Yay, another establishment in my hood, North Beach, that doesn't rip tourists off. Kudos to Pizzaiolo Tony Gemignani of the popular Tony's Pizza Napoletana (my go-to place for take out pizzas), which is a few blocks away from the newer Capo's.

My dining partners and I didn't know that Capo's was actually taking reservations for Valentine's day since their website stated they only take reservations for a group of 6+. Of course, by the time we walked-in, the uber friendly hostess told us that seats were fully booked, and we would have to wait 30 mins to an hour to get a table. We decided to wait it out. After less than 5 minutes of waiting outside (it wasn't freezing cold that night), the hostess explained to us that there were many no-shows and our table is already available! I really admire hostesses who are honest, non-snobbish and accommodating to diners.

Capo's is a typical Al Capone, Chicago deep dish pizza joint - dark, B&W photos of mobsters (?), and a speak-easy vibe and cocktails at the bar. The tufted, maroon large sofas fit the theme perfectly. What sets them apart from other deep dish pizza places is that Capo's offers 4 different kinds of pizza- (1) Chicago deep dish, (2) cracker thin, (3) cast iron pan, and (4) stuffed.

We settled for the Frank Nitti cast iron pan pizza with the eggplant lasagna and calamari as appetizer. The one-inch thick dough of the cast iron pizza had a yeasty taste, which I was not fond of, because of the shortening (Note: Shortening is made up of animal products - a no-no for strict vegetarians), and one carbo-loaded slice already filled me up. I did enjoy the balance of simple yet tasty flavors of garlic, cheese and tomato. The eggplant lasagna was worth the price since it is good for 3-4 people, while the calamari was not tender at all. For some reason, we were not offered the dessert menu :(

The crowd was a mix of Vday couples, youngsters, and obvious locals (the owner of another North Beach bar was dining there as well). 

I was surprised they even offered complimentary glass of Rose (for Valentine's only), chicken pasta soup, and chocolates. It is rare to find non-fine dining restaurants offering these many freebies from start to finish of a meal. Worth the $$! 

I'll definitely be back there to try the thin crust, their Chicago classics, desserts and cocktails.

Tip: Cash only.  Go there extremely hungry with a group. Leave with your belly full and happy.

This chef-to-be eyeing the cast iron Frank Nitti. Tomato sauce, provolone, mozarella, ricotta, spinach, romano, oregano and garlic.

Egg plant lasagna. I already had 2 extra meals out of this HUGE plate.

A lot of below-average calamari.