Copeland’s adds up to very enjoyable dining experience

• By JUDY BERGERON
• Restaurant reviewer
• Published: May 29, 2009

• Print
• Email
• Save
• Reprints
• Twitter
• Share

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Facebook
• Reddit
• 

The menu says Copeland’s has a casually festive atmosphere, and on a recent Thursday night, there seemed to be a lot of celebrating going on, with big tables of families and friends, some marking graduations, filling the large dining room.

We were seated at one of the tables surrounding the room’s perimeter, able to take in the decidedly New Orleans décor and ambience. Dark woods, iron and earth tones were complemented by modernistic depictions of the city in large-scale paintings. Faux candles on each table and subdued lighting, including sconces, further set the casual, yet elegant mood.

We started things off with one of Copeland’s signature appetizers, Bayou Broccoli® ($7.49). Copeland’s restaurants have been making this appetizer since their first eatery opened in 1983. The half-dozen deep fried golf-ball-sized balls were crunchy on the outside and filled with bits of broccoli and bacon held together with cheese. A delicious tiger sauce was served on the side for dipping. The creamy sauce had a slight kick thanks to a hint of horseradish.

The wood grilled chicken with yams ($13.49) offered two chicken breasts with well-seasoned, crusty, smoky-flavored exteriors and juicy breast meat inside. The chicken was served over a generous portion of tender and sweet, melt-in-your-mouth mashed sweet potatoes topped with roasted pecan pieces and caramelized onions. The pecans added a nice texture to the potatoes, but the flavor of the onions was overpowered by the strong flavor of the housemade Worcestershire sauce drizzled on top. A pile of very thinly-sliced onion rings finished off the plate.

We can recommend the crab stuffed catfish Bordelaise ($15.59). The eight-ounce mildly-flavored filet was broiled, stuffed (on the side) with a nicely-seasoned crabmeat stuffing and drizzled with garlic butter. The corn macque choux was creamy enough to be a soup, well-seasoned  and colorful with bits of green and red pepper. The steamed vegetables — carrots, broccoli and cauliflower — were quite tasty as well.

 The shrimp ducky ($14.99) featured a large bowl of linguine swimming in a robust burgundy sauce with sautéed shrimp, mushrooms and onions. Strips of well-cooked duck topped the pasta.

A guest who sometimes leans toward vegetarian fare ordered the eggplant parmesan ($10.99), only to learn a little while later that the restaurant was out of eggplant. As she had already negotiated giving away the eggplant part of the dish and was really only interested in the pasta part, she stuck with the pasta. The large serving of angel hair was covered in a nicely-seasoned marinara sauce topped with a little Alfredo sauce. The melted mozzarella, fontina and parmesan cheeses added more flavor and creaminess to the dish.

Not having any room left for desserts, we ordered two anyway, to go. Copeland’s is known for its cheesecakes, so we sampled the praline ($7.99). The substantial piece of cake had a nut-filled crust backed by a section of praline holding a light and creamy cake topped with whipped cream. Small containers of caramel and crushed pralines were provided to pour and sprinkle atop the cake. The carrot cake ($5.99) was a four-layered confection of moist cake enhanced with nuts and separated by fluffy cream cheese frosting. Both were a sweet delight.

The waiter was friendly and quite busy, but still managed to keep our drink glasses filled. There was a mixup with one of our orders, but the kitchen quickly got the dish out to us with only a short delay.