Capri, Berwyn

Capri, Berwyn

Walking into Capri, one can’t help but notice that every single photo on the wall is of Frank; to the left, in full Nathan Detroit regalia (a photo somewhat needlessly titled “Sinatra”); to the right, there he is with Elvis, and Dino, and the iconic shot of him and the boys in the front of the Sands, etc. The only non-Sinatra photos I spotted were in the men’s room, and those were of Marilyn, who will forever be linked with the Sinatra-Kennedy axis of swing, baby, swing.

I wonder if it’s possible for an Italian place to open in the western suburbs without reminding everyone that Sinatra was, after all, Italian. I always think wall art like this is designed to persuade us that, hey, Frank was great so the food here must be good, right? At least, unlike Caponie’s on Harlem, they don’t festoon the walls with Tony Soprano's family pix.

That said, I had an excellent eggplant Parm at Capri: the vegetable was sliced thin as filo, and fried lightly so that breading and eggplant became one. It came with pasta in a house-made sauce, which was also very good, the slight sweetness balancing the bitterness of the melanzane, and the richness of the sauce evened out by the noodles. It was one of those big dishes that arrives and you think, “I’ll have to bring half of this home,” and then you eat it all.



The opening soup was the escarole and bean, and it was fine, if maybe just a little salty, but a serviceable rendition of this classic.

For seven bucks, I had a highly decent pour of Trinity Oaks Pinot Noir. Wines by the bottle and glass are priced very reasonably.



There are some unique offerings on the menu like the Mayor Lanzilotti Special, a type of seafood linguini, and Pollo “Forget About It,” a chicken breast with tomato and onion (it really should be spelled Fuggedaboutit, though, right? I mean, this isn’t Hugh Grant speaking). Much of the rest of the menu is solidly in the Italian-American restaurant canon: Caprese salad, baked clams, veal Marsala, etc. In a nod to the times, you can get whole wheat pasta or gluten free, which is nice for those of us who might be experimenting with going without gluten.

Before I visited, I called the restaurant and asked the host if the place was casual. He said, “Yes, very casual,” but I’m not quite sure that’s accurate. There are cloth napkins and tablecloths, so it’s not exactly Jimmy’s Place; however, like that home-style Italian joint in Forest Park, Capri is going to be serving braciole with neck bone gravy every weekend, so atsa nice.

Capri
6613 W. Roosevelt,
Berwyn
http://capriristorante.com/