BY RACHEL WALDMAN for VOGUE
February 12, 2018
One would be hard-pressed to find a more heartwarming love story than that of Claire Wadsworth and Nikki Hill, the pair behind La Copine, a roadside brunch and lunch spot situated between Joshua Tree and Pioneertown, California. Their relationship (which has always revolved around really good food) began on International Women’s Day in 2009, when Wadsworth hosted a cabaret-style dinner with her sister at their carriage home in Philadelphia and hired Hill (then a local sous chef at a top Philadelphia restaurant) to cook. At the time, both women were coming off a slew of seriously bad relationships: Wadsworth (who the rest of the world considered to be a straight girl) had sworn off men, while Hill had resolved never to fall for another straight girl again. But the heart wants what it wants.
“I remember walking into the apartment and the first thing I saw was Nikki rolling out gnocchi dough, and the first thing I noticed was this heart-shaped lock tattooed on her hand,” says Wadsworth, who was then the lead singer of an all-girl punk rock band. “I knew nothing about cooking, but I jumped in the kitchen just to be close to her.” They shared a night of great food (a five-course meal including gnocchi and cauliflower puree soup), great company, great music—and Nikki ended up spending the night. The next morning, Hill made breakfast tacos. A week later, the pair moved in together. “We have been inseparable since,” adds Hill. “Such typical lesbians. Every day, we try to recreate that day we met with all the magic.”
From there, the duo dabbled in catering before opening their first establishment—a food truck called La Copine (“girlfriend” in French) stationed in a tucked-away open-air market in downtown Philly that paid tribute to all foods with a feminine touch. Think of feel-good, local-fare breakfast dishes—bright and light sweet potato-poblano pepper hash, fluffy cinnamon pancakes, and the perfect soft scrambled eggs—that you could eat each and every day (and all with little or no meat).
“We wanted to create something different from all the heavy and rich food out there,” says Hill. “You know—dude food,” Wadsworth adds. It didn’t take long for locals to catch on. When requests for a more traditional restaurant began to roll in, Wadsworth and Hill quickly realized they could really make something special out of La Copine. Best of all, they loved working side-by-side. “We just hit that perfect flow,” says Wadsworth. “Like boom, boom, breakfast burrito.”
After marrying (on International Women’s Day), the two honeymooned in Joshua Tree. Then, on a visit to the Integraton (an acoustic sound bath that locals and visitors alike swear by), they learned about a roadside diner not far from the site that had been sitting vacant for some time. “We had no intention of moving to the Yucca Valley,” says Wadsworth, “but after a week, we ended up with keys to a restaurant.” They rehabbed the off-the-radar diner simply, so as not to take attention away from the food, and opened with a menu so sweet it reads like a palate-friendly love letter: big plates bursting with seasonal, sustainable farm-fresh Southern California fare like roasted beets with tangerine, tarragon, and chévre—or baby kale with butternut squash, avocado, sunflower seeds, and lemon. Other not so obvious (but still scrumptious) dishes nod to the Middle East and the deep South. “It’s amazing what Nikki can do with fried chicken,” says Wadsworth of her partner’s spin on the Southern staple, which is accompanied with celery root and parsnip mash and wilted watercress and finished off with a spicy honey drizzle. “You eat it and you never feel icky afterwards.”
And because these days they’ve both got full plates running the restaurant (Nikki in the kitchen and Claire overseeing the front-of-house) and its growing staff, they find ways to support each other within the workplace. “If we need to have a heated conversation or just need a moment for the two of us, we go in the refrigerator,” says Wadsworth. “It’s a simple and silly thing, but sometimes we just need to step away from the constant bustle of the restaurant.” Of course, cured Ora King salmon in a sugar-and-salt rub on a rye baguette is also perfect excuse for date night.