In honor of Italy’s win over Germany earlier today (but of course the satellite went out during the last thrilling minutes of the game – damn meteorological interference!) I thought I’d salute one of my favorite Italian restaurants in the city – Coppi’s Organic on U Street.
We ventured there Sunday night, aiming to relax over some pizza and prosecco. Coppi’s serves up delicious food from the Ligurian region of Italy and is always packed. It’s a very small restaurant, so reservations are essential, especially if you want one of the wooden booths. Once situated you’re lulled by candlelight and dark red walls covered in Italian bike racing paraphernalia. It’s been a fixture on U since 1993, and despite its rising popularity increasing the difficulty of getting a table, or the accompanying rising of prices that seems to be endemic in my neighborhood these days, I still love to return. Why? Two words – nutella calzone…
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
The restaurant’s emphasis is on fresh ingredients from regional organic farmers, with a small antipasto and pasta menu that changes with the seasons. The pasta is made daily and varies. The pizza is also a good choice, featuring some seventeen selections. This time out we had a Saraceno, moroccan harissa and lamb sausage, and Salmone Affumicato, smoked salmon and capers. I also tried a roasted eggplant antipasto, meltingly soft and tossed with smoked mozzarella and red peppers.
But as I mentioned earlier, there is one reason I return to Coppi’s, and it’s for one particular dessert- their famous nutella calzone. It’s so simple – gobs of the chocolate hazelnut spread enveloped by pizza dough dusted with confectioner’s sugar – yet so addicting. Sure, they have plenty of other tempting items like decadently rich gelato made on the premises. But definitely try the nutella calzone at least once, and I defy you to be able to pass it up again.
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
As one of the founding editors of We Love DC, Jenn’s passions are theater and cocktails. After two decades in the city, she’s loved every quirky, mundane, elegant, rude minute of her DC life. A proud advocate for DC’s talented drinks scene, she’s judged the Corcoran Gallery of Art’s ARTINI contest, the DC Rickey Month contest, the Jefferson Hotel’s Quill Cocktail competition, and is a founding member of LUPEC DC. A graduate of Catholic University’s drama program, she toured the country as a member of National Players, and has been both an actor and a costume designer before jumping the aisle to theater criticism. Writing for We Love DC restored her happiness after a life-threatening illness, and she’s grateful to you, dear readers. Send your suggestions to jenn (at) welovedc (dot) com and follow her on Twitter.
