3401 Esperanza Crossing
Suite #104
Austin, TX 78758
(512) 215-3633
http://www.copperaustin.com
Austin Cake Balls has been rechristened as “Copper” to highlight its new addition of a full menu to their formerly dessert only establishment. I have delighted in their cake balls but have yet to try their full restaurant. So I curiously and gratefully accepted their invitation to try out the new menu.
Orange Blossom; Licor 43, vodka, boozy whipped cream, candied clementine orange; $8
The Orange Blossom was so good. I could spoon the boozy whip cream that solidified into a delectable custard. The drink itself went down smoothly and paired nicely with the whip cream. I adore orange and cream flavor combinations (and orange and chocolate). I also fancied the candied clementine. The bitter hint from the peel was a nice contrast to the sweet notes. It reminded me of chocolate dipped orange peels from my recent trip to Belgium.
Lychee Lee, Soho Lychee Liqueur, champagne, gin, edible orchids
Have you ever had fresh lychees? You can get them at the Asian market. Incidentally, I had a batch of fresh lychees sitting at home that were past their shelf life. I hate when I let good food spoil in the fridge! This cocktail was a sweet and floral consolation for my recent food waste. If you like lychees and don’t mind floral notes in your drinks, this is the libation for you!
Fried Goat Cheese Balls; Cypress Grove “Purple Haze” lavender goat cheese, Round Rock Honey; $7
Guys. They’re fried lavender goat cheese balls served with honey. I don’t know what more I can say about this, except maybe, how can you go wrong? You can’t and Copper didn’t. Yum.
Truffled Deviled Eggs; white truffle oil, roasted red pepper, aioli; $6
The truffled deviled eggs were my favorite savory bite from this dinner. They are so pretty to look at and I love the aroma and taste of good truffle oil. Also, don’t you love popping deviled eggs into your mouth?
Fried Shrimp Tacos; gulf shrimp, honey sriracha sauce, pico,
white corn tortillas; two for $7, three for $10
My girlfriend really liked the shrimp tacos. I thought they were decent and enjoyed the slight kick from the honey sriracha sauce.
Chicken & Mushroom Crepes; pulled chicken, goat cheese, mixed vegetables, shiitake mushrooms; $8
I have always been drawn to crepes when ordering, but now just a month after my visit to Paris, anything that I can put in my mouth to remind me of my stay there is bound to end up on my plate. Excited as I was, I liked the crepes the least of everything I tried at Copper. The sauce was not only too thick for my taste but too abundant; it also overpowered the filling.
Peanut Butter Pie; creamy peanut butter filling, Oreo cookie crust, bittersweet chocolate ganache; $7
Though the peanut butter pie may look like a small and personal sized dessert, the rich flavors and thick creamy texture makes this decadent dessert so shareable.
Warm Turtle Bread Puddings ; $9
I have a similar relationship to bread puddings as I do with crepes. If it’s on the menu, it’s an automatic order for me. The turtle bread pudding at Copper was divine. Moist and warm, it elicited a lot of happy and nonsensical murmurings from me and my girlfriend.
Overall, there’s room for improvement with Copper’s full restaurant menu, but there is plenty of potential to become a wonderful full-dining experience. As for desserts, I’ve yet to taste a dessert or cake ball that hasn’t made me smile. Next time I am blanking on ideas of a place closer to my home where I can share a dessert and drinks with a girlfriend, I hope I remember the turtle bread pudding and the orange blossom cocktail from Copper.
Notes: You can buy their cake balls and have them delivered to a special someone from their website. A friend of mine once had their cake balls delivered to me at work and it was such a lovely surprise. They also have a regular happy hour!