THE oldest restaurant in the country,Balcón de Europa, in downtownSan José, is under new management,announced owner Adriana Bonilla,widow of the restaurant’s well-knownformer chef, the late Franco Piatti (therestaurant is also known as Balcón deFranco). The new administrator,French chef Jean-Pierre Popis, wasuntil recently owner of BrasserieParisienne in San José.Popis had 40 years of culinaryexperience in Bordeaux, France,before moving to the country a yearand a half ago. The chef plans to keepthe historic name of the restaurant,established in 1909, as well as thestaff, decor and Italian menu, but willslowly incorporate French cuisine tomake it a bicultural establishment.
