blueberry beer, sweet potato fries, and a great view Chapel Hill, NC

While in Chapel Hill, I heard that I needed to visit Top of the Hill. The problem at first was finding it. I heard that it was located on Franklin St, but what I was not told was to look up. Normally you would find a Franklin St restaurant on street level. Well, Top of the Hill is not like most restaurants.

To enter Top of the Hill,  you have to go on a side street right off Franklin. There you will find a door leading to three flights of stairs or a short elevator up to the restaurant and the best view of Franklin St in Chapel Hill. The atmosphere in Top of the Hill was like non other that I came across in Chapel Hill. The first unique aspect was in the large metal vats and plumbing fixtures that were behind glass walls. How they got those to the top of the building is beyond be. Top of the Hill is a brewery, so these vats are what they use to make their delicious beverages. The second and most unique part about Top of the Hill was found when you walk outside.

On the patio, there is plenty of seating that overlooks the best view in Chapel Hill. Looking at Franklin Street from 3 stories up is a very different experience. I can only imagine what it is like on a weekend night when Franklin St. is full of people of after another UNC Basketball NCAA title.

A great view is not the only thing Top of the Hill has. It also has great food. I decided to go with the Blueberry beer and sweet potato fries.

The Blue Ridge Blueberry Wheat was refreshing. When I heard that it was made with blueberries, I had envisioned a beer that would resemble a sports drink, but thankfully the only visible hint of blueberries were the ones floating in the beer. I think drinking a beer that is electric blue in color would be a little strange. The beer was good, but the sweet potato fries were what I was really excited about.

I LOVE sweet potato fries! If you have never had them before then you are missing out. They are much sweeter and have a different texture than regular potato fries. I had never recalled seeing them when living in WI of CA, but when I moved back to NC, I found them on menus everywhere. This might be due to the fact that NC is the nation’s leader in sweet potato production. Sweet potato fries are amazing, but when you cover them in cheese WOW! Move over chili cheese fries, I think I found something far better. This is the first time I had ever had sweet potato cheese fries, and it definitely will not be the last.