Our latest Happy Hour (HH) adventure had us visiting Upland Brewery at 4939 E. 82nd St. in Indianapolis. A very successful craft brewer, Upland has locations in Carmel (820 E. 116th St.), Clay Terrace (14490 Clay Terrace Blvd.), as well as Fountain Square, College Ave., Columbus Ind., plus two each in Jeffersonville and Bloomington.
You can link to their locations, and check out their HH menu at uplandbeer.com/happy-hour-menu.
The 82nd Street restaurant is very large, with a good-sized dining room, outdoor seating, and a two-level bar/lounge. We chose the lounge and settled in with comfort. Our server Hailey was a little confused at first about the HH hours but soon straightened things out and brought us samples of the Butter Chardonnay (which is not on the HH menu – so $10 for a six-ounce pour) and one of the HH Beer Specials ($4 per pint) – something light called Champagne Velvet. They passed muster and we ordered glasses. I thought the brew was very good.
Although there are Chicharrones for $5 and a $4 Chocolate Brownie, most of the HH offerings are Sliders ($4 each). There are six different types of “burgers” and three different “sandwiches” in that category.
Photo provided by Upland Brewery
We decided to go with one burger – the Classic and all three of the sandwiches – Pulled Pork, Hoosier Tenderloin, and Turkey & Guac. We thought about a burger called Sweet Plum – smoked gouda, applewood-smoked bacon, aruqula, and sweet plum sauce, but will maybe try it next time – sounded good, though.
It did not take long for the food to come – four pretty generously prepared little sandwiches stacked with lots of dressing items – tomatoes, lettuce, onion, and a small cup of BBQ sauce for the pork. I cut each of the sliders in half so we could share the experience.
Tops for both of us were the Turkey & Guac (smoked turkey, cheddar cheese, chipotle aioli, fresh guacamole, applewood bacon with lettuce, tomato, and red onion) – it had a really good-sized portion of turkey and bacon, plus the aioli made for a nice sharp taste – and the Classic Burger, which was exactly what it was – a good ol’ mini cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, and onion. We were a bit underwhelmed by the Pulled Pork and the Tenderloin which weren’t bad really, but just didn’t compare to the others.
It was a pleasant meal – good surroundings and service – Hailey was very attentive! The total came to around $32 plus tip. The full menu is also quite tempting and I hope we are able to come back sometime and taste some of the variety offered at Upland.
Ken Klingenmeier offers this series of columns, called “A Seat at the Table,” wherein he reviews Indy-area restaurants – specifically their Happy Hour offers. Keep reading The Reporter for future restaurant reviews.