Upstairs from Downstairs

If you haven't yet visited Mike Proske's Tapastre restaurant in Somerville, you're doing yourself a disservice. A tapas bar with phenomenal food and a mighty impressive beer list await you. It has been favorably reviewed, not only here, but by many of the beer cognoscenti, and his frequent affiliations with breweries, along with his two annual Somerville Beerfests have made Tapastre a destination since it opened.

But Proske (also dubbed the Ted Williams of Craft beer) is apparently not content to sit on his laurels. The magnificent building which houses Tapastre on its lower level was, for six years, home to a restaurant called Il Pomodoro. That space has been dark, however for the past four years.

It is dark no longer. Clearly the former home of a well-to-do Somerville resident, the upstairs has been completely refurbished, mostly by Proske himself, though he had no official restoration and construction training.

"When my family bought the place ten years ago, you could drop a hammer from the attic to the basement and not have it hit anything but the basement floor," he said. "That's the bad shape it was in. I just learned to do what I needed to do."

Proske must have learned well, because the space that now houses his new idea--called Project P.U.B.--is at once stunning and comfortable. One gets the feeling of La Belle Epoque upon entering, and with the beer and small plate food offered, it just gets better from there.

The idea behind Project P.U.B. (Pop-Up Brewpub) is to feature the beers of a different brewer each month, along with Chef Carlton's fabulous culinary creations. On this night, my delightful bar gal Stefanie (who calls the fabulous Humphrey's Tavern in Glen Gardner her home) strongly approved of my first Founders beer choice--something called "Mango Magnifico."

Sometimes just the letters OMG will suffice for a beer description. This is one of those times. The PubScout is not a big fan of mango, and even less of a fan of habanero--especially in what he's drinking. But this combination, registering at 10.8%, was just out-of-this-world good.

So good, that I ordered another when finished. And it went exceptionally well with my Devil's Eggs dish and the incredible Duck Fat Fries with House-Smoked ketchup. Chef Carlton knows his way around the scullery as well as Mike Proske knows his way around the sixtels--and probably Home Depot--considering his prize creation--the chandelier that hangs above what constitutes a Snug near the bar.

This was an invitation-only "soft" opening, and the menu was limited, though it will be expanded once it opens "for real" in February. Proske will assess everything about the soft openings he conducted and make adjustments accordingly.

I got to meet other special guests who were invited, like Proske's neighbors Joan and Milt (Buster's Grandfather), who enjoyed their Duck Fat fries and a Chicken Liver dish enough for Milt to proclaim," We have eaten in fine restaurants all over the world, and we've never seen a better presentation of a great dish like this one." He added, "My own grandmother never made it so good."

I astutely guessed that Joan and Milt were seasoned citizens above the age of, say, fifty, so his grandmother had to be VERY old school. She would probably have enjoyed dining in this great space.

I also met a delightful young lady named Sara, who used to work Downstairs from Upstairs here at 41 N. Bridge St. We struck up a grand conversation, made possible by a very comfortable noise level, and I got to meet her beau, Mike. They make a nice couple, and I'm pretty sure that won't be their last visit toe Project P.U.B.

Nor will it be The PubScout's.

How often do you find two great places for food and beer just a staircase away from each other? And TV's Cheers bar doesn't count, because you could never go upstairs.

Here, you can.

And you should.