It was a muggy Manhattan evening and everybody in New York was at Coppelia! Daisy had already had five free tacos, so her appetite for nachos was somewhat diminished for this one. Emma, on the other hand, postponed dinner to take advantage of Coppelia’s extensive non-nacho food menu.

Background
Visit Date and Time: Sunday, May 20, 8:30pm
Nacho Style: Fancy Nachos
Price: $10.95

Coppelia came highly recommended–we had seen it on multiple “Best Nachos” lists, and several acquaintances had suggested it as well. We were eager to break away from bar-style nachos and try something a bit more interesting.

Beers
Neither of us drank beer (more on that later). We had cocktails instead.
Daisy: A gussied-up Matador
Emma: A Gran Paloma

The Bar
Not really a bar–it’s a 24/7 diner that serves mostly (very good) Cuban food.

Ambience
Busy and quite bright–had a cozy diner-y feel to it. Fairly ample seating, but many of the tables were packed closely together.

Daisy’s Rating: 3/5 – Sometimes I like being around lots of people because it makes me feel like I’m part of something, but most of the time I do not. Coppelia was very crowded of a Sunday, but no one did anything too obnoxious. Our waiter was very attentive and kept us well-hydrated. Apparently there is a charging station next to the bathroom, which is considerate.
Emma’s Rating: 3.5/5 – Coppelia had a lively and casual vibe that I appreciated. But (especially due to the lack of beer), it wasn’t really a place you could hang out and chat for hours – more of a have your nachos and dinner and then go situation. At an ideal nachos place, I prefer being able to linger without feeling pressured to clear the table, and I didn’t think Coppelia made that easy.

Beer
We hit a snag here – while there were 8 beers on the menu, they were all a light lager style (Corona, Tecate, Pacifico, Dos XX, etc). We considered trying the Peruvian option (Cusqueña), but opted for cocktails instead.

Daisy’s Rating: 1 – Here’s a question for the group–are we rating “beer selection” or “drink selection”? If it’s beer selection, the score is obvious. But I enjoyed my Matador and feel that it deserves a better grade.
Emma’s Rating: 0 – I also enjoyed my cocktail (spicy salted rim!), but I’m being a purist about this rating for now. If there’s not a beer I’m excited about drinking, I’m giving the place zero beer points. Sadly Coppelia falls into this category.

Other Food
This is where Coppelia truly shines. Many Cuban options, as well as typical diner food with a twist. They offer all-night breakfast for people into that sort of thing.

Daisy’s Rating: 5 – I did not eat any non-nacho food because I had just had five tacos, but was very impressed with the options. I wish I had been hungry so I could have ordered plantains.
Emma’s Rating: 4.5 – I had the arepas (a serving of 3), which were solid and reasonably priced. A very good option for nights when you don’t want a nacho-only dinner. I saw a lot I’d be interested in trying on a return visit, including guacamole, plantains, empanadas, and various meat dishes.

Seating
Booths, two-tops, and bar seating–although the two-tops are very close to each other.

Daisy’s Rating: 4 – If I’m sitting, I’m happy. That said, I felt uncomfortably close to the table next to me.
Emma’s Rating: 4 – Doesn’t seem like it would be difficult to get a seat here except at the most crowded of times. I think our table got shifted over slightly to the left by its previous inhabitants, leading to the closeness Daisy describes.

Overall Bar
Daisy’s Rating: 4 – I liked it! I now know where I will go if I want a cocktail at 3:50 AM, or a hearty meal at any time. I’m not sure I would come here every week, though.
Emma’s Rating: 3.5 – I liked Coppelia and would definitely consider it for dinner or as a late-night spot, especially since it’s not much of a trek from my apartment. I’m not sure that it can be a South’s style go-to place, though, so it loses a few points for that.

The Nachos
Coppelia’s nachos are very exciting! Quite a bit fancier than last week. Let’s dive in.

Cheese
Gouda-muenster–very flavorful.

Daisy’s Rating: 4.5 – Good cheese, with a little bite to it. I wouldn’t have thought to put gouda on nachos, but I’m glad someone did. Distribution could use a little work–some chips felt a bit un-cheesed.
Emma’s Rating: 3.5 – This was interesting to try, and I’m glad I did. I prefer a spicier, sharper cheese on nachos, though – these were a little on the sweet and creamy side.

Toppings
Gouda-muenster cheese, black beans, jalapeños, guacamole and crema, chopped beef short ribs.

Daisy’s Rating: 4 – Very gourmet-feeling nachos–I felt classier just for having eaten them. My big critique, as always, is distribution–the black beans all fell to the bottom, leaving us with a soupy bean dip base situation.
Emma’s Rating: 3 – I agree with Daisy that the toppings were not well-integrated across the nacho plate. I also thought the short-rib, combined with the gouda, made them a little too rich.

Portion Size
Definitely appetizer sized nachos, which feels right for $11. One could share these and still be hungry for more substantial fare.

Daisy’s Rating: 3.5 – I guess it depends on what you want your nachos to be! When I’m eating nachos I tend to want to eat nothing but nachos for the entire meal. But if you see nachos as more of an prelude to something more, you might be very satisfied with the amount served here.
Emma’s Rating: 3 – Half of these nachos plus an arepa meal made me full, but not over-stuffed. So they definitely did the job as an appetizer portion. They might work as dinner if you had the plate to yourself. But for the subjective case of “Daisy and I want to go out and have nachos and have that be dinner,” they didn’t quite fit the bill.  

Flavor
Very flavorful, with a nice kick from the jalapeños. The short rib and black beans kept it hearty.

Daisy’s Rating: 5 – Zero complaints. Distribution issues aside, these nachos were delicious.  While I tend to prefer vegetarian nachos, the short rib was a nice touch here.
Emma’s Rating: 3 – I thought these were tasty, but a little sweet and rich. I personally prefer a slightly spicier flavor. Also find it interesting that Daisy now supports jalapeños, after years of making me get them on the side at South’s…

Overall Nachos

Daisy’s Rating: 4.25 – The flavor was exceptional, but it felt a bit small, and I wish things had been a bit more evenly distributed. I wonder if I could order nachos with double the toppings next time.
Emma’s Rating: 3 – Definitely worth trying, but I think if I come back to Coppelia I’ll be more interested in trying other things from the extensive food menu than in having nachos again.

Summary

Bar: 3.75
Nachos: 3.63
Overall: 3.69

See you next time! Emma is out of town next week, so we will be doing a legacy post on Valhalla, where we have already been.

Emma and Daisy