East Village Restaurant Review:
I Coppi

By Arlene McKanic/Greenwich Village Gazette

Ristorante I Coppi, the newly refurbished restaurant in the East Village is a snug little place that specializes in the Tuscan food cooked by the co-owner, the self-taught chef Maristella and her mother.

The rustic brick walls are decorated with terra cotta medallions and colorful ceramic plates, the tables and chairs are wood, the floor slightly but charmingly uneven -- Maristella had to sort of prop up one of the legs of the reviewer's table.

There's a romantic enclosed garden in the back, but as it was pouring rain that evening the reviewer didn't utilize it Now and then the wonderful charred smell of the brick oven as it baked bread and pizza drifted up from the back of the room.

The writer and her companion were first treated with Bellinis in flute glasses, a bracing drink of wine and peach puree, with a nice head of foam on top; I Coppi has a very nice wine list of whites and reds, by the way. We were also given baskets of foccaccio bread, which was a meal in itself -- it tasted like pizza without the toppings -- and crusty slices of Italian bread to be dipped in a little bowl of delicate olive oil.

The drink was soon accompanied by the appetizers, a platter of antipasto including a sweet/salty prosciutto, pancetta and mortadella and what tasted like liver pate on toast points. The appetizer special was a tuna tartare, chopped coarsely with herbs, and accompanied by sprouts and slices of fresh avocado.

The latter could be served with a grinding of pepper, but the antipasto was too strongly flavored. Generally, and admirably, I Coppi's meals go light on the salt but are liberal with the olive oil, which seems to be used instead of butter, to delicious effect. Other appetizers include Gorgonzola with walnuts drizzled with honey.

For soup there's pappa al pomodoro, which is Tuscan bread soup with fresh tomato, basil and olive oil. It's so flavorful and mild to the system that it's regularly served to babies. Our entrees that night were the gnocchi all'arancia e granchio, which are tiny potato gnocchi with crabmeat in a light and heavenly orange and gin sauce.

This meal alone is filling -- the reviewer's companion asked for and got a doggie bag. The other entree was Tuscan fish stew. Tuscany, Maristella explained, is a poor region of Italy, and the fish that make up the stew are considered the less desirable sort, though this stew did come with at least two succulent jumbo shrimp. But most of the stew was made up of mussels, tiny cockles still in their shell, sliced squid and octopus and other seafood that's considered cheap, all in an herb-filled tomato based sauce that had just a bit of a bite to it.

The stew was so hearty that again a doggie bag was asked for. Other entrees at I Coppi include grilled sirloin steak with rosemary, wild boar (yes!) stewed in tomato and herb sauce with soft polenta, grilled, then brick oven roasted baby chicken with stewed lentils, pancetta and sautéed spinach in olive oil and garlic, and grilled branzino (sea bass) with eggplant, cherry tomatoes, capers and black olives.

There's also a nice selection of pizzas, cooked in that brick oven, including white pizza with mozzarella, arugula and pine nuts, and of course, all manner of pasta and risotto. The risotto is cooked, remarkably, with neither butter nor cheese.

The reviewer and her companion couldn't stay for dessert, alas, but the dessert menu was amazing, as are the dessert menus in most quality Italian restaurants. One stand out was an orange scented olive oil cake served with vanilla ice cream. I Coppi is a wonderful place to have a very filling and homey lunch or dinner. I Coppi is at 432 East 9th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A. Call (212) 254-2263 for information.