Brewing Co.
350 W 11th St
Bloomington, IN 47404
(812) 336-2337
Website, including menu and specials!