Coppa, South End, Boston, MA

Last week we felt the need to get out of quaint Cambridge and decided to aim for nonchalant sophistication in the South End. This is clearly the main brunch neighborhood in Boston and was the perfect place to enjoy a cold but incredibly sunny winter Sunday morning. Of course, we were not the only people that came up with this idea. The streets of the South End were crowded with people running morning errands and getting ready for brunch. Curiously, Ana and I were the only ones that were not walking in the company of dogs or kids...

Our destination was Coppa.

Most people in the Boston area are familiar with the very popular Tapas Bar in the South End, Toro. Ana and I love this establishment. It is the perfect place to get sophisticated spanish fare. If you are into Navajas, Tortilla and Albarino, Toro is your place. Rather recently, the man behind Toro, Ken Oringer, decided to open another restaurant that is to Italy what Toro is to Spain. This is Coppa. After I found out about this place, I could not wait to see what it was like.

We decided to give their brunch a try. Coppa is a very nicely setup establishment. It is cozy and warm while still being sophisticated. The place it is actually an enoteca. Because, we don't do wine and brunch, we will explore that side of the business some other time. Although the specialize in all sort of italian food, I would have to say that their home made Salumi (Charcuterie) is a definite highlight. We could not resist and ordered a portion of duck prosciutto to get things started. It was just amazing. We had coffee and juice with that, as well as a very interesting Bloody Mary with pickled mushrooms and horseradish.

Now, their menu is very interesting and everything looks delicious. We decided that we would definitely be back for dinner some other time and constrained our decision process to their brunch specials. Ana went with the Panino di Mattina: an amazing pressed sandwich containing prosciutto, fontina, fried eggs and arugula. Good, huh?
I decided to go with Uova con Funghi. This consists in a (perfectly cooked, not to runny, not to dry) egg scramble with oyster mushrooms, roasted garlic potatoes and sourdough toast. The ideal dish to jumpstart your Sunday morning.

Overall we had a great time and the staff was very friendly. We had a perfect brunch and got to relax and fill our bellies before taking a stroll down Shawmut Ave. Coppa is definitely a place we will be visiting again soon. I guess French is next in Ken Oringer's list... I would definitely visit that restaurant, too.