If you’ve been following our coverage of The Upstairs, you should be excited.
B’YO sends in two pictures of the interior! Looks awesome! Exposed brick is totally in.
What do you think?
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Tagged as: Charlottesville, Gossip, Pictures, Preview, Restaurant, Rumors, Seafood, steak, The Upstairs
oooo shiny.
hihi, lolo.
(always wanted to say that)
I met one of the chefs the other day, he was very friendly and suggested that I drop by sometime. (like I could afford that) Still, it was a nice gesture.
hihi - are you eating your vegetables?
Yes, but I still have a case of the sniffles. Must get more sinus meds, and a pot of chai.
good - now get your feet off the table and finish your homework.
wait, this is this a new restaurant post? sorry.
exposed wood looks good too!
exposed wood looks good too!
…must….not….make…obvious…comment…
Hahahahahaha. Nice self-control, Street.
I like the look of it so far. Won’t be able to afford it, but it looks good.
HOW LOUD DO YOU SUPPOSE IT WILL BE IN THERE? Sorry, was I shouting?
Where does the meat go?
/Loaded Q.
Elizabeth is hitting the mid-day bourbon!
Is the same designer/architect involved in The Local and The Upstairs?
“The Lupstal”
The Upstocal.
do both kind of remind you guys of C&O - as far as atmosphere is concerned?
These pictures a crappy camera phone snaps. Had I known they’d be posted, I would have color corrected and noise reduced (no, not that kind of noise, elizabeth). The only similarity between The Local and the The Upstairs is exposed functional structure, and a metric ass ton of oak, although they could very well have been done by the same folks.
The white rectangle near the broom in the bottom shot is the “whore door” that was mentioned in some article. In a nod to history, they will be putting an old door there. I think that is pretty schweet.
I hope that’s not Formica.
It looks too reflective to be Formica..probably granite..at least I would think so for such a nice place..
I’m not loving the bench seating up against the window, but I can certainly see how doing it that way should be able to increase the number of tabletops in a versatile way. But I miss having both parties at the table able to see out the window, versus everyone on one side of the table all lined up facing away from the window.
Regardless, it does look nice with the exposed brick and beams. And fun new bourbon/scotch to try? I’m in!
The benches are surprisingly comfy, and they are situated as such so folks outside the ice park can play “Back of the Head Bingo”. “Oooh balding with hair-plugs! Bingo!”
The bar is granite.
/not a shill, won’t be able to even afford to go in once it opens.
@10 in the girll….crap, I mean grill. Stupid random attacks of fake dyslexia.
http://www.copperfox.biz/index/ I hope they carry this business. I’ve had a few of these before and they were quite scrumptious.
And they’re a local distillery.
Come on! Put some of that up in your guts.
The one the guy kept going on about was some exclusive Pappy Van Winkle thing. Also some Jim Beam Henry the VIII or something? I don’t even know cheap whiskey that well, so I kinda lost the plot on that part of the tour.
@11–Nice observation…I was thinking the same. Weird.
I ate there tonight and I have to say I was terribly disappointed. Although I must say the whiskey was good. The service was poor and the food was a big let down. I had heard the chef did a trial at WD-50 in New york, I think his eyes were closed. Tannin has flavor it’s not just grape skin.
Did I mention no dessert? WTF
Agreed. I realize that yes, tonight is the first night, there are still kinks, etc, but the food was not in any way up to par. The owners already run a busy restaurant and they’re obviously not newcomers to the industry so this cannot really be blamed on inexperience…
I (and I’m guessing the vast majority of C’ville customers) couldn’t care less about $300 a glass liquor, but instead would prefer dishes that are well portioned, exciting, and most importantly taste good. Unfortunately, that did not get delivered to the table tonight.
did anyone else eat tonight?
lets keep in mind this was a very soft opening tonight (open to the public). GREAT menu items. Yes, the chef hit it up in NYC… yes he is young… and yes they have adjusted the prices accordingly…. give him a chance to grow… I was blown away by how UNDERpriced the menu is for what they are serving. so take into consideration the learning curve. if you don’t like something the BEST thing to do is to let the manager/chef/maitre d/ whomever know THEN… give them a chance to succeed. we need a restaurant like this in the Ville. I am positive Mr. Brown, Mr. Sawyer, and Chef Jai will appreciate your constructive criticism… It takes BALLS (not to sound sexist just trying to make a point) to do wha they are doing Upstairs. Kudos to progress!
