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.

Fins, Feathers & BarBQ:

When I got home from work this afternoon, I didn’t waste any time. I triumphantly strode over to David.

“GUESS WHAT I FOUND?!”

“I don’t know. What?”

“RIB TIPS!” I squealed. I pulled the menu--a simple, white piece of paper folded in half out of my purse and slammed it on the table. “SHA-ZAM!”

As we walked over to Fins Feathers and BarBQ at 3 Garfield place, I explained I had stopped by the restaurant to check it out after passing it on my way back to the apartment.

“It’s sort of a hole in the wall. Cash only. Smoker parked outside. Friendly staff. It looks promising.”

We walked in and placed our order. We ordered a 1/2 slab of ribs ($12.50); pulled pork sandwich ($5.99) and rib tips ($5.99) with the “hot”sauce.

David and I have long lamented the lack of barbecue downtown, and we told the man behind the counter as much. We also explained we’ve been looking for rib tips since Mr. Pig in Findlay market closed after he passed away. While we waited for our order, we got a mini interview with the owner.

“I knew Mr. Pig. Let me tell you something--he had everybody’s recipes. And he came in and did barbecue so big, no one could follow him. Downtown you mostly just have babybacks. and anyone... can grill a babyback. So, I decided to get back in the game...”

As we spoke to him, we got a feel for the place, which is affiliated with a ministry. There’s no seating in the small restaurant, it’s not necessary with the park across the street. We carried our barbecue back to the apartment, which was probably a mistake, because the cat would not leave us alone, begging for pulled pork. I almost locked him in the closet.

The hot sauce isn’t really that hot, it’s more like the flavor of A-1. The rib tips were by far our favorite. This is backyard barbecue, served with white or wheat bread, the meat a little chewy, and deliciously smoky.

the quest continues....