Copper Dog Cafe

Was not worth stopping at. Nice atmosphere, presentation, and service, but poor menu choices and food was nothing special.  Very poor vegetarian options.

If you're going to call something your "signature sandwich" and describe it rapturously on the menu ("Amazingly delicious! Atop ruffles of tender red leaf lettuce; an abundance of sliced and sautéed portabella mushrooms, red onion, melted pecorino cheese, tomatoes and avocado, topped with a lightly spiced dressing. Served on toasted Tuscan bread with a side of crisp veggie straw sticks") and charge $12.50 (!) for it, you should make sure each Portabella Press lives up to that billing (and price). The sandwich was tasty enough, but hard to eat without a fork. The bread was toasted, but not sturdy enough for the filling. Despite its name, mine had sliced baby bellas, not big portabella caps. Worst of all, the lettuce edges were dry and brown. This place is cute, as other yelpers have noted, and who doesn't want to support Main Street businesses. But for half the price, you can get a better sandwich - and soup - up the street at the Wine & Cheese Shop at the corner of 10th Street.

I've been to Copper Dog a few times before, and I've always been pleased with their food, although generally a bit put off by their prices.  My husband and I visited on a Wednesday night, so we were able to take advantage of W.O.W - Wine on Wednesday. The server was quick to offer us a complimentary glass of house wine to go with our meal. I tried the Zinfandel, and my husband had the Pinot Grigio. We are not big wine-drinkers, so we were looking for something a little on the sweet side. The server recommended the Zinfandel for this; still not sweet enough for me - but that's just my taste.

We ordered the Cranberry Cups for an appetizer, but we were later informed that they were out. We had also ordered the Caraway Polenta with Braised Leeks for our entree. We intended to split this since neither of us had an appetite for a full entree each.  Our meal came with a salad that was brought to the table quickly enough - nice and green, fresh, with raspberry vinaigrette on the side.

Our entree was described as "Browned wedges of polenta seasoned with dill and a touch of caraway topped with lightly braised leeks and broiled fontina cheese." I don't think I had ever tried polenta before, but I wasn't disappointed. I think caraway is a type of seasoning that I wasn't terribly keen on, but otherwise, it was a diverse, interesting dish. It also came with a side of toasted garlic bread that was very good as well. The food was hot and freshly prepared.

We were debating about getting dessert, and hadn't quite made up our mind when the server appeared to leave the check on our table. That decided it for us. I noticed there was an extra charge on the bill - I at first assumed it was for a glass of wine...which I wasn't thrilled about, but since we had only ordered one entree, it made sense that only one glass of wine would be complimentary. However, my husband pointed out that it was a SHARED PLATE CHARGE. This I was not happy about. Restaurants that charge you an extra five dollars for sharing an entree just offend me - it's not as if you're getting additional food. It's the exact same amount of food split between two people.  I was only consoled by the fact that a glass of wine would have cost slightly more than the shared plate charge.

Their menu is rather small, only offering five entrees and two appetizers, but it changes seasonally. The food is always freshly prepared, and it's all vegetarian. I think I recall seeing meat items in the past, so I'm not sure if they are 100% vegetarian now.