Why do we need a restaurant like this in C’ville? Explain to me the innovative, palate-blowing things that they plan on doing there? I feel like they should trade their sous-vide machine in and buy some boxes of salt so that their food might taste decent…
@23: Pac , what’d you order? Enquiring mainds want to know…
Some points I would like to make:
1) Saturday night in the wee hours, the ac compressor the regulates the wine room at The Upstairs failed/was installed improperly. This lead to 8 hours of water pouring into the space between floors. Both escafes kitchen, and the upstairs kitchen were completely flooded. That they even managed a soft opening at all is fairly amazing. But the energy needed to rectify the damage set everyone involved back on their heels a bit.
2) It was a very soft opening. I was there slightly before they opened, and everyone involved spoke of it as a trial run to work out kinks. I would give them some time to do just that, rather than crucifying them right off the bat. But I know how food crits here work, so whatevs.
3) I think its good to have some crazy rare liquor available in town. I aint got the purse for it, but I know many do. 200 year old congac? Thats just cool in a museum sort of way, even if I can’t afford it. They offer this deal called “flights”, which is like a liquor sampler pack. I had the top shelf tequila flight, and it was too cool to taste what many duckets could buy if I had them.
4) I didnt eat there, so I don’t know about the food, but I think it needs time, as do all things.
5) My only complaint was that when someone asked how the ostrich was cooked, and I suggested “in a very large pot”, no one got the joke.
Shen I got all the Apps they were out of the Bone Marrow and again I had a Great Irish Whisky. I think it would be great to see a WD-50 style restaurant in C-Ville but I’m not sure it will work. As for soft opening if you are not ready to open wait until you are. I’ve opened a restaurant or two and know its better to wait until everything is right rather then jumping in when your not ready. Also I’m pretty sure the beef entrees could have something other than potatoes as the starch.
Here’s a link so y’all dont’ think Paco’s talking about something you put on squeaky hinges:
http://www.wd-50.com/menu.php
Popcorn soup? Fuck yeah. But for reasly, I don’t think this place is aiming for inventive. I think they’re aiming for Downtown Grille 2.0.
I need to clear up an earlier statement. Like paco, I would absolutely love a WD-50/Alinea/Moto, progressive American restaurant in Charlottesville that uses great ingredients, modern techniques, and creates great dining experiences for its customers. I was hoping that The Upstairs would have that, but it fell short, and judging by the menu and the experiences that were had last night, I don’t think that this will be the restaurant for an “out-of-C’ville” dining environment.
I don’t think that’s what they’re aiming for.
Don’t judge a place solely on anothers word, experience it for yourself before you form an opinion.
/still drooling
@31: Whatttttt apps? Deets already!
@33-That may be true, but the word I was getting through various restaurant industry folk was that the restaurant was going to be trying similar techniques, ideas, etc. The chef did get sent to WD-50 before the opening after all. If they’re not, I totally understand, but even for a high-end steakhouse/fine-dining establishment, the food was not up to par.
@36: Gotcha. Here’s a link so y’all can see the WD-50 menu. It’s not something you put on squeaky hinges:
http://www.wd-50.com/info.html
@36: Gotcha.
Everytime I try to link to WD-50’s menu, my comment doesn’t post. WTF?
http://www.wd-50.com/menu.html
See thats why I am not a foody. I only got sent to WD-40… and I only barely slipped through that.
Greasin’ the squeaky wheel, eh, b yo?
/slip slidin’ away
Ok Shen here is the play by play:
Shrimp $11
Avocado, watermelon, Tomato water, chives
The shrimp was ok the avocado wasn’t ripe (not even close to ripe) tomato water was good except for the horseradish juice that was flowing in from the rim of the plate. I wonder if they know about fresh horseradish or straining the prepared stuff.
