synaesthesiaJP

So Saturday night, I took my wonderful friend Fumie out to dinner at Coppola’s Vinoteca. I’ve been wanting to eat there for a long time, and my current business trip finally afforded me the opportunity. On top of that, I was graced with excellent company (and wow at how pretty she looked… I was surprised, indeed).

We sat down at the long bar seating (the only kind at Coppola’s) and proceeded to wait, and wait, and wait. The service was bad. But it was surprisingly charming. See, the lady waiting our table had none of the Tokyo pretension that goes along with a Tokyo Midtown restaurant. Instead, she was a down home Kansai girl stumbling through our dinner service with a smile and friendly conversation. Could our food orders have gone in faster? Sure. Would I have taken the cold sommelier over her? Absolutely not.

My first order of business was inquiring about the price of a bottle of Neibaum-Coppola (Now Rubicon Estate) Rubicon. The waitress brought me a 2002 that was priced at Â¥25000. My limit for this wine was Â¥20000, so Fumie did a good job of keeping my mouth behind my credit card. We ended up with a Coppola Diamond Collection Pinot Noir from Monterey, priced a reasonable Â¥6500. It was matched with sauteed paprikas and a cheese assortment. Moving on to the main course, we went with a wonderful Quattro Formaggi pizza (the Gorgonzola was excellent), and followed it with a perfectly prepared braised pork chop with lentils. The sauce was fantastic, the pork moist and tender… Just an amazing dish.

By now the bottle of Pinot was exhausted, but I offered Fumie desert. She went with a Pistachio ice cream cake with peach sauce matched to a glass of orange muscot, while I went for tiramisu and a desert Zinfandel. Both were excellent dishes that left a lasting impression with me, although the pork was the highlight of the evening.

All be told is was 21000 yen for the two of us to have dinner. But it was worth every yennie. I had a wonderful night.

I’m headed back to Osaka tomorrow… to plant myself on my new sofa.

And of course, I’ll have to have a glass of Pampero to relax after an 80 hour work week.

I also rearranged my bar set up to be a bit more compact. I like how it turned out.

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