copperwood tavern

i have always enjoyed my experience at cooperwood. brunch is great. i have had the shrimp and grits and the chicken and waffles and both greatly satisfied me. also, the tavern burger and fries was delicious. one of my new favorite spots.

good food, aspirational service. 8 pm friday, a few open tables. the mushroom bruschetta was quite tasty, and both the gouda mashed potatoes and the truffled mac i ordered had the right textures and tastes (very smooth for the former, nicely cooked with crunchy toppings for contrast for the latter). the bread pudding was dense, sweet, and easily carved up with a spoon, with a nice caramel/apple flavor. the service was nice but multiple times got confused--not just about which table ordered what (happened three times between us and the next table alone) but once my partner ordered a mixed drink and received a martini glass filled with ice and tap water. this too was apparently destined for another table, but arrived with the drink i did order. i would eat there again, but not if i were ravenous/starting out in a bad mood.

if you were to judge a restaurant based on the side dishes alone, copperwood tavern in shirlington village, arlington would win hands down. and then they’d win for concept, ambiance, and the rest of their farm to table menu. in short, our recent date night to copperwood tavern was an epic win. scott and i have long been obsessed with the farm to table fad which is sweeping the country. and you can say you heard it here – farm to table is here to stay. capitalizing on locally sourced farm products and providing an alternative to mass and chemically engineered meat is increasingly fashionable if not downright healthy. growing up in western new york in a farm community, we love nothing more than seeing restaurants recognize the hard work put in my local farmers and producers. copperwood’s ambiance is perfectly suited to its concept – complete with dark, rustic wood tables and outdoorsy decor adorning the walls. i loved the details, all the way down to the mason jar water glasses. spot on. the dining room was entirely open, however the darker colors and rustic charm lent themselves well in creating an intimate atmosphere perfect for conversation and date-night charm. we began our mail with two of their signature cocktails; scott ordered the bacon rebellion (wild turkey 101, house-made maple-orange syrup, aromatic bitters, bacon – yes, bacon)  and i had the bourbon thief, a similar taste to a classic whiskey sour. scott has been dabbling in mixology lately and while i have become a harsher critic in favor of his concoctions, copperwood delivered a well-made cocktail. if you are a fan of warm drinks, they have those too. try the bourbon warmer – scott said it was filling but delicious. our server, roger, was top-notch, and we fed off all of his recommendations as well as those we queried on twitter. for starters, we ordered the short ribs (root beer braised short ribs over parsnip and garlic confit puree) and the bison meatballs (seasoned ground bison with huckleberry gra

and we continue the saga of crappy virginia restaurants.

disappointment. this is an over priced restaurant with very mediocre food! we took 7 people to celebrate my daughter's birthday and had undercooked duck and tasteless chicken. the salad consisted of a bunch of greens with a few strips of peppers and a dribble of dressing. main dishes come with no sides. we ordered 3 sides which were very small portions without much flavor. desserts tasted stale. don't go!

i have a really good friend (who helped with this post) who loves brunch just about as much as i do.  she lives in va., so this accidental foodie took a slight detour to d.c.  well, shirlington village in arlington, va to be exact.  shirlington is a happening place on the weekend – so i recommend reservations. we arrived at copperwood tavern and found the inside atmosphere to be warm and inviting. it is a farm to table restaurant, proudly sourcing their ingredients from local farms, well except for the coffee, which was from brazil (am i sensing another detour?).  there is a rustic farmhouse vibe with the recycled wood tables and a wall full of tree stump rings of all different sizes.  there outside seating option that is bright and more contemporary, but the spring breeze was a bit chilly for us.  a little birdie told me that they have house-made treats for those pups who also lucky enough to brunch. this cute place also uses cloth doilies

i have always been a huge fan of brunch. sleeping in late, then having someone make you a fancy breakfast? well that’s just about the best thing ever. we are always on the search for a new place that is the perfect combination of decadent food, reasonable prices, and amazing atmosphere. we first tried copperwood tavern at the beginning of the month. we went back again a few weeks later. that’s right, we went to the same place twice in one month. it was that good. copperwood tavern is located in shirlington, which is an awesome little village on the border between arlington and alexandria. it’s not super accessible if you don’t have a car, but it’s totally worth the drive if you can make it work. it’s a great little place to walk around and copperwood is worth the drive alone. i’d love to try it for dinner, but so far the brunch has just been too appealing. i love the decor – it’s rustic, but comfortable. the service has been great both times we went and i love the menu.

