Thursday, July 15, 2010

Capri Tavola Calda:





I walk past Capri everyday. Somehow, I hadn't tried it yet, though it has been open for a few months. On Tuesday, I decided to give it a shot and get lunch to have with David. Because I was pressed for time, I called in the order to pick up. I thought it would make is simpler. After some research, I chose 2 Arista paninis and a slice of pizza. And that was where it all went wonky.

When I arrived, I went to pay. "That will be $40.64."
Say whut?

I explained that I didn't think that was right for what I had ordered. The cashier looked at the ticket scribbled for my order and she and I deduced that somehow my slice of pizza had turned into a whole pizza, which was why my bill was so expensive.

I decided quickly I was OK with extra pizza. There was a line forming behind me and I could almost feel the impatient stares. I paid.



That was when they asked me what dressing I wanted on my salad. Salad? O.k. I figured that maybe it came with the pizza, so I said ranch. That's when I noticed that they were filling 6 cups of ranch dressing. Odd, but I figured they were restocking.

Then came the salads.


Oh my, that's a lot of lettuce...

They began stacking them up on the counter. 1 salad. 2 salads. 3. salads. 4 salads. 5 salads. "Maybe they are for someone else.", I reasoned, stuffing down a sense of rising panic. But when the to go order was presented in front of me, my suspicions were confirmed. Somehow, my order had gone from a slice of pizza and two paninis, to two paninis and a supposed whole pizza to two paninis and 6 salads. With ranch dressing.

While I was OK with extra pizza, I was not OK with 6 salads, angry pizza line behind me or not. I explained the cluster of events and mis-communications, eventually got the coveted pizza, sorted out the cost of the meal, and took it all back to the apartment. Once home, I looked over the menu, and found the source of the salad problem. A basic salad is called a "pisa" and the italian word for 6 sounds like "slice". So, "slice of pizza" turned into "6 pisas".







Most of the reviews seem to like the panini and not be too hot on the pizza. We were the opposite. The panini was good--the meat had good flavor, but the iceberg lettuce on the hot sandwich lent it a weird flavor profile. A lot of people seem to like it though, so maybe it was just us.



The pizza, on the other hand, was crispy, hot and delicious. All pizzas are thin crust pizza, and I chose a simple slice with nice fresh mozzarella and basil. David and I ended up fighting over the piece of pizza and ignoring the second panini. We probably would have anyway--this sandwich, as you can see, is huge.



Despite the craziness in ordering, Ill be back, because I really liked the pizza. I will just make sure to order clearly and distinctly. I suggest you do the same. I have also posted pictures of the menu, because it is not anywhere that I could find on the internets.









Capri Tavola Calda on Urbanspoon

7 comments:

  1. All this could have been avoided if you ordered properly and asked for "a slice of pie".

    Just sayin...

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  2. That's a hilarious post. It stressed me out just reading about the line of annoyed customers waiting behind you! And the drawings: priceless.

    The Arista preparation has been inconsistent of late. The first time I had tried it, there was no iceberg lettuce. They've added it on subsequent tries and I agree it mucks up the experience.

    I also love their pizza. It reminds me of the old place on E 7th St. called Gondola, which is now Lucy Blue's.

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  3. I eat there at least once a week, and know what you're talking about with the customer lines. But I enjoy many of their panini specials. The bari, made with porchetta, is one of my favorites. And this week I actually sprang for dessert at lunchtime (though ate it later that night) - a really outstanding cannoli. You can see it here:
    http://eggplanttogo.blogspot.com/2010/07/holy-cannoli-positively-good-news.html

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  4. I lurv the drawings! And clever story. I will have to check it out sometime... You're making me hungry - at 10 am!

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  5. hahaha, i esp love the death beams.

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  6. That thin crust pizza looks really delicious. I'm super picky about my pizza, so I will trust you that it's good and go there to try it out!

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  7. I like the owner there, he is really nice and usually tries to engage me in conversation. I have been going there for pizza slices since they opened early last year. Very authentic pizza.

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I try to be honest, fair and keep a good sense of humor in my posts--I would appreciate if you follow the same policy with your comments.