Dining Out in Relative Safety…

About 3 weeks ago, as Covid-19/coronavirus cases were beginning to surge across Tennessee…and the South in general…we decided to join our friends Norm and Linda for dinner in an actual restaurant.  At this point we’d be a bit more hesitant.  One thing for sure, we won’t go out to eat at any restaurant without calling and checking on their Covid-19 safety standards.

This is Copper Cellar and Cappuccino's, a dining destination with a dual personality.  The Copper Cellar side at the left side, offers an American style menu with burgers, seafood and steaks.  In the right side of the building, Cappuccino offers an Italian based menu.

 

A sign greets customers at the door that states that customers have to stay socially spaced while waiting and until they’re seated.  Face masks are required while waiting for a table. 

The colorful bar and adjoining wine 'cellar' actually divide the two different dining experiences.  Laurie and I hadn’t eaten at this iteration of Cappuccino's  and we were definitely looking forward to some Italian food… We had eaten at an earlier Copper Cellar Restaurant's location that had was also named Cappuccino's.

Of course, in a restaurant named Cappuccino's, there just had to be a really impressive cappuccino machine!  We assumed that it’s operational but since we didn’t order a cappuccino, we don’t know for sure.

Back in the 1990’s Laurie worked in a gourmet food shop in Arlington Heights Illinois.  She became one of the shop’s baristas and learned the trade on a very similar piece of equipment.  Working in that shop was not a true source of income for us as she tended to spend more money there than she made…

Not a great photo…too much light behind Linda.  Nevertheless, this photo gives you a look at the dining area at Cappuccino's.  The fact that the tables are widely spaced apart due to Covid-19 takes away from the ambiance a bit but with a wine bottle chandelier, brick and wood on the walls, fancy windows and cowhide upholstery, the room has a lot going on!

FYI, Laurie imbibed as did I.  She ordered a Red Sangria ($6.00) and I ordered my usual Miller Lite. ($4.50) 

This is the appetizer that Laurie and I shared.  On the menu it’s called Fried Ravioli. ($10.00) Now, since Laurie was born in St. Louis, which is the home of fried ravioli, and where we’ve eaten fried ravioli dozens of times, we’re not sure how this can be called fried ravioli.  I don’t see any ravioli, do you?  It was really breaded and fried or baked cheese with tomato sauce.  Now, that’s not to say that it wasn’t very nice…because we did enjoy it.  But it isn’t fried ravioli!

I’m using 2 photos here to explain both Norm and Linda’s appetizer and Norm’s entrée.  I’m going to explain the photos in reverse order.  

The first photo is of Norm’s entrée, the Cacio e’ Pepe. ($16.00) It was made with fresh spaghetti, pecorino Romano cheese, and freshly cracked pepper mélange with extra virgin olive oil. 

He kept his entrée simple for a good reason… Their appetizer had been a large bowl of Italian Sausage, Peppers and Onions. ($10.00) The problem was that my photo of their appetizer was horrendous…so I took advantage of the fact that Norm decided to top his entrée with the remainder of their appetizer.  He really enjoyed it!

Linda also went with a basic noodle dish as her foundation for her ‘constructed’ entrée.  She completed her entrée by ordering the “Orange and White” Scallops appetizer, ($14.00) and then topping her bowl of spaghetti noodles with butter and Romano cheese with those great looking scallops.

FYI, the “Orange and White” Scallops feature jumbo scallops, tuaca, fresh squeezed orange juice, butter, shallots and blood orange gastrique.  OK, I didn’t know what tuaca or gastrique meant either…

It turns out that Tuaca is an Italian Liquor that is a blend of brandy, citrus and vanilla spice.  A basic gastrique is a reduction of vinegar and sugar that can be infused with just about anything you’d like…including liquor.  Its purpose is to bring out the assertive flavors and saltiness of meat and seafood.

On to Laurie’s entrée… It was a challenging decision for her but since mushrooms are not served at home (my bad!), she went for the Wild Mushroom Ravioli. ($20.00) This time the ravioli were indeed as advertised.  The wild mushroom ravioli were served with heirloom tomatoes, pine nuts, garlic sherry cream, and goat cheese with truffle oil.  Laurie was very happy with her choice!  She took about half of it home for another meal...

For my dinner, I ordered a basic menu item...plus!  This was my order of Spaghetti and Meatballs. ($16.00) I added Italian sausage to my entrée just because it’s one of my favorites. ($2.00) The homemade marinara sauce was a bit too bland for my taste but the homemade veal and house ground beef meatballs were excellent and the sausage was mild but it was a high quality product.  The serving may not look huge, but I ended up taking home enough for lunch a couple days later…

All in all, our experience at Cappuccino’s was very enjoyable.  Heck, it was just nice to get out of the house!  The staff was efficient and they were all wearing masks…as were all of the customers who came in after we were seated.  The menus were printed on paper for a one-time use.

Cappuccino’s Italian Restaurant is located at 7316 Kingston Pike (US 11) in Knoxville Tennessee.  Phone: 865-673-3422.  Their website is at https://cappuccinos-italian.com/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Stay Safe and Take Care, Big Daddy Dave