The Copper Onion

This place is brightly lit and has outdoor seating. We describe the atmosphere as casual-chic. The menu is eclectic American. The waitress was friendly, but the service was slow. We went for the weekend brunch. They have a good selection of spirits.

Spicy Girl: As ya’ll may know, Sweetie will soon be departing for the wild ranges of Wyoming. So I was disappointed that I couldn’t get her to go out for hot wings as her farewell dinner.

Sweetie: I wanted to prove to Spicy Girl that there was heat at the Copper Onion so we ordered three sides ($11), including the parmesan steak fries that came with a sauce that was so spicy, my tongue was on fire until the ice cream came.

Spicy Girl: I didn’t think the sauce had much flavor. It was bland, and not worth the extra $1. The salty seasoning on the potato wedges had more flavor than the sauce. The shishito peppers that came as our second side were a different story. Some of them had a nice spicy bite – but not all of them were spicy. Odd. The garlic-horseradish pea pods were good too, but I couldn’t taste the horseradish.

Sweetie: Oh my gosh, those peas we so good. I’m going to try to make them in my new home. I think they were sautéed in olive oil. I avoided the peppers when I saw Spicy Girl’s face contort after she bit into the first one.

Spicy Girl: Oh Sweetie, you are just jealous that you can’t eat peppers! You know that the only thing that makes my face contort is that super sweet stuff you call caramel. I thought the peppers were just a little spicy. Yum! We also ordered the fruit bowl with ricotta cheese ($6). This was a simple but tasty combination that included strawberries, apples, Mandarin oranges, and bananas. Nice and light for the summer.

Sweetie: The fruit salad is another idea I want to try when I get to my new home. It makes you feel healthy and stuff because it’s, um, fruit. But it’s not really healthy because it had the dollop of ricotta. I debated between a lunch and a brunch dish and ultimately decided to go with the Eggs Benedict. The English muffin was topped with ham instead of Canadian bacon. There was sautéed spinach. And hash browns. The eggs were perfectly poached and the Hollandaise was rich and creamy. I noticed in the table next to us that the two women ordered an extra side of Hollandaise! That may be even too rich for me.

Spicy Girl: I think the hollandaise sauce was good, but very rich. I would not have been able to eat both portions. I was disappointed that they had run out of ingredients for my first choice – the huevos rancheros. So, I ordered the frittata. It was a different presentation, with arugula on top. It had an interesting flavor. I thought the hash browns were pretty bland. Some Cholula on the side fixed that problem.

Sweetie: I’d highly recommend the frittata if you’re interested in a light dish. It was flavorful and fresh, and sprinkled with parmesan. For dessert, I ordered the banana split – I’ve had it before. The scoops of vanilla and chocolate ice cream were home-made. A chocolate-pistachio mix was crumbled over the whipped cream that topped the ice cream. It was delicious except the chocolate chunks should have been sweetened.

Spicy Girl: I thought the unsweetened chocolate was the best part of your dessert. I went with the almond cake. A nice light dessert with a good almond flavor, topped with strawberries. I also ordered a scoop of the coconut-avocado ice cream ($3) just for kicks. It was actually pretty tasty and had just a hint of avocado and a slight pistachio flavor.

Sweetie: I thought your almond cake, Spicy Girl, had good texture. I thought it was funny that the strawberries were chopped to look like salsa – perfect for Spicy Girl! The coconut-avocado ice cream was green in color but the avocado was mild -- if non-existent in my mouth.

The total for all that food was $60. But as you can tell by reading this, we ordered a lot of food. If you just go with the standard brunch fare you’ll probably spend $10 a person or so. The dinner menu is pricier. The Copper Onion is open seven days a week for lunch (weekdays), brunch (weekends) and dinner. It's at 111 E. Broadway. Check at them out at www.thecopperonion.com.

Epilogue: This will probably be our last post for a while, since Sweetie is off to seek out brighter skies in Wyoming. Thanks for reading :)