24/7 Dining at Coppelia

I live off the A train in Brooklyn. Late at night, after a long night partying with friends in Manhattan, I usually forsake the $30 cab in order stumble back to the West 4th Street station to ride the train. Now I have a reason to head a little further uptown to 14th Street (and blow that $30 I could have spent on cab fare), where chef Julian Medina of Toloache and Yerba Buena has opened Coppelia, a pan-Cuban diner which intends to fulfill all of my late night dining needs. After operating for over a month, Coppelia just recently fulfilled their original guarantee, and is now open 24 hours a day.

Hazy yellow light accentuates the comfortable, pastel-colored booths in what seems like an optimal place to sweat off an evening's worth of drinks while eating from large plates and an even bigger menu.