|
|
 |
|
At Kopperman’s, the Fabulous View is Topped Only By the Fabulous Food
• by Ann Lemons - Photo by Allyson Mace
|
 |
|
|
No one will ever convince me that there is a better reason for eating out than food, of course. But it’s conceivable that there are people for whom the show is the whole point. In the Central West End, the show is the passersby, a sort of perpetual Easter parade, thankfully minus the Irving Berlin soundtrack.
Now that outdoor dining seems to be a permanent fixture in St. Louis, there are plenty of spots from which to take refreshment and entertainment in clement weather. But what if it’s not so fabulous outdoors? What if the pollen count is lethal, there’s a thunderstorm brewing or your companion is more delicate in his or her temperature preference than you?
The north room of Kopperman’s Deli, where the bar is located, has a floor-to-incredibly-high-ceiling window that gives a fabulous view of the whole passing scene. There’s one seat in particular where the huge framed circus poster reflects the window, doubling the impact. Combine that with a remarkably good breakfast, and it’s absolute bliss.
To start with a bang, think juice. Everybody and his dog claim “fresh-squeezed juice.” All that means is, it’s not frozen. Well, here it really is freshly squeezed. I squeeze my own at home, every morning, and you can’t fool me.
The grapefruit juice tasted like it was squeezed to order, and the orange juice was almost as fresh, including the not-unpleasant inclusion of a couple of seeds. This is too good to waste on a Mimosa, but if you feel like celebrating, the wine (including Champagne) Kopperman’s sells on the retail side is available for a $3 corkage fee, one of the lowest in town.
Eggs Madison substitutes smoked salmon for a Benedict’s Canadian bacon. Here, rather than the expected nova, the salmon has been dry cured, leaving a drier, chunkier fish with red edges. It’s a surprise, but a good one, as the hollandaise, which isn’t quite as rich as some, still makes a great combo with the salmon. Salami and eggs is a moist scramble, rich and flavorful, not wet but somehow creamy and utterly satisfying. The menu also offers matzo and eggs, matzo being the unleavened cracker-like flatbread found in the Jewish kitchen. When the matzo is added to the salami and egg dish, it cuts the richness slightly, makes the mixture a little less moist, but the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree.
Corned beef hash is made in-house, crumbly and delicious, unlike anything that ever came in a can. And then there are the potatoes. The menu calls them hash browns, but these are fried chunks of potatoes and onions – do I sense some garlic there, too? – ruddy with seasonings. They rank among the best breakfast potatoes in the city.
Service here is zippy on weekends, just when it needs to be, and there’s seldom a long wait for a refill on the coffee.
One caveat: The restroom is in the basement reached by an unfortunately difficult set of stairs, an architectural problem not easily solvable sometimes. Don’t try them if you’ve had too many Bloody Marys. Other than that, Kopperman’s is a swell place for morning food.
The Real Deal Archive
View Complete Archive
|
|
|
|
