Three-Course Sunday Brunch at Upstairs on the Square

The name of the restaurant, UpStairs on the Square, is certainly not a misnomer. This quirky New American restaurant in the heart of Harvard Square offers two floors of dining experience, with each level decked out in unique decorations.

The first floor--The Monday Club Bar--is a casual space with rose-colored bar on the side and purple wood-paneled dining room. From the black and white checkered floor to the artisan chandelier on the ceiling, the Monday Club Bar offers a friendly environment for diners to enjoy their food while soaking in the panoramic view of the Harvard Square right outside the window.

A level above is the UpStairs Soiree Dining Room, "reminiscent of a glowing and colorful jewel-box-like supper club," according to its website. The upscale, exuberant soiree room features round windows facing the park as well as elegant fireplaces at each end of the room. I have heard that a lot of wedding receptions take place in this room.

My first visit to UpStairs on the Square, I dined at the Monday Club Bar on the first floor. Since I went with a group for Sunday brunch, we had a prix fixe 3-course menu. For our amuse-bouche, we received a smorgasbord of pastries, scones, and muffins with a square of butter on the side.

Personally, I am not a huge fan of overly sweet bread, especially as amuse-bouche because it tends to ruin my appetite. The bread basket included coffee cake topped with chopped walnuts, mini blueberry muffins, and cheese scones. My favorite was the coffee cake, and I particularly loved the crunchiness from the walnuts.


After sipping on two glasses of green tea and some bread, the waitress brought our first course: Fruit Two Ways with Market Fruit Salad and Smoothie Shooter. Since I asked for a lactose-free version, I didn't get the smoothie shooter. Quite frankly, I was disappointed because all I got was a plate of some strawberries, raspberries, and lots of grapes that tasted a bit bitter. I expected the chef to make me something fruit smoothie-like without the use of dairy...

This is what the appetizer actually looks like...with the Smoothie Shooter on the side. I tasted a little bit of the smoothie, and it just tasted like lukewarm, liquidy strawberry yogurt. I really wasn't missing much by not having that on my plate!

For the entree, we had a choice between savory and sweet. Of course I chose the former, which was eggs benedict with ham. Again, I took the nontraditional route and asked the waitress if I could substitute ham with something else because I do not eat pork (not for religious reason...I just don't like pork). She said I could choose between the vegetarian-friendly avocado and smoked salmon, and I opted for the latter!

The Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict & Homefries was quite petite in its portion. There was an ample amount of smoked salmon and well-poached eggs atop two halves of toasted English muffin. I skipped the hollandaise sauce because that plus egg yolk are too creamy for me. The homefries was slightly burnt, but I liked that it wasn't too greasy and had spicy seasonings.

My friend got the Smoked Ham Eggs Benedict. I thought the restaurant could have put more effort into plating...it looked like a mouse had scurried over the plate and spread the homefries apart and nibbled on some smoked ham.

I don't think anyone would be able to consume hollandaise--that thick, yellow sauce--if they watched the process of how it is made. Essentially, hollandaise sauce is just a mix of egg yolk and exorbitant amount of butter.

Only one person on the table opted for the sweet option, which was Old-Fashioned Brioche French Toast with Warm Maple Syrup, Blueberry Compote, and Bacon Strips. I personally can't start the day with sweet food because then my stomach will likely ache for the rest of the day.

Brioche, the type of bread used to make this French Toast, is very high in egg and butter content, which gives it a rich and tender texture. The blueberry compote seemed overly sweet and a bit artificial. I liked how the chef balanced the sweetness of French toast and compote with savory bacon strips.

As though we weren't already stuffed, the waitress brought platters of desserts. We all decided to share the desserts, which began with a trio of Housemade Ice Cream with a Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookie. The flavors of these ice creams were vanilla, chocolate, and toffee. The ice creams were very rich and creamy.

The Zebra Cake, or chocolate layer cake with chocolate ice cream on the side, would appease any chocolate lover's dream. It had three layers of dense chocolate cake with caramel frosting and topped with dark chocolate ganache. The cake was a bit dry, but the chocolate ice cream on the side helped to moisten it.

Finally, the special dessert that I ordered was a trio of Sorbet. The flavors were watermelon (by far my favorite!), raspberry, and orange. Sorbet was the best way to finish off a meal because it left a very refreshing mark in my mouth. Yum!

No Menu, No Rules: A Spontaneous Culinary Experience at El Violli

Many gourmet restaurants have entrees that are deceptively small in portion (think bite-size) that you leave the restaurant having paid an exorbitant sum of money and still feeling hungry. However, that certainly was not the case at El Violli Restaurant, which opened in October 2010 in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Bahia de Banderas, Nayarit.

The concept of the restaurant is "No Menu, No Rules," an idea originated from the desire of Chef Casiano Reyes "to not be constrained by ingredients or a menu that is not always at their prime or a lesser quality," according to the website. The experience of spontaneous cuisine begins when diners choose between a tasting menu of 3 or 5 courses. Afterward the Chef selects the freshest products in the market according to our allergies or restrictions, and personalizes the menu.

"Each creation is an interesting combination of ingredients perfectly chosen and carefully prepared with modern and unique techniques that show the great flavors of Mexican cuisine. Creativity and enthusiasm of talented Chef Carlos Rojas are reflected in all his preparations."

We decided to settle on a three-course meal (and thank god we did! You will find out why eventually...). The dining experience began with a cheese stick. I asked the waiter to make all my food dairy-free (no cream, no cheese, etc.) so he didn't place one on my stone plate, but I nibbled on a piece of Audrey's. It had a pretty strong cheesey flavor. By the way, this wasn't part of the three-course menu.

