Madre Tierra: Plant-Based Mexican Restaurant in Upland

So yeah. I’m going to admit that I lied when meat eaters asked me if there was anything I missed since switching to a plant-based diet. I said no. What I really meant was…

I miss Mexican food.

I miss carne asada.

I miss tortas.

I miss horchata.

I missed the taste, I missed the comfort, and I missed the culture.

Now, yes, I could veganize Mexican food at home, and I have. I’ve made enchiladas, chilaquiles, chiles reyenos, elote, and arroz con leche (all of which I will share in future blog posts) but I do it the easy way most of the time. I leave out the meat or use ready-to-use mock meat products, but there’s not a whole lot of love or culture in doing that. What makes good Mexican food is the care and time taken to really add in flavor.

Then I found Madre Tierra on Instagram. Take a look at their page and tell me you wouldn’t have high hopes.

If you walked into Madre Tierra, you wouldn’t know you were in a vegan restaurant. And actually, if you didn’t take a really good look at the menu, you still wouldn’t know you were in a vegan restaurant.

That’s the best part about Madre Tierra: It’s authentically Mexican, it just also happens to be 100% plant-based.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE FOOD?

Red Wet Burrito de Asada. Torta de Asada. Horchata.

Now, I’ve only had these three items from Madre Tierra but I would recommend all three. My boyfriend and I have been to Madre Tierra three times now and this has been our order each time, if that tells you anything. I hope to branch out with my order next time, but tortas were always my comfort food.

The torta comes with beans, mayo, lettuce, onion, tomato, pickled jalapeños, avocado, and a plant-based meat (soyrizo, seitan asada, or jackfruit pollo). I chose seitan asada and it was great. The asada texture was close to regular carne asada and well marinaded. The bread was nicely toasted, so my torta didn’t get soggy even after a 20 minute car ride home. Overall, the vegan torta tasted like an authentic torta, and that’s all I ever want.

The wet burrito is made of pinto beans, red rice, a choice of meat (we chose asada again), and comes covered in red or green enchilada sauce with a drizzle of cashew crema. On asking my boyfriend if he had anything to say about the wet burrito, he said he could go for one right now.

The horchata was perfect. Sweet, creamy, and not chalky or grainy.

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I can’t wait to try more from Madre Tierra and hope you give them a try, but until then I encourage you to take a look at all the offerings on their menu. It’s seriously impressive, and nice to know that they’re adding Mexican culture to Vegan culture. Did I mention that they’re also a bar? A cocktail called La Llorona? Yeah, I’ll be back.

La Llorona on Madre Tierra’s Instagram

Madre Tierra Upland:

220 N Central Ave, Upland, CA 91786

Daily: 11:00am – 9:00pm

(909) 981-7000

Also available on Grubhub and Doordash