A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

I hadn’t been to Coppa in a long, long time – so when Leah invited me out to Coppa for lunch with a Gilt City voucher, I gladly accepted. Sometimes you can really hit it right with these vouchers, but you have to look at what the menu has to offer before you should decide if it’s a good deal or not. In my opinion, this was a great deal – we had a fantastic lunch.

Ordering a sandwich at lunch? This was a fancy Italian grinder, I assure you. Made with thinly sliced salami, prosciutto, mortadella, provolone, and picked cherry peppers. Makes me rethink all the other Italian subs I eat, that’s for sure. What were some of the other choices for antipasti on the menu? An Insalata di Casa and an Insalata di Caesar.

There were 5 choices for stuzzichini (Italian small bar snacks): Mortadella Pimento Formaggio, Olive Marinate, Funghi in Salamoia, Arancini and Boquerones (anchovies). We went with the arancini, fried risotto with pea and fontal cheese in a spicy tomato sauce. These were perfect in every way….

In the Forno a Legna e Piatti (wood over roasted and plates) category there were:polpette, yucca, pomodoro verde and bistecca to choose from. We went with the bistecca, which is a hanger steak that was served with cauliflower, giadiniera and finished with a charred scallion salsa verde. The meat was delicious – a great crunch to the outside and perfectly tender on the inside.

For pizzas, the choices were: margherita, nostrano, parma, salsiccia and fiore di zucchine. The fiore di zucchine sounded the most interesting – it was a white, thin crust pizza with squash blossoms, charred corn, chili oil and marjoram. Very light and fresh.

My favorite course, the pasta course, offered a choice of cavatelli con pollo, spaghetti carbonara con riccio di mare, rigatoni con sumo or a gamely con mais. Of course my pick was the carbonara that was topped with pancetta, sea urchin, pepper and parmesan. So rich and decadent.

The restaurant is cozy and there is on street parking available – but make sure to leave yourself plenty of time to find a spot if you are driving. The best way to go is via public transportation.

Coppa

253 Shawmut Ave, Boston, MA

www.coppaboston.com

Tags: casual dining, celebrity chef, lunch