4:10PM, 5/27/2022
https://capriottis.com/
Although I recently learned this was a large nation-wide chain, anyone I’ve ever mentioned it to had not heard of it. This location, at Sierra College & Douglas, opened a little over 2 years ago. The next closest locations are in Reno, Carson City and Fresno. I was introduced to this chain by my friends in Vegas and it became a must-go spot for lunch any time I traveled there. I was ecstatic when I noticed the sign go up on the building in 2019. Anyway, although this is not unique to the area, I don’t think they are well-known to NorCal, which is a shame, so I figured it was worth doing a post on.
They offer a few traditional deli sub options like Italian, tuna & meatball subs and have a line of Wagyu cheesesteaks as well. The sandwiches that really stand out to me are The Bobbie and the Capastrami. These are the ones I was introduced to Cap’s on and regularly order to this day.
This location is situated in a row of excellent food options (Vampire Penguin, El Sombrero, Falafel Corner & Habit). I headed in just after 4PM and was greeted right away. I had already mentally picked out what I would order today. Looking at the menu I don’t see anything new. A year ago I noticed a sign advertising Flat Fries with a couple topping options (Capastrami or Cheese Steak). This day I decided I would finally check them out. They come in a regular ($6.69) or large ($8.69). I asked what the size difference was like and honestly did not get a good sense as he appeared to hold up two identical containers, though he did liken it to appetizer vs entree sizing. With that I got the regular size and added on a Half size Bobbie (Turkey, Cranberry Sauce, Stuffing & Mayo)[$6.49], because I can’t come here and not get a sandwich.
The Bobbie is offered in cold and hot versions, but I’ve only ever tried cold. For some reason hot has never appealed to me (until I type this that is, I’m suddenly very curious now…). Toward the bottom of this post I’ve added additional photos of the Bobbie, Capastrami and a Cheese Steak from previous visits. Today’s sandwich was no different than any other time. If they have one thing, it’s consistency. But they have more than one thing and that’s a damn good sandwich that’s like Thanksgiving any time of year. I never cared for cranberry sauce until I first had the Bobbie. It won me over on it. The only thing I think that they might be able to do better with is the roll, which is totally fine and nothing to write home about. It’s a fairly dense bread and I think this sandwich would be incredible with something a bit lighter.
Moving on to the Capastrami Flat Fries. The sandwich version is Pastrami, Swiss cheese, Cole Slaw & Russian Dressing. The flat fries are basically flat steak fries with all that on top. The way this comes is not exactly the most photogenic. You can’t really tell what’s in it and it sort of just looks like a salad at first glance. It was only once I started moving things around that I found a thin later of pastrami underneath the Cole slaw and the fries under that. While I will say that flavor-wise this was totally on point, I strongly prefer the sandwich version. Steak fries are possibly the worst type of fry in my opinion. They are often not cooked long enough, leaving the entire thing too mushy instead of having a crisp outer shell and soft inside. These had that issue which was compounded with the ingredients piled on top. The pastrami and Russian dressing really carry the flavor here, with the dressing adding a sort of 1000 island flavor but more tangy.
The fries were an interesting idea but ultimately I’ll be sticking to the sandwiches. As far as other sandwiches here I’ve tried both the Wagyu and the Impossible Cheese Steaks (side by side even) and they are both solid and I can recommend them.
Factoring in the fries for this visit I’d knock it down from 5/5 to 3.5/5. It’s the first miss for Capriotti’s that I’ve experienced.
Eating Through Roseville 