Thanksgiving Sandwiches Aren't Over Quite Yet - CLOSED

Capriotti's Sandwich Shop

4221 MacArthur Blvd.

Newport Beach, CA 92660

It is very rare that I feel that I am, "in the know" about restaurants before anyone else. About four years ago I was reading an article about restaurant franchises that were ready to explode, and there was a sandwich shop called Capriotti's on that list. I guess sometimes reading does pay off.

I had never heard of Capriotti's before, and at that time they had some units back east, and a few in Las Vegas. We had a trip planned to Vegas that coming weekend, so I put Capriotti's on our list of places to try. We grabbed our sandwiches to go, as we headed back home after another disappointing trip to the casinos. Even after our four-hour drive back to OC, we still really enjoyed our sandwiches that day. Capriotti's soon became our tradition when we headed to Vegas. We would almost always make a trip there during our stay.

Just like a crystal ball, that article that I had read predicted that Capriotti's was ready to explode, and they sure have. They now have units operating in 13 states, and much to our excitement, they now have 17 Capriotti's going to be operating, or already open in California. In OC we are lucky, because we are home to two of these, (Newport and Tustin), with Fountain Valley and Irvine stores already in the works. We can now get our Capriotti's fix, without having to head to Vegas and lose all of our money in the casinos.

Capriotti's comes to us from Delaware. Yes, the state that you have probably not thought about since you had to learn the capitals in 8th grade. Delaware has given us nylon, the first log cabins in North America, the first beauty pageant was held in Delaware, and now The First State also brings us Capriotti's. In 1976 Lois Margolet opened her first sandwich shop in Wilmington, with her brother Alan. Their original concept was to make the best turkey sandwich ever. They roasted 12 turkeys a night, and then made sandwiches fresh to order the next day. Word spread about these sandwiches, more locations opened, and finally, they branched out across the country.

We were recently given a coupon for two meals at Capriotti's, to share our experience with you. Since we eat here frequently, we were very excited about this opportunity since a lot of our friends have never tried Capriotti's before. We arrived at the Newport Beach location at around 5:30. There were a few people eating here, but a majority of their business is during lunch, I would assume. Katie has been here during lunch and confirmed this.

For those you not familiar with this location, they are located in the same parking lot as Classic Q, and right next to the 7 Eleven, a few blocks away from John Wayne Airport. We were greeted very warmly by a young woman at the register, who was very chipper. It was bright and warm inside, with a large variety of chips on display. The menu here is what you would expect from a sandwich shop. Hot and cold sandwiches, salads, and cookies. This is not an assembly line type of sandwich-making place. Sandwiches are put together in the back and brought out to your table. Let's see how everything turned out for us.

I knew Katie would be getting Capriotti's signature sandwich, so I asked the girl upfront what the second most popular sandwich was, and she instantly replied that it was this Capastrami ($7.99). This sandwich comes with hot pastrami, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing, and Coleslaw, some of my favorite items in a sandwich. I always like sandwiches that have different elements to them. This one had the sweet from the Cole Slaw, the Russian dressing was good and plentiful, and the saltiness from the pastrami balanced out this sandwich. The pastrami was spiced nicely with a great flavor. The bread was soft but did not fall apart, even with the moisture from the contents of the sandwich. They have three sizes of sandwiches here, (9 inches, 12 inches, or 20 inches), and surprisingly this 9 inch filled me up pretty good. I chose my standard Jalapeno Chips and an Iced Tea to drink.

Here's the sandwich that the Capriotti's empire was built upon, The Bobbie ($7.49). This sandwich has been described by many, including me, as Thanksgiving on a roll. With the slow-roasted turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and mayo, it is easy to see why everyone has this nickname for this sandwich. I'm not too into cranberry sauce, so this is not the sandwich for me, but I can appreciate it just the same. Their turkey is pulled fresh every day, so you get that same sensation that you get the day after Thanksgiving when you are eating turkey sandwiches. Katie always gets this sandwich on visits to Capriotti's. They also offer this sandwich with a side of gravy, but Katie wanted this as is.

As we have done once every two weeks or so, we enjoyed our sandwiches from Capriotti's. I look forward to trying more of their menu if I can just get away from their addictive Capastrami. The Cheesesteak and the Homemade Meatball are in my sights and will be conquered shortly. We are very happy that Capriotti's is closer to our neighborhood. We would like to thank everyone at Capriotti's for the great sandwiches and service on this night. Everything was great. We would also like to thank Andrew Park, of Konnect Public Relations for reaching out to us and giving us this great opportunity. Thanks for everything Andrew.

If you would like to find out more about Capriotti's Sandwich Shop, go to their website here: http://capriottis.com/index.php