It always amazes me how one could have lived in NYC for years and never even notice half the places in the city. I must have passed by this place a million times in all my years of living in NYC but never once did I notice it. So I was shocked when Julia mentioned that this place had the best nachos in the city. How have I never been to this place before when it's 1 block away from the L train?!?
Coppelia is a 24/7 Latin diner, which also serves breakfast all day, so this place is already in the running for best place ever. Everything on the menu from the drinks to the food sounded amazing. We started with a large pitcher of sweet delicious red sangria ($34) and the nachos ($8.95). Oh - did I mention that all the prices here were very reasonable as well? The nachos, was advertised, were fantastic. According to Julia, the key to the nachos is the secret layer of crema underneath all the toppings, which included gouda-munster cheese, black beans, jalapeno, guacamole and a side of the chopped beef short ribs. The ribs were tender, juicy and super flavorful and I actually liked that it wasn't on top of the nachos because this way I was really able to get a good scoop of the ribs without hunting/pecking for it in the nachos. This isn't the kind of nacho plate that comes with gooey orange cheese on it but instead it's the real deal with fresh real ingredients. For the main course, we all decided to split the oxtail empanada ($4.75), a regular cheese empanada ($3.75), the pernil ($17.95), and the chile relleno ($16.95). The oxtail empanada was mainly for me to try because I love oxtail but sadly these empanadas were a bit on the cold side, so I didn't really love them all that much. I probably should have said something but there was so much other food that I didn't bother. I was excited to try the pernil because I love a good roasted pork dish and this one did not disappoint. The pork was tender and well apart when eating it. It was paired nicely with a yummy side of mojo and the dish was given a serious kick with some mojo on top of it. It was a tad on the salty side but that probably came from the chicharrons on the plate as well. I was so full at this point that I actually didn't get around to trying the chili relleno at all which I was super bummed about because it sounded delicious - it was served with quinoa, brussels sprouts, zucchini, salsa and a side of rice and beans.
By the time we left I was full and drunk. I was surprised to see how constantly full this place was but after having a great time there and having great food, I really shouldn't be surprised. I would absolutely come back here in a heart beat and try out everything else on the menu such as the ceviche, huevos rancheros, fish tacos, roasted chicken and cubano sandwich - in fact just writing about all these dishes is making my mouth water already. Total bill: ~$150 with tax, tip and drink
Photo Credit: Yelp
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