Restaurant Review... Mid-week Lunch at Coppa, South End...

I found myself with an actual full hour free for lunch this past work week, unheard of these days, and it was a gorgeous day.  I had no choice but to find somewhere to dine al fresco.  Rather than staying in Back Bay where I work, I ended up meeting my friend, BosGuy over in the South End. 

After thinking about where to go, he suggested Coppa.  I had no idea they did lunch!  I agreed immediately as I hadn't visited them in a while and I have never been disappointed with my experiences at this cute South End locale.

Coppa is a little Enoteca managed by famed Boston Chefs, Ken Orringer and Jamie Bissonnette.  The restaurant is intimate, but loud.  The décor is simple with a long bar, which seats about eight people and lots of small square tables very close to each other that look into the small kitchen or out to Shawmut Street.  In the warmer months they do have some seating outside, but on this lunchtime occasion we chose to sit inside at one of the tiny tables facing the open windows.  

The menu offers small plates to share of Italian Bar Snacks to meats and cheeses to pizza to housemade pastas.  So many yummy and very interesting choices for an impromptu lunch.

No wine for lunch (boo), just a sparkling water with lemon.  I just pretended it was wine :).

After perusing the menu for a while we decided on a few things to share. 

Our first choice was the local burrata with Middle Eastern pepper puree.  Freshly delightful burrata messily spread on soft white bread with a wonderfully sweet tang of puree made me grin with joy.  I love burrata and the added puree really worked to make it something more special.

Muhammara e Burrata  -Middle Eastern pepper puree, fregola and local burrata - $14

We both agreed we needed some greens.  A weekend in New Orleans eating beignets and crawfish pie did nothing for my healthy eating habits.  A dish of broccolini was ordered based on a recommendation from our friendly waiter.  I can honestly say, this dish really surprised me with how flavorful it is. I absolutely loved the crunch of the broccolini stalks with soft bites of chickpeas.  I may have to try and replicate it at home.

Broccolini -  $9

Our final choice was the Parma Pizza.  Again, super delicious with a thin crust base and bubbled sides, a sweet tomato sauce base, tons of fabulous bitter arugula and salty prosciutto – a very happy combination.

Parma - Tomato, mozzarella, arugula and Prosciutto di Parma $16

If you have time, you absolutely need to venture out to the South End neighborhood.  While the evenings are usually crazed at Coppa and there is often a wait, no wait at all for during the day.  What a delightful way to spend an hour (perhaps a little more after moving my 1pm appointment back a bit.)  Coppa continues to impress on every level.

See a link to this review and many more on "Restaurant Talk"...

Wine Review... Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay Reserve 2009, Napa Valley...

Last year I extolled the joys of Cakebread Wines and the winery itself, especially after my visit.   Cakebread is in fact one of my favorite wineries in Napa.  It’s not just that they produce amazing wines; they also make it their business to build relationships. Everyone that works there is friendly, knowledgeable and helpful.  I know this goes with the territory of selling wines but the Cakebread folks seem to take it a little step further. 

I have been on their mailing list since my visit last year and even though living in MA I cannot purchase their wines, I can receive the fun recipes they send out each month and hear about the wines they are producing.  Perhaps one day we will be lucky enough to have wine shipped to our lovely little State!  In the meantime, you can find me in my local wine store buying Cakebread.

After a trip to Napa my friend Stacey treated a group of us to one of the bottles she brought back with her…  A Cakebread Chardonnay Reserve 2009.  What a great friend she is!

This is as superb a wine as a Chardonnay can be with aromas of clarified butter and sharp citrus.  The oaky bouquet is not as pungent as normal oaked Chardonnays, which makes this wine all the more intriguing.  On the palate there is a fullness to this wine, which gives it a creamy texture without being too heavy.   Deliciously intense with sweet fruits of ripe apple and nectarine.  This Chardonnay is heady decadence and absolutely my type of chardonnay with a long, lingering finish that adds a distinct dryness to the tongue and makes you want more.

This wine would pair beautifully with Chicken & Asparagus Paella.

Huge fan!

My rating… 

See a link to this review and many more on "Tracey on Wine"...

