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A Grille for All Seasons
Everyone knows of a great place to grab breakfast, a quick lunchtime sandwich joint, a cozy dinner spot and a comfortable bar to grab a beer and watch a game. And where you have your first meal in the morning is rarely where you’d choose to end the night.But Uptown Grille in Commerce Township is one of those rare gems that’s committed to serving grub from sunup to sundown, with a healthy dose of booze to accompany.
Breakfast at Uptown Grille can be anything from a fresh baked muffin for those on the go, to a sit-down meal with made-to-order omelets and their signature breakfast pizzas. All of the specialty drinks you expect from a coffee house are brewed fresh and go great with a big plate of waffles.
Once lunchtime rolls around, Uptown opens a larger section of the restaurant for a busy workday crowd (a huge bank of flat-screen TVs make this the ultimate noontime refuge for suits). There are a lot of unexpected takes on the usual sandwich menu. An Italian Basil Burger is topped with pesto sauce, roasted tomato and Fontiago cheese — no Heinz 57 here. The Bacon & Cheese Burger also gets an upgrade. It’s served here as a half-pound Black Angus beef patty, smothered in Gouda cheese and topped with Applewood smoked bacon. For those not looking to ingest a day’s worth of calories at 1 p.m., there’s a surprisingly broad selection of vegetarian options and salads.
When it’s game time, the Uptown Grille is ground zero for sports fans. Uptown keeps at least 38 beers on tap and prides itself in making sure at least half are Michigan crafted. With that kind of selection it may be hard to choose, so they offer a five-beer sampler. Try the pulled pork nachos (tortilla chips covered in BBQ pulled pork, caramelized onions, Uptown cheese blend and jalapenos) or one of their traditional deep-dish pizzas covered in house-made sauce.
Even if you’re looking for a quiet sit-down dinner, Uptown Grille transforms further, with a dinner menu that mimics a gastropub lineup. The Land and Sea is a marinated six-ounce filet, served with a housemade chop sauce, and paired with a pan-seared lump crab cake, that arrives drizzled with roasted red pepper aioli. For an entrée with more down-home flavor, you can try the half-slab ribs/quarter BBQ chicken combo. Both are drenched in their own honey barbeque sauce and accompanied with mashed sweet potatoes. They also have a large selection of pasta dishes, seafood and steaks.
You might not look to a breakfast/sandwich/sports bar for your next dinner date … that’s why Uptown Grille will blow your lover’s mind. They run monthly six-course dinners showcasing interesting beer and wine combinations. (Check the website for details and to reserve your spot, because they fill up fast!)
Whatever your mood and any time of day, you can stop in Uptown Grille and find a new kind of restaurant. Or you could just camp out there for a good 20 hours, till the breakfast cafe becomes the bar scene. We’ll be over by the flat-screens. | RDW
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