Capones Restaurant & Live Jazz Club

Man, I swear my reviews are getting shorter.  Anyway, Hubbs & I decided at virtually the last minute to go to Capones for dinner; we figured that we'd like it since we like jazz and we like food.

When we arrived for our reso, we were seated front and center at a little round table smack in front of the live jazz band.  The amp was jacked to the max and we were right near the speakers so of course we couldn't hear each other, and we weren't fond of our location.  It then took the server 10 minutes to come and take our drink order.  Strike 1.   When I saw that a booth table had freed up, I requested to be moved.  Server guy left to go ask if the table was available, and then he ignored us for another 5 minutes.  Strike 2.  We finally had to flag him down to check if we could move, and gave him our drink orders.  He said yes, and after we moved to the new booth table, our drinks never arrived.  Strike 3.

Thankfully, another server came by and took our drink order again.  She was way more efficient and came with our ice teas shortly afterwards; turns out the first server figured it wasn't his table anymore so he didn't bother to pass along our drink orders to our new server.  Thanks.

We ordered the Capones lasagna and the Godfather pizza.  I was worried we'd be hungry but Hubbs figured this was enough food.  He was right.  The lasagna came out in a small plate and I thought, uh oh, this won't be enough, but it was hearty and filling.  The pizza, about 10" in size, was also loaded with meat and quite filling.  In the end, I could only finish half of it, and Hubbs had all of his lasagna (save for a few bites that I stole) and 2 pieces of my pizza.  We still have 2 slices left over. 

The music that was blaring was still super loud from the booth/table (since it was right at the front near the stage) but at least Hubbs & I were able to sit beside each other in the booth and hear one another talk.  Then the band went on a break for 30 min., giving us time to rest our poor eardrums.  When they returned to the stage, their next set was a bit more mellow to start out with, allowing us to readjust our ears to the loud loud music.  I must be getting old, since I don't recall loud music ever bothering me before.

Overall, the food was pretty tasty (there was foie gras in the lasagna and duck on my pizza!) and the music was good (albeit loud).  Service was hit and miss depending on who served us, and prices weren't cheap (~$20+/entree, $14/app), but it was an experience that ended better than it started.  Our server also told us that they've come under new management and now the menu changes every so often, and they're trying to improve to their former glory.

Looks like they have their work cut out for them.  First step: fire that first server.  He's bringing them down.

Service: 3 out of 5 (4/5 for the second server, and 2/5 for the first)

Food: 4 out of 5

Hell's Kitchen - Dine Out Vancouver

Our final stop during 2009 DOV was tonight's visit to Hell's Kitchen (not the Ramsay-associated one, but a pizza joint on West 4th).  We were fairly excited to try the place out, and the visit

 proved pretty good overall.

The atmosphere of Hell's Kitchen was far better than Granville Room's.  The music was more relaxing and not blaring, so we could still carry a conversation without yelling.  The Superbowl game played in the background, keeping patrons entertained.  We ordered drinks right away, and I quite loved their mango mojito (enough to order a second one later on).  The attentive, friendly server also took our orders promptly.

Our first courses were of course appies: Hell's poutine and Hell's chowder.  The photos (taken with my phone) don't really do justice to the delicious chowder.  It looks way greasy in the pic but actually it was slightly sweet and very tasty.  The poutine fries were crispy and the gravy was yummy, but I would have wanted to see more cheese and taste more of their crispy capers.  The cheese was all located in one area on the top of the bowl but the fries at the bottom got no lovin'. :(

Next came our pizzas: the Aphrodite and the Soprano.  Hubbs really liked the Soprano because it wsa meaty and had a spicy sauce on it.  I preferred the Aphrodite; the pesto sauce did not overwhelm, the crust was thin and crispy, and adding slivered almonds to the pizza proved to give a different texture to it.  

Of course we didn't finish the pizzas, and moved on to dessert with leftovers to go.  Hubbs had the tiramisu and I had the creme brulee.  Hubbs' tiramisu was fluffy and light, and a bit more solid than I am used to for tiramisus.  I liked the more solid consistency and Hubbs ate the entire thing so I think he liked it too ;)  My creme brulee was tasty (sort of like soft serve vanilla ice cream in terms of flavour) but it didn't have enough time to set, because it was runny like a thick soup.  I still ate the whole thing but was disappointed that they didn't chill it more before serving.

In all, the ambience of the place made the dinner a far more enjoyable experience than it would have been had the place been noisier.  The server was friendly and the service, prompt; we were in and out in an hour.  The food was pretty good but not stellar or exceptional.  The DOV meals were cheap though: $18/person so I guess we really couldn't expect TOO much.  

I'd recommend Hell's Kitchen if you're into drinks and lounging.  It would even be a good place to grab a pizza to share, but as far as fine gourmet food is concerned, you might want to go elsewhere.

Service: 4.5 / 5

Food: 3.5 / 5