Recipe... Mediterranean Chicken Fettucini...

Anything with sundried tomatoes and black olives giving a taste and memory of the Mediterranean is all thumbs up in my book, especially in the months of spring.

This perfect spring dish not only offers something quick and easy but makes for a dish that is fabulously tasty and moreish.  Filled with yummy flavors of sweet sundried tomatoes, black olives with a sharpness of Parmesan and kick of pepper... you couldn’t really ask for more. 

Mediterranean Chicken Fettucine

Restaurant Review… Clink. at the Liberty Hotel, Beacon Hill...

Photo from Liberty Hotel website

I was struggling with blogger block and needed inspiration, any inspiration at all but preferably food.  Food always inspires me and having just returned from Rome, that’s all I could think about.  I shared this sentiment with my friend, Stacey and she suggested Clink.  I wasn’t 100% sold as I haven’t really enjoyed it on previous visits, however, the last visit was a few years ago and I felt another trip to the Clink was in order.

Waiting in the upstairs lobby of the Liberty Hotel, also the bar area of Clink gave me the chance to have a look around and people watch while enjoying a crisp, sharp extremely enjoyable glass of Sancerre.  The bar at Clink is most definitely a scene and draws the young, hip, fashionable crowd.   I would say I am no longer any of these but it is fun to be an onlooker.  Look up and you see three storeys of balconies and super cool décor in a space that was once the Charles Street Jail.  Some of the original jail still exists, such as the prison bars.

Restaurant Review… The Publick House, Washington Square, Brookline…

Last Saturday I was randomly in Brookline - not a town I find myself in very often.  My friend got an appointment to see the Mad Russian, a famous, not sure what you call him, Wikipedia calls him the “eraser of addictions,” who helps people give up things like smoking or helps them with weight control.  I was there for moral support as there is nothing I would like to see more than everyone giving up smoking.  They wouldn’t let me in with her so I had to try and find something to do for two hours.  I had no problem finding a little mani pedi salon just down the street and a Starbucks.  It was also a glorious day so I was quite happy. 

By the time she got out, I was absolutely starving so we decided to stay around Brookline for a late lunch. 

The Publick House in Washington Square seemed like the perfect “dive bar” for a bite to eat.  After reviewing their extremely extensive beer list and limited food menu I surmised this is really a beer house that serves some food.  The inside is a bit scruffy with dark wood tables and chairs that are a old and rickety looking and yellowing walls.  The lighting that hangs from the ceiling has a gothic, monastery look to it.  Not surprising when you look around and you see pictures of monks everywhere and even a “Monk’s Cell.”  All of this adds to the old world pub charm of the Publick House and reminded me of local pubs back home in England.

Thursday Thought… A Moment of Peace…

The low early morning sun glistened and then bounced off the ripples of the bay as I slowly did my morning run around Castle Island.  Other runners nodded and smiled either in pity at my poor attempt at running or in being united in getting up early for morning exercise, I wasn’t sure which, but I smiled and nodded back anyway.  As I ran I realized I was happy, it was a perfect morning, beautiful in fact and I felt a small moment of peace.  That feeling when all seems right with the world and its going to be a good day.  A minute later I felt a pang and started to cry, inconsolable unashamed sobbing as my thoughts drifted and I asked myself how it could be such a perfect beautiful morning with people smiling and at the same time there is such wickedness in the world? It was a perfect morning that day two weeks ago.

An Evening with The Columbus Hospitality Group at Mistral…

Last week myself and my good friend BosGuy were both invited to a Blogger social media event at Mistral for the Columbus Hospitality Group.  I love these types of events, not only to be recognized as a Boston Blogger, which is such a wonderful feeling in itself, but to also meet the Blogger world in our amazing Boston Strong city.  There really is a camaraderie amongst this group of passionate people and of course it is such a thrill for a fellow blogger to comment positively about your own site.    

The Columbus Hospitality Group owns some of my favorite restaurants... Mistral, Teatro and Sorellina.  There are also others that I didn’t realize were part of this group like Mooo and L’Andana but also XV Beacon and The Inn at St. Botolph.   This event was a coming together of all of these places for a tasting and networking evening in Mistral’s private dining room.