Copia revival dawns in Napa
Restaurant’s dim sum style brightens a storied space
When Copia opened in Napa in 2001 it seemed like a big idea to link art, food and wine under one roof, and it generated national publicity because of the involvement of Julia Child and Robert and Margrit Mondavi. Yet it never quite found its center and went into a slow death spiral, culminating in its closure in 2008.
The complex, an impressive $20 million stone building with an expansive lobby and windows overlooking the Napa River, became a monument of broken dreams as the gardens turned to weeds and the building became an empty shell.
Last year, the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena took over the building with the idea of reviving the restaurant, previously named Julia’s Kitchen, and opening up the venue for events, wine tasting and cooking classes.
While the building still has ghosts to be excised — the lobby seems as cavernous as an empty gym — the opening of the Restaurant at CIA Copia takes a big step in bringing back the crowds.
The CIA, which is headquartered in Hyde Park, N.Y., opened the Greystone campus about 20 years ago. It looked to alumni for inspiration, including Stuart Brioza, who earned a James Beard Award for best new restaurant when he and his wife, Nicole Krasinski, opened State Bird Provisions in San Francisco. After observing service at their restaurant, the Copia team implemented a modified dim sum approach where executive chef Chrisophe Gerard and his crew cook up batches of food and the staff takes it from table to table to see who bites.
Diners are presented a menu of about 18 dishes describing what the chefs will prepare in rotation — it might be compressed beets with Point Reyes blue cheese ($9); florets of cauliflower browned by fire and seasoned with raisins, capers and dill ($8); or beet-cured salmon with crispy potatoes and fennel salad ($15). Whether you get them is the luck of the draw.
The restaurant reinforces the look-and-see approach with a roving beverage cart stocked with wine and the makings for two cocktails prepared tableside. The real conversation piece is Bessie the cheese cart — a plastic cow on rollers with a tray that holds the nightly selection of three cheeses ($15) and garnishes. Many diners can’t resist petting her nose and ringing the bell around her neck.
Several larger plates can be ordered off the menu. A whole roasted chicken ($45) is presented in its full bronzed glory before being taken back to the kitchen to be carved, and an Angus beef steak ($85) is sliced and served with roasted potatoes and cauliflower. On another visit, there was a whole trout ($24) seared on the plancha.
In my experience, these ordered (and shared) items are more consistent than the offerings being hawked from table to table. For example, a hanger steak tartine ($18), where rosy slices of beef drape over thick slices of grilled bread, slathered with bone marrow aioli and covered with dressed cress and pickled onions, had all the right components. But it would have been spectacular if the temperature contrasts had been greater — the meat needed to be warmer and the salad on top cooler. Fried knobs of Jerusalem artichokes ($8) were arranged on a romesco sauce that tasted like pureed red bell peppers without much other seasoning; foie gras mousse ($20) was so loose you could almost serve it as soup.
The best appetizer was wild mushroom risotto ($14), with cured yolk and shaved Parmesan; it came to the table still steaming.
The owners wanted to create an interactive, casual vibe, which is partly accomplished with the open kitchen and the dim sum-style service, but other aspects fall down. The pace can be fast, and new dishes arrive before the staff has removed the previous debris. Messy plates and utensils are often changed out only by request. At times it feels as if the staff isn’t comfortable with the concept, which is understandable as the idea continues to evolve. Still, I’d be hard pressed to find a more convivial staff.
The modern dining room, with oversize images of cooking equipment on the wall, has a pleasant feel. It will be particularly nice in the spring when they can serve outside, overlooking the refurbished gardens.
The store, next to the restaurant, is a food lover’s dream with cookbooks, utensils and other items to entice cooks.
In the fall, the CIA plans to open the Chuck Williams Culinary Arts Museum, and some of his intricate copper molds and porcelain pieces are on display outside the restaurant. The lobby houses a revolving representation of wineries that will pour wine; and cooking classes for the public are offered.
It feels right that Copia has been resurrected. Second chances don’t always come fully realized, but it feels as if the CIA is on the right path.