Chaos. Tasty, tasty chaos. An elbow’s in your ear; it belongs to the girl who’s wedged into the space between her friend’s barstool and yours. You’ve been waiting an hour that feels like two. Or has it been two? People come in, look at the crowd, and turn on their heels. You were told an hour and 40 minutes till you could have a table, but now it’s been two and a half. Or you were told an hour and 40 minutes, so you left your cellphone number and went down the street for drinks, only to have your phone ring the second the bartender gets your cocktail in her shaker. Chug! Chug! You want that table. An elbow’s in your side; it belongs to the guy trying to put his coat on in a space the size of a magician’s vanishing box. He vanishes. You’re seated, finally, famished, a little tipsy. A bite of something’s in your mouth; it’s carbonara spiked with sea urchin, the chaos quiets, fades into the background, this is so good. Chaos. Tasty, tasty chaos.
The crowds are pouring in for pasta, pizza, and meaty delights at Coppa
Coppa, a joint venture from chefs Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette, opened two months ago. It serves Italian-inspired small plates, salumi, pasta, and pizza crafted from local, seasonal ingredients. And it shoehorns all the energy and crowds of nearby tapas bar Toro, another Oringer-Bissonnette twofer, into a much more intimate space. Coppa only seats about 40. (Note to restaurateurs everywhere: Open tiny restaurants and you will always appear successful.)
Between the menu, reasonably priced and hugely appealing, and the reputations of the partners, Coppa had a following before it even opened. This means that if you want to eat here, you have to be willing to let go of control, to allow the universe to guide you to a seat in its own time. For those who live in the neighborhood, the system of heading in, putting your name on the waiting list, and going elsewhere till a table is available works well. Others will give up. Is it worth waiting two hours to eat here? Is any restaurant worth waiting two hours for? That’s a question you’ll have to answer for yourself. But the food at Coppa is very, very good.
Sometimes it’s stunning. That spaghetti carbonara is rich with egg and pancetta, and then there’s the unexpected uni. Its particular, briny flavor layers with the ham and egg like a millionaire’s breakfast. It is the lottery ticket, and you are the winner. Who would have thought this would work so well? It does. I ordered it twice, “just to make sure.’’ If I could have justified it, I would have ordered it again.