IF you're of the mindset that only a couple of Hawaii chefs do Italian right, you'd do well to stay away from Capricciosa ... far away, lest you end up more teary-eyed than than those clowns in "Pagliacci." Putting pasta
through the blanderizerThe restaurant specializes in the Japanese version of Italian, which as far as I can tell from visiting Pietro's and now this restaurant, is blander than bland. Now in Japan, these may very well be four-star restaurants, but here, they're subpar.
I briefly considered that maybe I'm being too harsh, that maybe I'm guilty of cultural bigotry or snobbery. Basically, the food you grow up with is the food you love, and if watery sauces are expected in Japan, well, Capricciosa lives up to expectations.
The restaurant chain has been successful in Guam, Saipan and California, and from the looks of the crowd, Capricciosa has found a niche in Waikiki. Customers do look happy. The atmosphere is loud, spirited and full of comaraderie. Start singing "Happy Birthday" and the whole room will join in.
Eyes grow wide when diners see for the first time the big, seemingly bottomless bowls of pasta -- ideal for volume feeders.Still, I felt the cooking runs counter to current American philosophy, which involves showcasing the natural flavors of food. At Capricciosa, dishes taste as if they are processed in a lab and stored in a can or TV dinner tray before arriving on the table.
It's Barbie food, smooth and plastic, and heaven forbid Barbie should reek of garlic or onions.
JUST before setting off for Capricciosa, I dashed off an e-mail note to a friend in Japan. I told him I expected runny sauces and lots of canned tuna. The tuna didn't take long to surface.
It's in appetizers, on pizza, on pasta and came hidden in an entree of Seafood Risotto ($16.50) "in delicate fish broth." This is not your traditional risotto. Instead of the starchy Arborio rice, they use the same California white rice we know and love. This is soaked in a watered-down tomato sauce so that it's more like rice soup than creamy risotto. It's topped with decent seafood -- mussels, clams and calamari. The latter could use more cleaning.
Lasagna Capricciosa Style ($15.50) was also "original," made with dozens of 2-inch pasta squares layered haphazardly with sweet meat sauce. It wasn't a dish you could cut into, but you could scoop it like a soup.
A salad of Smoked Salmon on a Bed of Fresh Salad Greens ($12.50) was enough for two. The salmon provides all the flavor for the pile of iceburg lettuce.
Sauteed Salmon ($18.75), cooked 'til dry, was saturated with a garlic sauce that here, at least, came on strong. Yet, this was the only dish that didn't need the boost. Salmon has wonderful flavor, which simply is drowned in the garlic. For the price, you don't get any extras like pasta, potatoes or veggies.
A 10-inch Pizza Capricciosa ($11.80) was OK with its toppings of salami, canned button mushrooms and fatty, rubbery bacon.
The main dessert is four different scoops of ice cream ($4.50). There's also a dense wedge of Pumpkin Pie ($3.50).
They really knew what they were doing when they named the restaurant. "Capricciosa" can be translated as "capricious," which of course means, "whimsical" or "without apparent reason."
Capricciosa: Discovery Bay Center, 1778 Ala Moana
Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; to midnight Fridays and Saturdays
Prices: About $35 for two
Call: 942-5250
Nadine Kam's restaurant reviews run on Thursdays. Reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Bulletin. Star ratings are based on comparisons of similar restaurants:
To recommend a restaurant, write: The Weekly Eater, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or send e-mail to features@starbulletin.com-- excellent;
