Copper Restaurant+Bar opened in 2003 with the Inn at Price Tower (see the journal entries on the Price Tower for more information). The restaurant spans two upper floors of the unique Frank Lloyd Wright skyscraper and is accessible by elevators in the tower's lobby.

Copper aims to bring upscale, somewhat trendy fine dining to Bartlesville, and overall it lives up to its ambition. The restaurant is very small, in part due to the fact that it is forced to fit into Price Tower's unusual floorplan without any major changes to Frank Lloyd Wright's design. However, this has resulted in the dining areas being separated into several small, intimate dining rooms, which add to the place's overall atmosphere.

I visited Copper for dinner and selected the outstanding pesto salmon. Entrees are served with a wedge salad (a wedge of romaine lettuce topped with a tasty bleu cheese dressing) and potato. The salmon was accompanied by very good whipped red skin potatoes and julienne carrots. My only complaint was the service was fairly slow. This is apparently an ongoing issue at Copper, mainly due to the tiny kitchen facilities. However, I was not in a hurry and the food was worth the wait. The extra time was made more enjoyable to the company of a group of women two tables down and two men at the table next to mine. We all arrived at about the same time and before long all of us were involved in conversation together, despite the fact we were seated at different tables. This was by far the best meal I ate during the trip, as well as the most expensive. However, the food was comparable to that served at many big city fine restaurants, and priced at a much lower price than I would have expected to pay for this quality at home in Houston.

The restaurant's website states that the kitchen is able to accomodate special dietary requests, including low fat, restricted, and vegetarian. This is definitely a plus, as I did not see very many vegetarian dining options at other restaurants in town.

Additional Information:

• Restaurant website with menu and photos.
• Complimentary continental breakfast served daily, 7:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m. for Inn at Price Tower guests only.
• Lunch prices average $8 to $18.
• Dinner prices are $12 to $30.
• Full bar service and wine list available.
• Reservations highly recommended.