Yes, please

The best word you might hear from a restaurant owner this year is ‘No,’ especially if it’s from Angelo Caprilli.

click to enlarge Yes, please (5)
Garett Fisbeck
Brie Panini at Roma's Gelato and Cafe in Edmond, Thursday, April 30, 2015.

“The customer is always right” is not a phrase with which Angelo Caprilli always agrees.

That’s not to say the owner and mastro gelataio of Roma’s Gelato Café Espresso & Panini, 301 S. Bryant Ave., in Edmond is not accommodating. Indeed, everyone who walks through the door of the small restaurant is greeted as a friend.

His courtesy and fastidiousness make each visit a joyful occasion. The door to his kitchen is open. He hides nothing. He proudly tells customers that he doesn’t use a single drop of high fructose corn syrup in his gelato.

But he will not put prosciutto on that Caprese panino ($6). Part of it is that prosciutto di Parma is not cheap. This dry-cured, thinly sliced ham is a delicacy from Parma, Italy.

But more to the point, it doesn’t work with the mix of mozzarella and freshly sliced tomato.

When it’s pressed into a panino, the texture is all wrong.

In Angelo we trust. As should you.

Order the Parma ($8.08) and you’ll understand why.

This is an incredibly simple sandwich: prosciutto di Parma and Brie layered between two pieces of oiled bread and grilled between the plates of the panini press.

[insert drool emoji] (Editor’s note: No.) (Writer’s note: What do you mean, “No”?) (Editor’s note: Greg, we have been over this. I’m not going to start printing emojis in the paper.) (Writer’s note: But —) (Editor’s note: No.)

It’s, uh, it’s delicious. I ate mine so quickly that Angelo was rightly worried about my health.

When you order the tuna panino ($9.93) — which you absolutely should order — accept the extra napkins you are offered.

The tuna you’re about to eat is the kind packed in olive oil. It’s messy and perfect, and it will make you happy. It’s the sandwich version of a hug. With tomato, mayo, salt and pepper, it’s another simple preparation that is exactly what it needs to be.

Get a little wild while you’re there. Try the pizzaiola sandwich ($6), which includes anchovies. And get the primavera ($6) with boiled eggs. You will not be sorry.

Unless you don’t leave room for gelato. Then you will be very sorry.

click to enlarge Yes, please
Garett Fisbeck
Gelato at Roma's Gelato and Cafe in Edmond, Thursday, April 30, 2015.

“Maybe I’ll just have a small serving of this full-bodied Italian ice cream” is the wrong thing to say. If you order a small gelato ($3.33 with up to two flavors), you’ll be looking forward to going back up to the counter with your tail between your legs to order another in a few minutes.

Survey the dining room. Do you see the number of people making weird sex faces as they eat their mascarpone and wild strawberry gelato? Can you hear the soft moans every time a bite of biscotti gelato meets their tongues?

These are not people who ordered a small. These are people who want to enjoy life by eating Italian ice cream so decadent they are willing to drive to Edmond to get it.

What you want is a large ($4.85) with your choice of up to four flavors.

Yes, you will order panna cotta with black cherries; you will order almond, dark chocolate, espresso ... you will get a second cup because there are more flavors and you will want to taste them all.

Or you could get a medium ($4.16). You know. Whatever.

If Edmond is too far, there is good news for you. Roma’s sells its gelato to a few other metro-area restaurants. In Edmond, it’s at Signature Grill, 1317 E. Danforth Road. In Oklahoma City, it’s at Stella Modern Italian Cuisine, 1201 N. Walker Ave.

In Moore, find it at Luigi’s Italian Bistro, 2701 S. Service Road, and in Norman, eat it at Benvenuti’s Ristorante, 105 W. Main St.

But you should definitely go see Angelo.

Eat a panino. Drink a cappuccino. Make weird faces and noises as you eat that gelato he makes so well. Because it’s always right to be a customer at Roma’s, even when he has to tell you no.

Print headline: Yes, please; The best word you might hear from a restaurant owner this year is ‘No,’ especially if it’s from Angelo Caprilli.


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