Blissful pre-theater food at Upstares at Varalli
Heather Aspras, WG'08
Issue date: 11/20/06 Section: Insider
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Upstares at Varalli is an excellent pre-theater option, conveniently located on the Avenue of the Arts. Mere steps away from many of the major playhouses, it is the perfect start to a high-class evening. I, however, skipped the theater part. As a single gal at Wharton, I have enough drama to deal with already.
Upstares is a rather fancy establishment. I felt slightly cooler just walking through the door. The chic atmosphere fuses decorative genres, combining modern architecture and some more historical aspects of Philadelphia. It is the kind of place you dress up for, the kind of place that reminds you of what it was like to be a real person in the real world instead of a financially-challenged student. It is the kind of place you take someone you're interested in when you're trying to avoid sliding into the "friend zone."
I failed miserably in my mission to determine why the restaurant insists on calling itself "Upstares" rather than "Upstairs" like any normal person would. What I can tell you is that the restaurant is, in fact, upstairs - reachable by way of a winding staircase. I double checked my handy Italian-English dictionary to confirm that I had not missed an important vocabulary word in my pre-business school travels. My suspicions were confirmed. "Upstares" is definitely not a real word. My conclusion: not Italian, not English, but very tasty.
Our waitress had an incredible memory. She must have rattled off at least eight specials, complete with details about the presentation, the sauce and where the food came from. The service was very attentive for the entire meal. Not only did the waitress come over numerous times to check on how we were doing; another woman, whom I presume was the manager, dropped in several times as well.
The Northern Italian menu boasted a variety of interesting options, including risotto, seafood, and various types of pasta. The crab appetizer special - which consisted of lump crabmeat over a bed of greens - was simple, tasty, and clean. It was accompanied by cocktail sauce on the side, which added a nice kick of flavor.
Upstares is a rather fancy establishment. I felt slightly cooler just walking through the door. The chic atmosphere fuses decorative genres, combining modern architecture and some more historical aspects of Philadelphia. It is the kind of place you dress up for, the kind of place that reminds you of what it was like to be a real person in the real world instead of a financially-challenged student. It is the kind of place you take someone you're interested in when you're trying to avoid sliding into the "friend zone."
I failed miserably in my mission to determine why the restaurant insists on calling itself "Upstares" rather than "Upstairs" like any normal person would. What I can tell you is that the restaurant is, in fact, upstairs - reachable by way of a winding staircase. I double checked my handy Italian-English dictionary to confirm that I had not missed an important vocabulary word in my pre-business school travels. My suspicions were confirmed. "Upstares" is definitely not a real word. My conclusion: not Italian, not English, but very tasty.
Our waitress had an incredible memory. She must have rattled off at least eight specials, complete with details about the presentation, the sauce and where the food came from. The service was very attentive for the entire meal. Not only did the waitress come over numerous times to check on how we were doing; another woman, whom I presume was the manager, dropped in several times as well.
The Northern Italian menu boasted a variety of interesting options, including risotto, seafood, and various types of pasta. The crab appetizer special - which consisted of lump crabmeat over a bed of greens - was simple, tasty, and clean. It was accompanied by cocktail sauce on the side, which added a nice kick of flavor.
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