THE DINING REPORT – COPPIA
Wine With a Side of Martini
I’m not a big imbiber these days (preferring to spend excessive money on food rather than liquor) so I rarely visit bars, taverns, go on wine tours or to wine tastings or even to wine bars. Probably about seven years ago I was more into drinks and sips and such, and a friend and I stopped in to Vino Paradiso in the Pearl for a glass of wine and a small snack. At the time I remember thinking the space was pleasant, there was a decent selection of wine by the glass, and the snack was tasty. This being said, we waited FOREVER for service, even though there were few patrons, and the waiter was not particularly friendly. The upshot, with wine places bursting out at the seams, especially in the Pearl (remember, this was around 2005) why bother going back to a place that makes you feel unwanted?
Several months ago, I read on eater.com that the owner of Vino Paradiso, Timothy Nishimoto (who is also the male singer in Pink Martini) had decided he wanted to upgrade his space and start serving more serious food. I also remember reading, a bit later, that he had decided to rename his rebooted establishment Coppia. Slightly after this, I forgot about the whole situation, because as I mentioned before, my previous experience with this business was not the most positive, and since he was a local celebrity, I’m sure my disinterest in his business would hardly be a crushing blow to his entire life.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate myself about a 9, as far as keeping up with the new restaurants opening which are suitable for our group (the average food cart or pop up does not work for group dining due to size/kitchen capacity issues. They would be FUN though!)
Anyway, Coppia fell off my radar, as it wasn’t exactly getting heavy publicity, and I was focusing on lots of other places soon to come. Recently, however, the A&E gave Coppia a relatively decent review, especially noting the pastas made in house, so I thought, hey, here’s a “new” place I can shove on the roster until all these other new places that I’ve been talking about actually open. I was still a bit uncertain about restaurant size, but Open Table happily gobbled up our reservation, so we were all set. Although we had experienced some nicer weather, it was as relatively cold May evening, and most of us were bundled up in sweaters and other heavy layers of clothing. As this is the heart of the Pearl, I was quite glad to find a parking space about a block and a half away, as it had earlier been raining quite hard. (more…)












Lauro was one of the first, really good (but still modestly priced) neighborhood places that got going a couple of years before Portland’s incredible food explosion. In the beginning, they were always packed, and with no reservations, getting in could be rough, especially if there were quite a few of you. They ditched that no reservation policy a few years ago though, luckily for groups like ours, and Heidi and Julian, who became Lauro fans in the last year or so, occasionally stroll over for a meal and have no trouble getting in. On the recent Friday night we were there, it seemed like they were doing quite well, but with every passing month seeing more openings of good food places on Division, who knows what the future holds for Lauro. My guess is, as it’s a fine neighborhood eatery with an intriguing but comfortable menu, and a good bargain as well, that Lauro will continue on for some years. 


