Even before leaving for Vancouver, one of my friends said that we absolutely must go to
Capone's. After we finished working the conference we definitely deserved a great meal. So, we headed over to Capone's. The cab ride took us to the funky area of Yaletown full of converted warehouses and small laneways.
We were greeted by two hostesses when we arrived and they asked whether we had a reservation. We did not but that was no problem. We were there shortly after 6pm and 90% of the tables were empty. Capones is a long and narrow restaurant so most of the tables are situated along the brick wall. Our party of five was seated at a table right across from the kitchen. In most places this would be an issue but the high kitchen wall prevented most of the noise from drowning out our conversation. Plus we were able to watch the hubbub of the chefs!
Our server, a friendly and pleasant young man, checked with us a couple of times but we hadn't quite made up our minds. When he came back everyone was ready to order. I had settled on the chicken cannelloni. For $19 Cdn I received 2 cannelloni shells stuffed with cherrywood smoked chicken breast, ricotta, and mozzarella cheese all covered in a basil rosé sauce. I wanted to add a glass of white wine but was not sure which of the wines from the long list to select. Our server suggested one and I took him up on his recommendation. A single glass of wine was $9 Cdn.
Everyone was super hungry by the time our dishes arrived as we had waited just a little too long to go for supper. Our server offered freshly ground black pepper and Parmesan cheese. I added a spoonful of Parmesan to my dish. All it took was a single bite of the cannelloni for me to declare this would be a great meal. My friend's daughter also ordered the chicken cannelloni and we both agreed that this was an excellent choice. There was more than enough pasta and I could not finish the entire dish.
We lingered around for a while discussing the events of the weekend. We turned down the dessert menu. If the pastas are any indication, the desserts would probably have been amazing. At 7:30pm, a lone musician took to the stage at the back of the restaurant beginning the nightly jazz entertainment this restaurant is famous for. Unfortunately, we all had other places to be that evening so we ended up leaving at about 10 minutes to 8. While waiting outside the restaurant a large group checked out the menu posted outside and asked us what we thought of Capone's. We all replied "It's excellent!". They must have taken our advice because they went in straight away.