Salvatore Esposito has been baking New York style pizzas in Durham for more than 30 years, serving them up whole or by the slice in his Italian Pizzeria restaurants on Miami Boulevard and Roxboro Road. By any measure, Esposito has earned the right to take it easy. So why is he tossing pies at a new restaurant called Capriccio? And why has he switched from New York style to authentic Italian style pizzas?
Partly, no doubt, because the thin, crisp-crusted pies, lightly sauced and topped with fresh mozzarella, are the kind he grew up eating in his native Naples. Just as important, though, is the fact that Esposito's partners in the new venture are his daughter and son-in-law, Christina and Francesco Scamardella. Christina grew up helping out in her father's restaurants, and the couple owned a pizzeria of their own in Italy a few years ago.
While Esposito mans the pizza oven, Francesco Scamardella is busy cooking up a varied selection of pastas and other traditional Italian fare, and Christina tends to guests in the dining room. Esposito's wife, Giuseppina, pitches in, too, with specialties such as Neapolitan style lasagna ("just like we eat at home," says her daughter, "with salame, ham, hard-boiled eggs, ricotta, mozzarella and tiny homemade meatballs"). The family matriarch also contributes desserts such as tiramisu and Bacio Napoletano, a pastry filled with hazelnut chocolate, mascarpone and slivered almonds.
Capriccio (3820 N. Roxboro Road; 381-4420; www.capriccio .webege.com ) serves lunch and dinner every day but Monday. The restaurant is in a former Schlotzky's Deli, but the Esposito and Scamardella families promise to transport you to Italy.
For those who prefer to stay on this side of the Atlantic - Glenwood South in Raleigh, to be precise - Bada Bing! Pizza (222 Glenwood Ave.; 754-1050; http://badabing pizzaraleigh.com ) is open for business. In addition to New York style pizzas (sold whole, in sizes ranging from 12 to 18 inches, or by the slice), the streamlined menu offers a handful of sandwiches, salads and starters including Buffalo wings and fried ravioli. There's a small dining area, but Bada Bing!'s claim to fame is a takeout window that's open until 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights - pizza prime time for bar hoppers, or so I'm told.
Hillsborough Street blues
It's no secret that the recession has taken a toll on area restaurants, but the eateries lining Hillsborough Street across from N.C. State University are suffering a double whammy, thanks to a major street construction project. The problem is compounded for Porter's, whose sibling restaurant, Frazier's, recently closed. Apparently, a number of customers think that Porter's is also closed. The restaurant is still open for business, as are all the neighboring establishments whose owners are eagerly awaiting completion of the construction project this summer. In the meantime, I'm sure they would appreciate your patronage now more than ever.
