Coppi

I’ve been wanting to try out Coppi for a while. We have been to Bartali, its little sister on the North Coast, and I spend most days jealous of the executive chef Jonny Phillips’ Instagram feed!  I am pleased to say that Coppi did not disappoint.  
What I love about Coppi (and Bartali for that matter) is the flexibility of the menu. If you want a big meal, 3 courses, then you can have them, but the cichetti and pizzetta allow for flexible eating and an opportunity to try lots of things. That’s important when you are indecisive like me.
We chose the crispy artichokes and chilli Mayo from the cichetti specials and five other cichetti dishes: Sicilian lamb and pistachio polpettina, feta fritters with truffle honey, goats cheese and smoked tomato pesto arrancini, crispy pork belly and pickled radicchio and duck ravioli fritti and truffled porcini aioli.  

  
We also couldn’t resist the portavogie prawns, lemon and garlic butter, grilled focaccia and rocket from the starters section and the duck, hazelnut and truffled honey Pizzetta.  

    
Everything had bags of flavour, simple yet brilliantly executed and the portavogie prawns were so delicious that I to restrain Mr Frivolitea from licking the plate! My only comment is that all our cichetti were deep fried and that wasn’t clear from the description. That isn’t a criticism as it tasted fantastic and it certainly wasn’t greasy or oily but I might have chosen differently to ensure variety had I realised. 

We rounded the meal off with a perfectly boozy and light tiramisu and I had a glass of prosecco. The bill – £40 for two people. You can’t go wrong with that. We will certainly return and Bartali is definitely on the list for a revisit in the summer!

  

The Cookbook Challenge

  I love my collection of cookbooks and I enjoy nothing more than an afternoon on the sofa, flicking through recipes. The problem is I don’t always use them and challenge myself to do new things.

Mr Frivolitea and I had been chatting about our plans for 2016 and one plan we had made was to try one new recipe a week. A couple of friends on Facebook starting discussing the same thing!

So…. A Facebook group was born. A place where we can encourage each other to stick to the challenge but also discover the books that people use and celebrate the results! 

Why not join us….. https://www.facebook.com/groups/129597497415126/

Haptik (again)

If you’ve read my previous blog about Haptik then you will know that I love this place. I really admire the commitment of Johnny and Rachel to bring quality coffee and a local art space to Newtownards. I love the feel of the place and I love the fact that lots of local people of all ages have embraced it and go regularly. 

  On previous visits, Haptik had not yet served a breakfast or lunch menu so our visit this time was a great excuse to try some food.

We had Mike’s fancy cheese on toast with mushrooms and spinach. Mike’s Fancy Cheese Co. is an artisan cheese maker local to Newtownards and the main reason for choosing the dish. 

Oh my! It was delicious, the cheese was complimented by the mushrooms, onions and spinach in a creamy tarragon sauce and a sprinkling of nuts and seeds. 

  
The menu at Haptik is small, creative and seasonal and as you already know the coffee is spot on. 

We will keep going as often as we can!