Scallop BLT $11
Fried green tomato, Kohlrabi, Fauquier county bacon
The bacon was good, I didn’t see or taste the kohlrabi or green tomato and the scallop was bien cocina(well Done)
Pork Belly Brulee $8
Brown Sugar, arugula, red pepper, truffle oil
This was a big downer. I love pig products and braised meats. I really want to be positive here so I’ll start by saying there was a lot of red peppers about a cup and then there was some undressed arugula and finnaly a maybe three ounce portion of under cooked pork belly. I wsa hoping for falling apart meat and goey fat but I got under seasoned under cooked pork gum. I’m pretty sure they frogot the truffle oil on the plate.
Seared Foie Gras $14
tannin, grape apple gel, Micro celery, Toasted brioche
This was the best of the night but that doesn’t say much. The foie was cooked great but it lacked seasoning. The tannin was intresting but both the texture and the taste were missing something tannin to me has a little acidity to it but I could be wrong there. The apple gel was a little to firm for my liking(nit pick). the micro celery seemed to be a little lacking in flavor when I have used it in the past it was a little bigger and really poped with flavor but this was fine not great.
I hope that is a well rounded explination of dishes.
@30 I understand set backs in opening restaurants but they didn’t have a problem taking my unsoft $70 before tip.
@30 if they want to work out the kinks they should have done a freinds and family night and invited peopel they trusted to check out the food and try out the dishes before charging for them
@27 I was approached by a couple of people during the evening including the Chef and asked about my meal I genrally asked about what ever dish was infront of me or the whisky and the respones I got was genral disintrest. I don’t mean to be so negative but I really was hoping that they would bring some great food and innovative dishes. I would be glad to give them another chance in a month or two but it won’t be without hearing some good things from trusted friends.
I also think with the focus on the wines and liquor being top notch the food should match it.
I have no more.
goodnight now
foods what did you eat?
i thought this was a steakhouse?
Paco, you rule. Thanks for the deets. Sounds like they have some lofty intentions but still have a long way to go. Please keep contributing.
Greatly appreciated, Paco. I can understand your lukewarm response, after reading the food descriptions. I do wonder if all the hoopla over the kitchen flood might have affected time and attention of the kitchen staff. Perhaps they would have done better to delay the opening, soft or not. Foods, please let us know what you ordered, as well. The menu really does sound delightfully inventive. I look forward to seeing these dishes served as the chef no doubt intended. Once they hit their groove, this could be a really cool additon to the restuarant scene in town!
UGH. Must. Learn. To. Spell.
Over on read the hook, both the owner and the chef have responded to paco’s rather passionate dislike for his meal. You know, if anyone was interested in parity or anything…
/just sayin.
Can we get someone to send in a copy of the menu?
@49
where on read the hook?
b’yo please send a link, I didn’t see it over there. SmOoch!
http://www.readthehook.com/dish/index.php/the-upstairs-opens-tonight/#comments
The comments by the chef, Jaison, did a lot toward explaining what’s going on. Glad I read them. Thanks, B’Yo! Really does sound as if they rushed an opening that should have waited. The problems sound pretty easy to fix, once they have use of all their equipment and kitchen support staff comfortable with the menu. Probably a bad decision to go ahead and open, but what’s done is done. I look forward to their having full use of the kitchen and being able to serve the dishes as intended. Really does sound like a great menu!
I think the Upstairs deserves a second chance. In the meantime, the owner might want to let the more diplomatic chef be the face of the restaurant for the near future.
Found it
I didn’t eat there, and I admit that my bias was against them from the get go, but I really do not expect this place to be the new it place it thinks it will be. Every write up I’ve seen (I’m talking Hook and C-ville, not our gossip) has the chef and owners touting their innovative techniques and fancy equipment so they brought the WD-50 comparison on themselvs (hell, they welcomed it - they keep bragging about having sent their chef to train there). And now they are trying to handle negative opinions head on via The Hook comments, not by saying “oh gosh I’m so sorry you didn’t enjoy it, we had a great reception from most be we hope you’ll be back” but instead acusing the poster of lying.
You don’t get to act like a hot shot until you’ve earned it, so humble yourself The Upstairs, make some good food and everything will flow from there. If you food really is lack luster (or overly fancy-sounding with highly disappointing follow through as sounds like some opinions so far), no amount of talk can save you.
