I am always wanting to try something different in Old Town. I see the Upton everyday, but had never gone in despite the fact I work in the building right next door. The fact that you can't really see inside too well from the front always intrigued me because it's pretty much hidden off from any regular main Scottsdale rd. traffic. The inside was a very nice and quaint bar, but it seemed like there was a lot more to it towards the back.
We started off with the fried oysters as well as the crispy duck wings. I had never really been to a place that served duck wings so that was a pleasant surprise. They both come with the house chipotle ranch which was very delicious. The oysters were lightly battered and crispy which was very nice and the duck was well seasoned and very flavorful. I would have to say the duck was probably my favorite thing that we had. I then had NYC which was the turkey pastrami on Marble rye and the lady had the pork tacos. Watch out for the Pastrami b/c (all dirty jokes aside) it's a squirter. I bit into my sandwich and the first 2 bites there was a small puddle of russian dressing on my plate with the ensuing bite on my hands. That being sad i'm just glad I didn't get it on my clothes, but usually the best sandwiches are the messiest ones. It's hard to beat marble rye so can't really complain there. The pork tacos were a little underwhelming in flavor, nothing really seemed to pop out, but i do like cotija cheese so that's a nice move. Last but not least, we had the chimmichurri cauliflower which is the "cool" veggie to do things with and it was on point. I definitely would go back, the only thing I was a little displeased with was the poor service. We definitely saw our waiter maybe....3-4x the whole night and considering how small the place is I feel that is significant. Easily we saw several members of the same staff twice as much and often times had to ask them for extra drinks or water what have you. That's really my only gripe. Oh! For the pies de resistance they have a nice handful of bourbons and they also have mezcal on their menu so that gets some brownie points from me.
Cheers!