Nor was this a part of it. The complementary dish was Parrotfish Carpaccio served with tortilla squares, cubed tomatoes, and basil with lime vinaigrette.

I have never had or heard of parrotfish before, but its name comes from the fish's beak-like mouth that resembles a parrot. The fish was thinly sliced and pounded. Th tortilla chips on top added pleasurable crunchiness to the otherwise mushy dish. I love the scent of basil.

It tasted like ceviche because it was marinated in a citrus juice. The lime flavor was a bit strong, but since I was pretty hungry, I finished the whole thing. Oh, how I regretted this afterward...haha.

Our "first course" was a pairing of Duck Confit Empanada and Shrimp in Pesto Basil Sauce.

The Duck Confit Empanada had raspberry sauce on top with basil and some kind of sweet puree underneath.

The sweetness from the empanada and the raspberry sauce paired well with the savory duck confit inside.

I wish I could get the exact name and ingredient in the dish, but alas, El Violli has no menu.

The duck confit was extremely flavorful and screamed the taste of DUCK. The meat was quite tender because it had been immersed in fat. The empanada pastry was a bit too buttery and greasy for me.

Next to the duck was Shrimp in Pesto Basil Salsa with Asparagus. The shrimp was covered in some sort of chewy, thin noodle-like wrappings.

The shrimps in Mexico are definitely more plump and juicier than those in the U.S. The pesto sauce was slightly oily. Hmm now that I think about it, I wonder if they used tomatillos (green tomatoes) to flavor this dish.

i got the shrimp on the right because I asked for a dairy-free cuisine, but the others received...

Stuffed banana pepper with cheese sauce on top with strawberries and basil. I love the combination of savory and fruits that they emphasize in the appetizer.

The next dish was Braised Beef and Stuffed Plantain with some sort of mushroom sauce on top.

Mexican cuisine is very generous with salsa (tomatoes, onions, and basil). I can see it poured on top of almost every dish.

Upon "dissecting" the dish, I discovered the plantain underneath the beef.

The stuffed plantain was probably my favorite dish of the night. I loved the sweet plantain, grilled to perfection, with mashed black bean inside.

For people who dislike mushy stuff, this wouldn't be a pleasant dish. But I personally loved it, especially because I got a little bit of crunchiness and texture from the asparagus.

I think the beef on top was the same part as galbi because it was quite fatty. Even though the restaurant was dark and I couldn't really see the meat that well, when I took a bite, all I could taste was the gelatinous fattiness.

This was the "regular" dish (whereas mine was the dairy-free one) with cheese sauce on top.

This was another complementary dish.

Shrimp, Scallop, and Squid on Top of Spicy Chipotle Tortilla Chips. It had red onions, basil, and a slice of avocado as well.

The chipotle dressing on top of the tortilla chips were quite spicy, but it was nice having something "fresh" (seafood) after the previous two quite "heavy" dishes.

Next we got what we thought was the main dish: Grilled Mahi Mahi with Pineapple Puree and Crispy Tortilla Chips

The Mahi Mahi was slightly overcooked because it tasted dry. Again, the crunchiness from the crispy tortilla chips added nice texture to the dish. I was a big fan of the sweet pineapple puree.

After we finished our fish, the waiter asked, "Are you guys ready for the main course?" Say what? We thought he was joking so we laughed it off and said, "Oh, that was funny. You have got to be kidding." The waiter then replied, "Umm I'm serious. I'm not joking." He brought this dish shortly after: Lamb with Green Apple Arugula on Top.

Reviewing the dishes now, I see a pattern going on with El Violli. First, they love pairing sweet and savory (especially with fruits), use lots of basil and salsa for the added flavors, and always makes sure that we get a diverse range of textures (crunchy and soft/mushy).

The lamb tasted like pulled pork...that's how tender it was! Even though I was really full, I still ate most of it.

You can sort of see the red pepper seasoning on the lamb. I like my meat slightly spicy.

"This is the pre-dessert," the waiter told us as he brought us a plate of Pineapple and Garlic Chips.

I never thought garlic and pineapple would go well together, but then again, sweet and salty always makes for a great combination.

After all the dishes that we had above, the meal finally ended with the real dessert. Each of us got a different dessert to share. This is the Mango Souffle with Raspberry Sorbet.

The souffle was nice and warm inside, and not too sweet. The sorbet was so refreshing. It had coconut flakes at the bottom.

Molten Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream. Before they brought the dessert, Audrey, who also doesn't like chocolate, said, "Please let it be chocolate" so she wouldn't eat it. Ironically, the waiter placed the one chocolate dessert right in front of her.

Deconstructed Torte with Almond Ice Cream. The mousse was quite heavy and creamy. It had popcorn flakes on top.

The Corn Cake with White Chocolate and Coconut Ice Cream was the most exotic and "Mexican" dessert. The Corn Cake paired really well with the white chocolate and cold ice cream.

If there is "Pre-Dessert," there has to be "Post-Dessert" as well: Chocolate-dipped Strawberries with White Chocolate Drizzles.

I was way too full for this dessert. Towards the end we were begging them to stop brining us food. Haha. Despite feeling satiated afterward, we made another reservation at the restaurant later this week because the food was so unique and delicious. I am hoping the offerings will be very different the second time around. I am already looking forward to embarking on another culinary adventure at El Violli. This time, though, I need to pace myself and not eat everything in the beginning!