Whoa! It is on over there. They are going off on Paco. Which is pretty stupid since he’s an incredible chef who know’s what he’s talking about.
thanx shen i wondered if you knew me
Please pardon my frozen lasagna havin ignorant ass, but I must ask… what is WD-50?
WD-50 is one of the many molecular gastronomy restaurants in the states. This could be compared to the same likes at Chicago’s Alinea, Washington DC’s Minibar, etc…Food is amazing and the techniques they use in the kitchen are out of this world. Think food meets chemistry lab. I would be shocked if anything of that nature landed in cville…that is way too avant garde for the local food scene. Usually those places work with prix fixe menus at 125-170 per person…not sure how that would work in cville. That being said just cause someone works at a WD-50 doesn’t mean they were the master of disaster there…could have been involved in prep, plating, etc…
Wow… you foodinistas are too much.
Now, I ain’t knockin you, I am just blown away with the lengths you all will go to be “original”. Does WD-50 stand for something? Is it a place? A certification? What?
Whatever it is, it is a terrible name. Its between WD40 the lubricant, and LD50, the animal test for lethal dosage of chemicals. Couldn’t they have called it “Space Palate 3000″ or something, anything else…
/put down the spatula for a sec and call a marketing agency.
If they truly are trying to do molecular gastronomy, I’m terribly surprised by the fact that at least a portion of the kitchen staff were newbies to that kitchen and the menu the day of opening. Molecular gastronomy is not for the faint of heart. It’s highly dependent upon impeccable timing, careful monitoring of ingrediants/temperatures and use of kitchen equipment specially designed for very specific (and limited) purposes. I would think I’d have died and gone to heaven, if we seriously had a real molecular gastronomy restaurant here. If that really is what they are trying to aim for, well, that explains the high price point. What you’re going to get is going to be incredibly labor intensive. And very inventive. Now I really, really am looking forward to their overcoming their opening jitters. This could be fantastic!
@63 WD are the chefs initials and 50 is the street address
The Hook’s blog is getting a little taste of what it’s like up in har. I think it would be silly to delete comments on their part, it’s great reading!
http://www.wd-50.com/bios.html
Chef’s name is Wylie Dufresne (WD)…I thought it was crafty to call it WD-50. The man can fry mayonnaise (thought to be impossible) come on!
UNCUS has no clue what they are doing.
They delete comments all the time, which is why it is pretty much pointless to post there.
Dont rant respond? Don’t risk, delete!
[…] that The Upstairs is open as of April 22nd, you can finally check it […]
Do you guys mind if we chat about review stuff on this thread:
http://cvillain.com/2008/04/24/what-do-you-think-of-the-upstairs/
Thanks!
i’ll but my unwanted head into this conversation…its too tempting. New restaurants are a mess. Granted it does seem they dropped the ball with this soft-opening (should have been prepared). Lets give them the benefit of the doubt, let them get comfy in their kitchen and then go back….the menu items from Paco’s description sound like they should be tasty…if in 30 days we taste and agree with Paco this place will have serious issues…if not, we might have found a new place in cville to stimulate our little taste buds. If this were NYC we would crucify this restaurant spot on…but we’re in the south.
As for the owner’s comments on the UNCUS….so terrible. He definitely didn’t take advantage of the positive interaction possibilities a internet venue like that provided. Mark if you are reading, take note, the comment/chat forums and posts should provide you with a constructive dialog not an argument with a disgruntled customer.
I’m out of here, back to the basement.
Nut!! come back!!
I cannot, chained to the basement indefinitely. (in Parisian french accent)…I talk about terrible tartare and commercial style food in a restaurant and get crucified….i also talk about the magnificent little beetch that is petit pois…oh how succulent. To me it seems the community hates harsh opinions so I just sit out. I go back to hole now…
i love harsh opinions. they generate lots of discourse to read when i should be working. cocoNUT, please opine!!
God damn it orchid, I could not POSSIBLY disagree with you more!! How can you even SAY that???? Glarrr!!
you’re so mean. i’m going to cry.
