Mystery Diner: Copper Fox has best of breakfast and dinner

With a modern, urban decor, the restaurant initially felt to me like one of St. Charles’ more swanky restaurants. We were greeted immediately and shown to our table in the dining room.

After that initial impression, it became clear that Copper Fox is much more diverse than it initially let on. After all, there aren’t too many swanky restaurants that serve breakfast all day. And we’re not talking the usual breakfast food either – from regional takes on eggs benedict to sweet and savory crepes to frittatas, I almost wished we’d have gone for breakfast rather than dinner. Almost, because the dinner menu was none too shabby itself.

Beer and wine are available, though we opted instead for iced tea.

My friend and I share a love of mussels, so it was immediately obvious what appetizer we’d be going with. They were delicious and fresh tasting, steamed in a white wine with onions and some other savory spices. Lots of mussels come with shallots rather than onions, and I really liked the crisp texture and extra flavor that the onions added to the dish. The sourdough bread pieces that preceded our appetizer also served as a great way to prolong the dish, soaking up the leftover juice from the bowl after the mussels were long gone. The contrast between the sourdough and the savory mussels juice really highlighted the flavor of both.

There were several good-looking salads I would be interesting in trying on future visits to the Copper Fox – a Greek salad, an Italian tomato salad and a santorini salad with dried cherries, figs, pine nuts, bleu cheese and tomatoes in herb vinaigrette.

For the main event, there was a good selection of full entrees and also sandwiches. And I definitely want to someday try the kabobs – in chicken and/or beef.

My friend went with a special – cheese ravioli with artichoke hearts. It was served in a creamy white sauce. While the flavor was light and delicate, the sauce also became quite filling, we realized halfway through the meal. I’ve never had a ravioli with artichoke hearts in it, but I’d certainly try it again. In fact, paired with the sauce, I couldn’t imagine that dish without the artichokes.