In the Pietralata district, Mirko Benini made the most of an old bodywork repairs to create one of the most fashionable places in the Capital. Crossing the world, sipping your favourite drink: now you can do it!
In a Buddhist writing of the XIII century by Nichiren Daishonin, we read: “The journey from Kamakura to Kyoto lasts twelve days. If you stop at the eleventh, how will you be able to admire the moon on the capital? “. Flashback. We are in Rome and on a rainy Saturday, we have an appointment in Pietralata, a district in the Eastern area, with Mirko Benini, owner of Coropuna. The staff greets us, then we have a look around while we wait for our guest.
We are inside a former bodywork repairs (Mirko will tell us later) and to contrast the concrete walls, there are tropical plants and luxury chandeliers. The kitchen is shortly after the entrance and the room is well divided into three areas where the first one, the external area, is shared “in time” with another activity, a bodywork repairs too. Mirko arrives and after our usual introduction, we seat at one of the tables to chat. We gladly listen to a story. We would like to hear more of similar stories, especially in this historical moment and in a country, where people often talk about supporting young people but then little or nothing happens.
The story talks about a thirty-four year old who absorbs, learns and puts into practice. Mirko explains everything: “This project stems from an intuition: the future would have passed from contamination“. Therefore, everything is experimented at the Coropuna, a name borrowed from the massive mountains of Peru. In fact, its roots secrete a DNA made of fusion between Japanese and Peruvian cuisine. “These simple flavours are cultures that meet” claims Mirko.
So here we can find: the Ceviche, a Peruvian national dish of fish combined with a gin & tonic; the Tiradito, Peruvian too, based on raw fish that recalls the mix of dishes that the first Japanese immigrants used to cook in Peru. This dish shall be combined with the Velenoso, a cocktail with tequila, mescal, lime, green tea syrup and soda; then it’s the turn of the Croccante, a Roll, made with a fried salmon stuffed with harunaki, philadelphia cheese and teriyaki sauce, paired with a Tiki drink.
We would also like to mention fusion drinks such as Wu Tang with sake, lime juice, mandarin and mint or Trujillo sling with pisco, banana juice, Cointreau and blackberry liqueur. In short, there is enough space for experimentation, with the flavours and tastes of two distant countries, but which today embrace each other, winking. Yes, we must go all the way, when we undertake a road of this kind, otherwise “How do we admire the moon on the capital?”