@77 No, see what he did there? He gave a harsh opinion! Just like you wanted! T’was funny!
/no crying in blogland…no one can hear you, anyway
hey… Im trying to generate discourse here, not tears!
well looks like my tears generated two whole posts, & you yelling at me generated one, so they seem to have been more successful.
Yes, but your tears are produced by two eyes, and my shouting from only one mouth, so strictly in a ‘post per orifice’ sense, were tied.
if i only cry out of one eye like crybaby, then i win that one too.
and if I shout, shout, let it all out like tears for fears, I um… well… lessee… hrmph.
I was told there would be no math.
it’s ok, i don’t cry. which might mean that you win…
flirt fest = lamo!
well, truth be told, i don’t shout all that much. so were all winners, as there is no math.
@ 85 Lamo? Perhaps you mean lmao?
I don’t know… dangerous to open a restaurant like that without your chef being a partner in the business. If he leaves, are they stuck making/copying WD-50 food still??
Spending a day or two working at WD-50 doesn’t make you an expert on this type of cuisine either. we’ll see what happens i guess!
ok people…. get real…
the point of a soft opening is to work out the kinks… everything that could go wrong will at a soft opening.
thats the point of doing it.
and yes there are high expectations from the style and methods being used at The Upstairs….
its called PROGRESS..
yes Chef Jai went and studied under the best for a few weeks but how can you compare him to this guy?
I think its amazing that anybody in this town actually finally started giving a fuck about taking it to the next level. for real food in this town has gotten tired… so what it didnt hit the first time…. and it probably wont be flawless for a bit…. (ummm look at the prices… CHEAP)
give the place a chance. give them your input… this is all VERY NEW to the whole country not just CVILLE… keep that in mind before talking so much shit on people that are trying to do someting different here.
also it takes alot of balls for someone that DIDNT receive the training or has the knowledge of what the cusine should be to pass judgement… just saying…
keep up the status quo… crabcakes for everyone,
is that what we want?
I know I don’t.
it seems to me that if you are a true professional the way you claim… then you would atleast be interested in progressive thinking about cuisine in the Ville.
you sound like a scared little bitch to me. sorry….
these are good people… trying something new out… and all you can do is try to destroy it which shows to me that you have NO interest in the true art of food.
keep cooking your crabcakes and leave The Upstairs alone.
Eduardo, are you serious? “They’re good people” means they get a pass for serving substandard food? I don’t care if it’s a soft opening, if you’re charging full menu prices then the food should live up to that. As someone else said, if you want to work out the kinks you do a Family & Friends night, you DO NOT charge full price in order to work out the kinks.
And yea, I want new menu concepts in town, but it’s not my job as a customer to basically subsidize someone’s test run. One of Mario Batali’s famous sayings is: “We buy food, we make it taste good, and get people to buy it for a profit.” A restaurant isn’t a charity case that gets a pass on quality during a soft opening. The soft opening is to work out the kinks in operations, not food.
And not knowing any of the principals, the owner’s post at the Hook blog was arrogant and dismissive of his customers. That’s a great way to introduce your new restaurant and new concepts to town. The chef was concillatory, professional, and seemed to accept the constructive criticism. So, because of that I’ll give them a chance.
JMHO…..I totally agree that Jaison came out looking very good and poor Mark not so much. I would imagine he is stressed to the gills and feeling very much under the microscope (Molecular joke there folks).
I would suggest that other future ’soft openings’ take a benevolent approach and invite a working demographic of Charlottesville people (eg non-profit workers from Habitat for Humanity/ Volunteer groups/Region 10 management etc) that would cast a golden PR glow on the gastronomic establishment. Get them to fill review cards and use the comments in marketing material… raffle a $300 shot of Courvoisier or whatever and take the column inches over the first night revenue.
I accept that these folks may not be your target audience for the life of the restaurant but in this small town good vibes are everything and testing your menu on a grateful bunch of good hearted people, and sucking up the tab is way preferable to swimming with the gastronomic sharks and getting your ass served to you … sous vide or otherwise.
[…] got the first pictures of The Upstairs, Charlottesville’s upcoming steak place. As a result of a lengthy discussion about Craigslist […]