A gift certificate for dinner for 2 at COPA. Alcohol not included.

COPA, a Cuban tapas and cocktail bar, is located in the beautiful, historic Baldwin Building at 107 W. Main Street in the heart of Downtown Durham. We're an easy walk away from DPAC, shopping, and some of the area's best hotels. (Bid on the Kings Daughters Inn for a wonderful Durham experience).

"Mise en place begins in the soil," Roberto says, which is why he's spent the last two years cultivating the soil of a small garden area on the farm he and Elizabeth own aptly named, Terra Sacra, or 'Sacred Earth.' You can't have good food without good ingredients. And you can't have good ingredients without good soil. This past summer, Roberto and Elizabeth also brought in ducks for eggs, and they're planning the addition of other small animals and crops, each of which will play a role in the cycle of the farm.

Two years ago, Roberto and Elizabeth decided they wanted to delve deeper than the staples of rice, beans, and roasted pork. Using ingredients from local farms-including a few from their own-they launched "The Lost Dishes of Cuba" dinner series. Using locally sourced ingredients. Inspired by the vast array of influences and ingredients passing through the nineteenth century ports of Havana, Roberto recreated historic Cuban dishes that have nearly disappeared from the collective memory: "Turkish eggs" served on a bed of sautéed tomatoes and onions with blistered peppers; lamb braised with red wine and freshly harvested mint; ripe summer tomatoes roasted and stuffed with duck.

Winning numerous accolades, you will enjoy your dining experience at COPA.