Last night we broke from the rituals of Mexican and used our Station dining certificates for a visit to Capri, Ristorante Italiano. Bullet point advice/review:
- If you're seated by the bar, asked to be moved. The atmosphere is so much better in the main open-air area with the "lemon trees" and murals (plus the chairs up there don't have wrought iron arms).
- The bread basket is so delicious, but be careful that you're pouring out the correct side of the ingenuous oil/vinegar dispenser.
- House salad, Caesar salad, or soup (the minestrone or the white bean) comes with entrees - don't waste too much time agonizing over wanting a salad but not wanting to pay $7.
- Vegetarians: don't be afraid to get the house salad. Its salami is neatly sliced across the top and thus easily tossed into your partner's bowl.
- Carnivores: there isn't any egg in the Caesar salad, and the crouton is a single bitty-slice of toasted baguette on the side, so it's mostly romaine, parmesan, and the combination of dressing/oils/juice that, in this case, Mike said wasn't that remarkable. (If you don't know why we didn't trade, most Caesar dressing contains Worcestershire sauce, and most Worcestershire contains anchovies.)
- Drink normally - the service is excellent and your glass will be refilled promptly.
- The desserts look scrummy, especially the cheesecake.
- As careful as you may be, you can't control the splashback from other people's plates.
- If you like to do the rolling thing with the spoon, a nice big one is provided.
- Substitutions (fettucine instead of spaghetti for Mike) are not a problem.
- For only the second time in my life, I've had a waiter steer me (or, in this case, Mike) away from something on the menu. Apparently the canneloni was a little "tough." Mike had Italian sausage with the aforementioned fettucine instead, and we were impressed with Joe.
- Ask for Joe. He's fabulous. He called me miss. Giggle!
- These people aren't afraid of veal. Vegetarians, have your polite face ready if someone spends two minutes lovingly describing the veal special of the day.
- Cheese ravioli is available with either alfredo or marinara sauce. I chose the marinara* with basil sprinklings and it was lovely. (It also didn't clash much with my black shirt. Can someone make bibs the new hotness, please?) The six ravioli were arranged artfully on the plate and were, admittedly, a little bland, but I was up for bland.
- The picture vibe wasn't there for this first trip, but it would probably be fine.
*Trivia: Did you know that marinara sauce is a seafood sauce everywhere but in the United States? I wonder how that came to be.
The value of the Stations certificate isn't as good here as with the Mexican restaurants: ten bucks off a meal with $10 entrees and $3 drinks as opposed to ten bucks off a meal with $7/$8 entrees and $2 drinks makes a difference that we can feel, but it was fun to have something new. (Besides, earlier that day we hit Albertson's eight-hour sale, so we have good grocery bill karma. Also, an unspeakable amount of shredded cheese.)
We each have another dining certificate for the end of the month. One will be for Cabo at Red Rock, for sure. The other is a mystery. Red Rock's Italian joint is a little fancy for my taste. Oyster bars are out. BBQ is out. Steakhouses are out. Maybe we'll try a Pasta Palace at one of the less falutin' stations? Or maybe we'll even go for the cafe - with the already excellent prices there, we'd probably eat for free after coupon. Oh, this may be a town where cost of housing is obscene and gas prices will make you cry, but casual dining is king!
Comments