...bahn mi was nice and fresh tasting with chicken, cilantro, pickled cabbage and a few jalapeno slices. there was a little sriracha mayo on there to hold it together and give it a little kick....

brunch on sunday was great! the service was very good and the food came out in a timely manner. the only thing i would recommend is go earlier if brunching to avoid the after church, large groups, and family crowds!

two chance and failed in one visit. pork chop served rare despite request for medium while brussel sprouts came drenched in balsalmic and overcooked. they apologized and tried again but sadly meat was medium rare and another batch of overcooked veggies. to their credit they took it off my bill without asking. too bad it was a nice piece of meat.

saturday night and the place was on a wait, but still not too crowded. great beer and whiskey selection. try the small plates. the brussel sprouts were phenomenal-- deep fried, then sautéed in duck fat confit. then maple syrup. oh my... the mussels were great -- cider, bacon and blue cheese. the good news is all their food is locally farm raised. delicious. ask for kyle, the bartender. he's very good and quite knowledgeable about the menu.

the copperwood staff was consistently attentive and friendly throughout our meal, offering their suggestions and checking in. the food—all locally sourced—was incredible, and the servings were generous at affordable prices.

go for brunch, not for dinner. i recently ate at copperwood tavern as it is a new restaurant in my neighborhood and i have been dying to try dinner after attending brunch there. brunch was reasonably priced and delicious. they have a great selection of eggs benedict and being a bloody mary lover, i thought their bloody mary was amazing!

when we went for dinner, i was surprised to see the menu. all proteins are 'a la carte', starting at $18, and the sides are separate and family-style. don't get me wrong, i'm an italian girl who's all about family style, but the prices were inflated and the portions were inadequate. i ordered the duck, which tasted great, but still felt hungry after finishing that and my portion of two sides. to drink, i had the apple pie moonshine, but was stunned to see the shot glass of a drink they brought me for $8.

overall, the dinner menu food and drinks are great in taste and quality, though the prices and portions could use some work. go for brunch instead!

overpriced, disappointing caesar salad and more. although the restaurant was very busy on a tuesday night, my experience did not shed any light on why this place was so packed.

we were seated within 10 minutes and anticipated a really good, if pricey meal. we were attracted to the fact that the food is from local sources and farms....great! the menu descriptions were wonderful.

we ordered the caesar salad which sounded intriguing because it included roasted romaine along with fresh romaine and home made caesar dressing. our salad arrived promptly and looked exactly like an undressed pile of chopped pale romaine lettuce with a few mediocre croutons tossed in, nothing else. when i mentioned this to the waitress, she brought a thimble of parmesan cheese and a thimble of gloppy dressing. the price for this salad was $14...really???

the bruschetta with chopped mushrooms and a smear of goat cheese was good, but not great (4 thin slices-$8), the short rib was tasty but tiny (1 rib cut in half over lukewarm parsnip puree--$8). the bison steak was large but served completely naked, nothing on the plate with it, not even parsley. i found it a bit on the fatty side which surprised me because i though bison would be lean.($24). and the roasted asparagus were well-seasoned, but the quarter pound that was served was overpriced at $8.

are my standards too high? i don't think so...overall this place disappointed me by not delivering on the very descriptions on their menu.

you be the judge.

overall,

kind of like the new carlyle, but different- in a good way. i need to go back and take some pictures of the food but every time i go there i devour the food and halfway into it i think "crap, not again!". any how where do i start?

i would say, 4 stars. maybe 3.75 because of the size of the appetizers.

price- leans a bit more to the expensive side. if you're going to go there i would say expect to spend at least 20 dollars although i would say 30 for each person is a better bet. but i didn't have any buyer's regret.

food- ahhh, where do i start? food is of course great. i haven't eaten anything below average. everything was either great or pretty good. i must say the fingerling potatoes are the bomb. cooked in duck fat with bacon and blue cheese... yum! only bad thing is sometimes they have a a lot of bacon and blue cheese and other times not enough. i remember the first time i tried it they didn't have any blue cheese. i would definitely recommend the fingerling potatoes though.

truffle mac and cheese- it's pretty good i've got to say. and i'm surprised i said that because i'm actually a hard critic when it comes to truffle dishes. sadly, most truffle dishes hardly have any truffle in them. but with the truffle mac and cheese you can actually taste the truffle. it's a bit faint but it's there. and then i realized that they sprinkled crushed sour cream and onion chips on top of the mac and cheese! genius i tell you. genius.

steak tar tar- wasn't the best and portion was very small. they were some grey spots too. i don't know about you but i like my steak tar tar red.

brussel sprouts- really good. no further notes.

creamed spinach- the only average dish i've tasted from there.

pork chop- the pork chop is a huge single pork chop with mango chutney i believe. mango chutney makes it even better. very filling.

other notes: so here's the deal. all of the steak, chicken, fish, and pork are a la carte. meaning they don't come with any sides. weird i know. but that's where the sides part of the menu come in. so here's a little note for you. i wouldn't get any of the appetizers. sure, i've only tasted one thing from that side of the menu but i do know that all of the appetizers are very small. on top of that, the sides are the same price as the appetizers. mostly 10 dollars. and with the sides, normally i get two sides as my meal and here's the thing. i'm from texas and i have a texas appetite. i actually got full before finishing the second side which surprised my best friend.

atmosphere- so everything i've said about this place reminds people of the carlyle. except the carlyle actually has larger dishes but we'll get to that in a minute. the atmosphere really makes is unique. it's high class food being served in a very homey type of restaurant.

other notes: make a reservation. they will not seat you unless it's at the bar if you do not make a reservation. but it's worth it trust me. i call in normally an hour ahead. i've seen people complaining about this but it's really not such a big deal.

last thing, earlier i said the carlyle has larger dishes but even though they're both highclass places... they're just different. the food is just different it really is. and even though the portions are smaller with some dishes, don't write this restaurant off your list. the sides are just the best. the truffle mac and cheese, the fingerling potatoes, and the brussels sprouts are awesome.