Imagine an Italian island at Capri Italian Restaurant & Steakhouse

by Megan Goehring
The Desert Sun - December 28, 2007

On a recent evening, my husband and I headed over to Desert Hot Springs for dinner at Capri Italian Restaurant & Steakhouse. I looked up the name "Capri" in Webster's and Wikipedia and found references to island resorts and blue grottos. As we drove, the lights of town on the hill surrounded by a dark desert floor did make it look like an island, and I sighed, relieved to be temporarily transported from my holiday to-do list. In actuality, Capri the restaurant is not anywhere near a sea cave, but is a small brick building in which the Santucci family has been serving Italian-American food for 30 years.

The night we visited, the 21 year-old grandson of the owners was cooking in the glass-walled kitchen as we entered. We were led around through a front room dominated by a long wooden bar and into a brightly-lit room with tables, booths and a decorative plate collection on the wall. It reminded us of a dining/living area in the home of a large family. Through an open doorway to the kitchen we could hear clanging pots and jovial chatter - I half expected the entire Santucci clan to come spilling out for their evening meal. Gladly, that didn't happen as we enjoyed being free of our own tribe for an evening out.
The server enthusiastically encouraged us to take advantage of the full bar, which includes an extensive wine list with each offering lovingly described. I usually scan the menu for items I've never heard of, and on this night I found a dish called Bracciole ($19.50), pronounced "brazz- ol." It's sort of like an Italian meatloaf with tenderized flank steak rolled around pinenuts and boiled eggs, and served in a boat of chunky marinara. I missed the sausage from traditional meatloaf, but the dish - along with the minestrone soup that accompanied it - was very solid comfort food, easily enough for two meals.
My husband chose the top sirloin steak and scampi combination ($24.95) and found it flavorful, but with a bit more fat than he prefers. After reading an old article framed in the lobby and talking with the matron of the house, we realized we should have tried the house special, Chicken Florettes ($19.50), which is a unique chicken-seafood dish with a Marsala wine sauce. We finished off with tiramisu made in-house and found it satisfyingly sweet and creamy.