Zea has been doing a two-person meal deal for a while, and I noticed that Copeland’s is trying it too. Over the weekend we went. For $40 for two, a generous amount of choices were there for apps to be shared and entrees per person. We chose the spinach and artichoke dip to share, and ML had a Penthouse Salad with paneed chicken. That was a given.
It was me that had difficulty deciding. For some inexplicable reason, I went to Copeland’s with the idea of being good. NO ONE should ever assume that is possible there. Copeland’s has from Day One been about delicious New Orleans food in all its fattening splendor. It is creamy, spicy and salty…and wonderful. But definitely not low-cal.
Case in point: the spin dip is served with deep-fried breaded bowtie pasta. This is of course scrumptious, and probably not that far down the healthy scale from fried tortilla chips, but it certainly seems to be.
Anyway, in the entree choices, all of them included pasta, most with Alfredo which I’m sure was luscious. I went with a pan-seared boneless skinless chicken breast in a broth with angel hair pasta and veggies. There were broccoli, mushrooms, tomato, and plenty of red and green peppers. It was an enormous plate. There was some Parmesan cheese as a light dusting, just to make it look palatable.
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The spin dip took forever to come. It arrived so late it was on the tray with the entrees. The pasta was greasy and dark from the fryer.
Our lovely waitress was apologetic about this, as she had been throughout the excessively long wait time. When she saw the pasta she went back to get more of it, but we were done with the meal by the time that arrived. We don’t usually have this experience at Copeland’s. The kitchen is definitely not speedy, but this was a long stretch from the norm.
Excessive is a term I can also use to describe the cheese component in the spin dip. It was too rich, if there can ever be such a thing. For two people it was too much.
The Penthouse Salad is always consistently good. It is large, bursting over with greens, and the amount of paneed chicken is so considerable it borders on ridiculous. The chicken is white breast meat, covered in crispy breadcrumbs. The meat is pounded thin, and the overall effect is terrific. The Peppercorn Ranch dressing is housemade and very good, and ML is as pleased as I am jealous every time.
My entree was fine but nothing more. Note to self: don’t go to Copeland’s trying to be good. There was no way my Pasta Primavera could compete with the image of the paneed chicken with Alfredo pasta I had seen on the menu. Here was plate envy in my mind! No way to have a meal. Taken on its own merits, the chicken was very good for what it was. It was tender, had a nice flavor, and was pounded thin. There was absolutely nothing wrong with this dish, except it wasn't the Eggplant Pirogue. (Also available in this deal.)
The pasta was bare except for the broth, so it wasn’t worth eating. That made it easy. The broccoli was tender, mushrooms thin and good, maybe too many peppers if I’m being picky but I just focused on the vitamins. But if I’m at a restaurant I don’t want to focus on vitamins! I want to savor what I am eating.
From now on, I will not cross the threshold here without being ready to indulge in all the things Copeland’s is known for. And this deal is nice. Worry later.
