TRIANGLE TODAY | THE NEWS & OBSERVER
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2018
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DISTINCTIVE TAKES ON CUBAN CLASSICS
Greg Cox for Triangle Today
Roberto Copa Matos and Elizabeth Turnbull opened Old Havana Sandwich Shop in January 2011 with a modest menu and limited hours, at a location three blocks off the beaten path of eating and drinking establishments in downtown Durham. They made a mean Cuban sandwich, though, and in no time, their little shop was benefiting from the best kind of marketing: word of mouth. Seven years later, the place was still thriving. The husband-and-wife owners easily could have rested on their laurels. Lucky for us, they didn’t. Over the years, they expanded the menu, adding small plates and a handful of entrees. Weekend brunch followed, and a bar. A couple of years ago, the restaurant began hosting a “Lost Dishes of Cuba” dinner series. Inspired by a 19th century cookbook that Copa Matos had discovered, the recipes drew on cultural influences of Africa, Asia,
and especially Spain, and featured a surprising variety of ingredients such as celery and cauliflower, crops that had been casualties of the Cuban revolution. Looking back, it’s easy to see the trajectory that led to the couple’s inevitable next step: a bigger, more ambitious restaurant. They closed Old Havana Sandwich Shop in February, and opened COPA a few blocks away — this time in the thick of the action — in March. Taking over the address that previously had been home to Revolution, they transformed the sleek modern space they inherited into a dining room with a casual, convivial vibe accented by the warm colors of Spanish tile floors, vintage-looking chandeliers, and a series of ink drawings by a Cuban artist celebrating the growing, preparation and enjoyment of food.
The new location’s larger kitchen, including a dedicated bakery where all breads are now baked in house, allow Copa Matos to spread his culinary wings and explore his native cuisine to a degree not possible at the old restaurant. The results are especially evident on the dinner menu, where a diverse assortment of salads, snacks and tapas builds on the chef’s historical research and draws heavily on local produce — including a small but growing harvest from the couple’s 10acre family farm. A small plate offering of vegetales y casabe recently yielded a cornucopia of eggplant, summer squash, zucchini, tomatoes and corn, plus tender, pale green black-eyed peas from the family farm, spilling off a couple of crepelike flatbreads made from cassava root that Copa Matos grinds himself. Notwithstanding that “flatbread” description, this is definitely a knifeand-fork dish.
COPA’s Ropa vieja a la americana features NC grass-fed beef, slow-cooked with wine, mint, and a light tomato sauce served on crepe-like flatbreads made from cassava root. Juli Leonard COPA 107 W. Main St., Durham copadurham.com Cuisine: Cuban Rating: 4 stars
See Greg’s complete review at triangletoday.com.
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