Secret Fork: Capriotti's a great addition to Sioux Falls sandwich fare

Has anyone else around here noticed the expansion in the local sandwich joint market space? It may be growing at a faster rate than the bar & grill(e) segment.

As we have previously observed, back when, if you wanted a “sub” or “deli-style” sandwich, you visited a local place like Whiffer’s or Gregg’s Sub Station. Things started to change, however, when a national franchise called Subway went viral and launched an advertising campaign that aimed to convince everyone you could literally eat yourself skinny by having their sandwiches every day and going for a walk. Unfortunately for sandwich lovers, you probably can’t consume that much bread and lose weight unless you’re also walking 12 miles a day. 

Now, besides our local favorites (Whiffer’s, Gregg’s, Pickle Barrel), we’ve got options like Firehouse Subs (great meatball sandwich there, BTW), Grand Junction (unique grilled twists), and Pot Belly (get the tuna with hot peppers — trust me). And that’s not to mention places like Mama’s Phried and Phillys, the creations at Myers' Deli, or the great tortas available at our local Mexican eateries. With so many tasty choices, the Age of Sandwiches is at hand.

Today, however, we are going to focus on a new kid on the block, Capriotti’s, located at 2504 S. Marion Road. That’s in the Lake Lorraine area. Granted, this isn’t the most convenient location for about 60 percent of Sioux Falls, ingress and egress to the building is a little wonky, and once you get in there, parking can be a little tedious, especially with snow hiding the lines for the spaces. However, Capriotti’s is well worth the trip.

According to their website, Capriotti’s originated in Wilmington, Delaware, and there are franchise locations all over the United States. The Secret Steak Knife, who makes regular sojourns to the West Side, gave some good scouting reports. Game on.

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Before we went, I found the Capriotti’s website and studied the menu. I strongly recommend you do the same or download the mobile app. Capriotti’s is set up as a take-out/fast casual sort of place. You can order ahead for pick up, or place an order in person, then take a seat while your meal is put together and delivered to you. As is the case with most places in this age of technological marvels, the actual in-store menu is a tad sparse on details. Check out the bill of fare ahead of time and you’ll save yourself, and anyone in line behind you, some aggravation and frustration.

The deal here is sandwiches. Shocker. And, of course that means there is also soup, and some salad options. However, I don’t go to salad places to order sandwiches or to sandwich places to order salads. I am sure the salads at Capriotti’s are fine. I’ll probably never find out, even though a small sandwich with some soup or a salad would be a perfectly reasonable option. Turns out reasonable just isn’t how we roll.

Three sandwiches on the menu immediately appealed to me: Capriotti’s signature offering, the Bobbie; an Italian sausage sub; and, the meatball sandwich. There are plenty of others featuring other ingredients and bread styles. Figuring I ought to try the sandwich that Capriotti’s says is their crowning glory, I went for the Bobbie.

If you’re a fan of Thanksgiving, and more specifically the type who likes to pile all the Thanksgiving leftovers (turkey, dressing, cranberries, sweet potatoes, gravy, and even a scoop of green bean casserole) onto a sandwich, the Bobbie is the way to go. The Bobbie is turkey, dressing and cranberries on a sub roll, so the engineering works way better than my post-Thanksgiving creations. The distinguishing feature is the turkey, which is real, tender shreds of roasted turkey, as opposed to sliced deli meat. It’s got plenty of moist dressing on top of it and a schmear of cranberry sauce to add some tartness. Be forewarned, this is a cold sandwich, and I am more than OK with that. Like I said, if you like Thanksgiving leftovers, you’ll go gaga for the Bobbie.

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A couple days later, I was running errands around lunch time and, even though I wasn’t particularly near Capriotti’s, I wanted to try the mobile app. And get my hands on the Italian sausage sandwich. It was a tough call over the meatball, but really great Italian sausage can be hard to find and I had to check this out.

The app is slick. It is much easier to see and select from options to customize your sandwich. I added marinara, grilled onions, grilled sweet peppers and grilled hot peppers to my sandwich, which already had provolone cheese. Why both kinds of peppers? Because why not? I brought it back to my office and closed the door. The sausage was tasty with great fennel flavor. It went beautifully with the sweet heat from the peppers and onions. Messy and totally worth it.

Meatball, I’m coming for you next.

Let me give you a little insight on Capriotti’s sub sandwich sizes. You’ll see options for a half sub, and then small, medium and large. Having repeatedly discovered the hard way that “medium” often translates to “waaaay bigger than you think,” I did something totally crazy and went with the small. Before you start thinking that was an exercise of good judgment, I should mention I had an offer to enjoy some beer after work. The small is about an 8-inch sub cut into two generous, but manageable, halves. That’s still a pretty big lunch, but not enough to imperil my happy hour. The large would probably feed a dinosaur. So, put the medium somewhere between big lunch and dinosaur.

If you dig a good sandwich like we do, your time has arrived. Get out and try the many options available and make sure to put Capriotti’s on your list.

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