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(December 9, 2005)
Round Rock is a town dominated by Dell Computer. And when you have one
massive employer of that size and thousands of employees who have relatively
little time for lunch, it's imperative that local restaurants get creative.
And that brings me to our restaurant of the week, Al Capone's across
from the Home Depot off Exit 250 on Louis Henna Bld.
Al Capone's has solved the dilemma of those with
too little time to enjoy lunch with the inauguration of the Lunch Time
Pasta Bar. Anthony, the chef who has helmed this restaurant since it
was located at Barton Springs Road and Riverside in Austin, prevails
over a multifaceted operation with numerous pastas, sauces, along with
shredded pieces of Italian sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions and
peppers. Add of course, some pureed garlic. Choose the items you'd like
to add [please, don't skimp on the garlic] and then you're ready to
select the pasta and the sauce.
You can choose from your favorite pastas: linguini,
rigatoni, penne, rotini, and fettuccine. These are all cooked al dente
or, to the tooth as they say in Italy. Nice and firm. I prefer the penne
and lately, they have accommodated me with whole wheat pasta which is
a more complex but no less tasty carbohydrate. The sauces are way past
good. They are exemplary. I used to like the Creamy Tomato the best
but now I've gone over to the Cajun Alfredo. This sauce has depth and
some really nuanced flavors. It's a perfect accompaniment to that Penne
pasta I like. Other sauces to choose from, depending on your taste,
include a nice zesty marinara, a cream pesto, and a Cajun marinara.
These sauces are all original. Nothing off the rack or the shelf in
any of them. And that's what elevates Al Capone's over the average run
of the mill pasta bar.
So you start with the complimentary salad bar and
fix yourself an antipasto. They make a lovely Italian dressing. And
then you belly up to the pasta bar and let Chef get you going. Behold
the empty frying pan. But not for long! ou begin with your choice of
extra ingredients. For me, it's always sausage, a little pepperoni,
red onions mushrooms and, of course, the garlic. Then we add the penne
pasta and most importantly, the sauce of your choice. Chef next does
what he does best. A couple of tosses to mix everything up, and then
onto the burner to heat.
Your lunch comes to your table steaming hot and ready to be enjoyed.
And the elapsed time from start to finish? Usually no more than 5 minutes.
That gives one ample time to "mangia", as my Uncle Frederico
used to say, and enjoy the food.
There is a fascinating dinner menu as well at Al
Capones including some very tasty escargot. But that's another story.
Today we're doing lunch. And if time is your enemy, Al Capone's is your
friend.
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