Improper Bostonian
March 2003
Review by Charles Mokriski

Upscaled Squared

This place is magical. Two restaurants in one, UpStairs on the Square consists of an upscale, pink fantasyland on the third floor, and a slightly less flamboyant, more reasonably priced comfort food haven on the second. In a remarkable accomplishment, owners Mary-Catherine Deibel and Deborah Hughes have managed to transport intact the joie de vivre of their old UpStairs at the Pudding following its unceremonious eviction from its former home by a space-hungry university. The new digs, on Winthrop Street across from the House of Blues, are in a Harvardian brick building dating from 1906. Even though it lack the Hasty Pudding Club cachet, the new home is even more engaging than the old.

The upstairs dining room, the Soirée Room, stands out with its over-the-top décor designed, like the rest of the restaurant, by Hughes herself. Hand-painted pink and gold walls—someone said the art is not on the walls, it is the walls—conduct a genteel rivalry with tables dressed in pink linens. Deibel says the pink color scheme, reflected in the mirrored ceiling, bathes the room in a mellow light that makes everyone look better. A wood-paneled wall divides the room into two parts, with a gas-fired fireplace and dark marble mantel at each end. Snake-necked art deco sconces, gilt-framed mirrors, Victorian gray-blue banquettes with extravagant curves and rococo gold-trimmed chairs with red upholstered seats create eclectically festive ambiance. Elegant tableware, including bone-handled steak knives and a beautiful yet serviceable Spiegel stemware, adorns the tables. The second-floor Monday Club Bar, is also attractive, dominated by a long bar backed by a huge Belle Époque framed mirror. The bar adjoins a sky-lighted porch with zebra-patterned carpet, red and pink Chinese screens and bright red walls.

	Co-owners Deborah Hughes (left) and Mary-Catherine Deibel have managed to transport intact the joie de vivre of UpStairs at the Pudding to their new digs on Winthrop Street.

Deibel and Hughes have assembled a cast of headliners at the new UpStairs-- chef Amanda Lydon, formerly of Truc and Metro…and Monday Bar chef Susan Regis, who trained and worked alongside Lydia Shire at Biba.

No sooner did we sit down in the Soirée Room than a parade of incredible treats commenced. First, a tiny tureen of Jerusalem artichoke soup with chopped chives and buttery brioche croutons teased and tantalized-a subtle, light but intensely flavorful brew with a hint of sweetness. A second amuse guile of chicken mousse on brioche toast—transported us with its creamy, ethereal lightness and sweet, tangy kumquat marmalade. Bread from Hi-Rise Bakery was served with soft butter (though after my visit, UpStairs began baking its bread in-house).

The wine list is pricey (with all but one red priced at more than $30 a bottle), but delivers value. We chose a well-structured Calabrian red, the 1990 Ippolito Ciro Rosso Riserva Collidel Mancuso, to accompany meat dishes and found it first-rate. Savona explained that its good structure and high acid level were a product of the cool breezes off the Ioanian Sea, making it less ponderous than many southern Italian reds.

Among the first courses, the Duxbury oyster stew ($13) was splendid. Served in a small, almost diminutive bowl with a cute white china cloche to keep in the heat, the stew’s remarkably full, intense oyster flavor stood out. When I remarked on that flavor to chef Lydon in a brief phone call, she disclosed that it resulted from plopping fresh oysters into shallots, butter, cream, minced parsley and chives only moments after they were shucked, a trick taught by food legend M.F.K. Fisher. A lighter appetizer, haricots verts with hazelnut vinaigrette and field mache ($10), brought bright green beans, perfectly al dente, served with refreshing lambs lettuce and a tangy vinaigrette, with a garnish of shallots and cashews.

Filet of beef tenderloin with ragout of wild mushrooms and black truffle panna cotta.

The Soirée Room’s main courses included a meaty well-marbled veal chop ($32) accompanied by fried baby artichokes. The chop was thick, rare and juicy, with just enough fat to give it richness. The artichokes provided a delightful counterpoint, lightly breaded and fried to a crisp but delicate turn. With polenta promised as the starch, I requested that it be served on the side to avoid the abominable layering trend endemic to Boston chefdom—and I was glad I did. Our polenta arrived in a small casserole—a luscious, soft but formed sweet-starchy treat, the best polenta I’ve ever tasted. Filet of beef tenderloin ($29) yielded an oversized piece of fork-tender beef, with an aromatic but not fiery dusting of fresh ground pepper, slightly caramelized roast potato wedges and a ragout of woodsy wild mushrooms provided excellent accompaniments, but they were overshadowed by a succulent galubka of broad spinach leaves stuffed with black truffle panna cotta.

As exquisite as the Soiree Room’s offerings were, the aggressive prices dictate that this is a spot to save for special occasions. Fortunately, the down-to-earth cuisine in the Monday Club Bar offers a less pricey alternative. Incredibly, a bowl of superb clam chowder with firm potato cubes, chopped celery, carrots, onion, small morsels of meaty pancetta and tender morsels of clams in a light cream broth flecked with freshly chopped parsley, is only $5….For a main course, I could not pass up the chicken fricassee ($13), a dish I’d not encountered since I left home, where it was on my dad’s comfort food specialties. Here it arrived steaming hot from the kitchen, essentially a chicken pot pie, with white and dark chicken, carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, muted garlic and chopped chives, served in a white ramekin. Two buttery biscuits crowned this humble yet exalted preparation.

Desserts in both dining rooms were pricey, starting at $8. The chocolate soufflé cake ($10), served with an intriguingly delicious Earl Grey prune ice cream—made on premises like all of UpStairs’ ice creams—was at once light and moist, enhanced with streaks of dark chocolate sauce. Equally rich was the pain perdu with caramelized apples ($9). This bread pudding (in our house, pain perdu, of lost bread, describes French toast) was moist, not dry like too many bread puddings, and made with juicy apples. A huge portion, it could have served as a dessert for two.

Service was first-rate. Our cover was blown one evening when Savona, whose roots are in Connecticut like my own, recognized me. On my subsequent visit, to the Monday Club Bar, I believe I went unrecognized, but received the same excellent service.
UpStairs on the Square is an estimable eating establishment. When I called around Valentine’s Day to try to make a reservation for a follow-up visit, I was told that the restaurant was “fully committed.” Deibel and Hughes have themselves another winner in this spot. Indeed, fully committed is a state in which UpStairs on the Square will find itself more often than not.

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