Capo’s in North Beach
Tony Gemignani, the impresario behind Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, has opened his longawaited second pizzeria in North Beach, where he’s turned his focus to Prohibition-era Chicago.
Named Capo’s, the new restaurant features brick walls with vintage newspaper photos of bygone mob bosses, stuffed red booths, and a thoroughly old-school vibe.
An octogenarian brass cash register reigns over the bar, where whiskey is the specialty. Then there’s the food. Gemignani has designed a number of different pies, most available in four styles — deep dish, cast iron pan, stuffed or cracker thin — and made with Ceresota flour, from one of the oldest mills in Chicago.
The signature pie is a creation Gemignani calls Quattro Forni; it’s cooked four different times in four different ovens, one of which fries it. Only 20 are available each day.
The other half of the menu tips its cap to Italian-American classics such as fried calamari, an iceberg lettuce chop salad, bone-in chicken Vesuvio and two types of
lasagna.
And yes, spaghetti and meatballs is on the menu, along with a few favorites from Tony’s, such as the fried string beans.
Capo’s: 641 Vallejo St. (near Columbus Avenue), San Francisco; (415) 9868998. capossf.com. Antipasti, $3.95-13.50; pasta, pizza and main courses, $12-$35. Full bar. Cash only. Reservations accepted via phone only.