La Copine Brunch Cart

Debuted: May 14, 2011

Resume: Nikki Hill's tenure working for 13th Street-revival queens Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran (Lolita, Bindi, Barbuzzo, among others) served as the springboard for Hill and partner Claire Wadsworth's first foray into the restaurant business. Dubbed La Copine, their roving, seasonal supper club dinners for 15-20 guests, complete with live music. The first supper is tentatively set for Fri., June 24.

Business Plan: "When Nikki gave her notice, Val sat me down and said, 'This is going to take money. Do you have any money?'" recalls Wadsworth, a vocalist and private music teacher. "I said, we don't have any money, but we'll figure it out. We literally had no idea we'd do a food cart first."

While the plans for La Copine supper club germinated, Heidi Duffey and Michael "Frosty" Spiker were figuring out what to do with the tree-shaded courtyard (now known as Garden Variety) adjacent to the building they own at Second and Poplar Streets in Northern Liberties, as tenant Arbol Cafe had closed. "We want to build on it eventually," says Duffey. "But in the meantime, what would be a good interim use of the space? The food carts we're bringing in are carefully curated, to bring good energy to the corner."

Edible Outcome: With the lonesome, husky tones of Patsy Cline ringing through the morning air, Hill fires up her flat-top griddle in the shiny, quilted-silver La Copine brunch cart. Green Meadows Farm pork is expertly transformed into peppery sausage and stacked with cage-free eggs, sharp cheddar and caramelized onions on a housemade English muffin for a luxurious breakfast sandwich ($7); add a heap of buttery-crisp classic hashbrowns with chipotle ketchup, and a locally-roasted cup of iced Blue Water coffee to bring your bill to an even ten.

Light yet satisfying, a flatbread sandwich ($8) layers just-sharp enough, creamy bleu cheese with tender mache greens, prosciutto, figs and tangy lavender honey gastrique. It's genius paired with a radiantly magenta glass of iced hibiscus herbal tea ($2).

Sweet breakfast devotees must try the griddled banana bread sandwich judiciously smeared with all-natural peanut butter and mixed-berry jam. The two slice-version ($4) makes a meal; don't miss an open-faced single cut ($2) for dessert.

Pros Know: Though La Copine revels in organic, locally sourced ingredients and sophisticated flavors, the breakfast sandwiches and PB&J suit young and old alike. Heidi Duffey has set up a kid's corner, complete with drawing table, to welcome "free-range -- not helicopter -- parents" and their offspring. Shaded tables abound for sunny days; pop-up pavilions protect diners from drippier weather. Guests are welcome to complete the brunch experience by bringing along bubbly or white beer to mix with freshly squeezed orange juice ($4).

Get it: Garden Variety, Second and Poplar St., Sat. and Sun., 11am-4pm.

FELICIA D'AMBROSIO is a Philadelphia-based food writer. Her work also appears in City Paper, GRID, Metro, and Keystone Edge. Send feedback here.

PHOTOS:

La Copine, nestled into a courtyard at 2nd and Poplar

Hibiscus tea

Nikki Hill (at left) and Claire Wadsworth

Sausage breakfast sandwich with hash browns and chipotle ketchup

Griddled banana bread with PB&J

Orange spritzers are also for sale

Flatbread sandwich with bleu cheese, prosciutto, figs, and tangy lavender honey gastrique

All photographs by MICHAEL PERSICO