Copacabana promises to bring Carnevale to Charlottesville.
The attempt is admirable, but perhaps falls just short of its mark.
It is difficult to create an atmosphere that will transcend standard shopping center surroundings, but the interior of Copacabana looks oddly more like a Chinese restaurant than a Brazilian one. The framed travel posters of Brazil on the walls do spice up the primarily red, black and white color scheme, but one would expect a pretty colorful tropical decor.
While the interior is subdued and uneventful, however, the menu is diverse and the food is better than most.
Every element of the sauteed escargot appetizer ($8.95) is delicious in and of itself, but what makes the dish truly wonderful is the manner in which these components unite and complement each other. The tender escargot, alongside artichokes and cubes of baked Brie cheese, is served in a Brie cream.
The baked Camembert cheese appetizer ($8.95) is lovely. It is breaded with finely chopped hazelnuts before baking, and is served on a plate covered with strawberry puree. It is served with character-free, rather dry brown cocktail bread, but you can supplement it with the warm white bread that is served at the table.
Given the rather high-end prices on the menu, one would expect free extra bread - a standard mark of generous hospitality. Unfortunately, extra bread costs 95 cents. Just like new cars come with full tanks of gas, so too should nice restaurants throw in unlimited warm bread.
The Grilled Chicken Salad ($9.95) is one of Copacabana's most heralded culinary accomplishments, and although it was beautiful to look at, frankly it was pretty disappointing. The idea of a salad with melon and strawberry in February was very enticing, but there was only one lone strawberry on the plate. Apple slices and chunks of avocado also were bedded on the colorful but rather bitter cabbage.
Although the dressing was the glamorously titled Champagne Poppy-seed, its effect on the salad was one of being unpleasantly smothered in honey.The grilled and flattened chicken breast added some heft to the salad but it couldn't escape the sweet and heavy dressing coating.
If you order this, ask for the dressing on the side.
For those with a healthy appetite and a particularly carnivorous leaning, the Paella Copacabana ($16.95) promises to both fill and satisfy. Mussels, clams, scallops, chicken, shrimp, pork and sausage, all well prepared and delicately balanced, are placed atop saffron rice and surrounded with shredded collard greens. This menagerie of meats, with its festive and colorful accents, looks daunting when it arrives at the table. For most people, the paella is more than a one-person meal and couples could consider splitting it along with an appetizer. But, this gluttonous reviewer surmounted the serving size and is all the more grateful for the experience.
The sauteed shrimp ($14.95) includes five healthy-sized shrimp that are basted with fresh garlic and lemon butter and served with fried bananas on a bed of rice and collard greens.
The grilled chicken ($13.95) with hot and sour pineapple sauce is serviceable. The canned pineapple slices on the chicken are pleasant enough and make for a colorful dish, and the roasted potatoes and vegetables round out the plate.
To finish off the meal, Copacabana offers traditionally Brazilian dessert options, such as Banana Flan, as well as more universal delicacies. The chocolate cake ($6.00) is incredibly rich and highly delectable. Layers of cake and fudge are topped with whipped cream and encrusted with chocolate chips to provide a not-so-low calorie treat.
|
The generous portion of tiramisu ($6.00) was almost too much to eat, and the delicately sprinkled chocolate powder topped off the presentation of the espresso-soaked ladyfingers and layers of cream.
Copacabana's head chef and owner, Hermano Freitas, opened the restaurant in 1991 after moving to Charlottesville from Toronto. Originally from Minas, Brazil, Freitas has integrated many international flavors into his menu, although he is grounded in the Brazilian tradition.
While spending an evening at Copacabana, staring at Highway 29 and Advance Auto Parts from the restaurant window, is not exactly sheer festival and pageantry, the spices in a few of the entrees will make your stomach get up and dance. The kitchen seems to completely hit or nearly miss, as some dishes are much better than others, but the food is good on the whole.
In a world of dining similarity, a trip to Copacabana, to its credit, is unlike any other journey in Charlottesville.
Read More
Dreaming of drunken noodles at Thai Cuisine and Noodle House
By Lizzy Goldstein | 5 hours agoI was amazed by how the tamarind sauce and variety of spices created a cohesive link among all the dishes, tying the dinner together and leaving everyone feeling satiated.
Breaking my silence
By Cecy Juárez | 2 days agoI, Cecy Juárez, am one of the three “squirrels of U.Va.” running the @thesquirrelsofuva page.
Lending a hand during the finals push
By Abby Snowdon | 4 days agoThe race to the end of the year has begun, and University groups have set up pit stops along the course to help students get to the finish line.
