Get uptown for Uptown Grill

Uptown Grill, Athens' newest food establishment, opened a week and a half ago in the building that was formerly occupied by Grade A Notes. The walk-up window restaurant, which is right next to Buffalo Wild Wings, offers fantastic grilled items at affordable prices. According to an article in The Post, the restaurant was started by Stacy McClain, the owner of Copy Catz. The article notes that McClain and his girlfriend raise Angus cattle and he saw the vacancy next door as an opportunity to expand his business. Being that it's brand new and relatively unknown, I thought I'd check it out and give you guys a heads up.

(Photo credit: Stacy McClain, Uptown Grill)

My roommate, Ronnie Corey, had originally told me about it last week. Ronnie's from Philadelphia, and on his way to work one day, he noticed the place and saw that they had Philly cheesesteaks on the menu. Being from Philadelphia, Ronnie is as fanatical about Philly cheesesteaks as I am with my Chicago-style pizza. Ronnie, who hadn't had a Philly cheesesteak since he went home for winter break, was dying to get one so he, our buddy Greg Wilhelm, and I went earlier today for lunch to check it out.

As I mentioned earlier, it's only a walk-up window, like O'Betty's but without the inside portion. Immediately, we noticed how relatively inexpensive it was. The menu includes Angus burgers, Italian sausage, Philly cheesesteaks, chicken fajitas, grilled chicken breast sandwiches, veggie-burgers, and a banger, which is a type of bratwurst. All of these items are between $4.50 and $5. The only item that is over $5 is the Rancher's Delight, which is $8. The Rancher's Delight is a half-pound Angus burger with lettuce, tomato, onion, and cheese. Chips and drinks are also available for purchase.

Ronnie, without hesitation, ordered the Philly cheesesteak. I also ordered a Philly cheesesteak, and Greg ordered the banger. Inside the window, we saw the grill, where all of our food was made fresh right in front of us. We waited impatiently as the smell of the food and grill began to make us even hungrier. After receiving our food, we walked back to Greg's apartment to watch some TV and take our first bites of an Uptown Grill sandwich.

The food turned out to be delicious! I thought the Philly cheesesteak was great, however, Ronnie was quick to assure me that it was nothing like the real thing at Geno's or Pat's in Philadelphia. Despite lacking true Philadelphia authenticity, Ronnie did enjoy his sandwich.

"This Philly cheesesteak is really good, but it's nothing like Geno's or Pat's back home," he said. "At least I finally found a place in Athens where I can get one, and it's cheap, too."

Greg enjoyed his banger as well. We were all in agreement that Uptown Grill is definitely a cheap, affordable alternative to a Buffalo Wild Wings or Red Brick sandwich. It's also relatively fast if you're looking for a quick meal in between classes. If you're ever in the area and in need of a quick meal, I'd definitely check it out.

For more information, you can also check out their official Facebook fan page.