In a 4,100-square-foot space that formerly housed The Slanted Door (and, once upon a time, Sutro) comes Caputo, now serving "rustic trattoria-style Italian cuisine" of the antipasti-insalate-pizza variety.Executive chef and partner Sam Ramadan's idea of rusticity includes things like braised lamb tongue and a squid ink spaghetti alla chitara, (with Rock 19 shrimp, Parmigiano Reggiano, garlic, white wine, and lemon zest) but also makes room for dishes like a pecorino flan and "Chuck's Mac and Cheese."
But this being a borderline-waterfront restaurant, if you're suspecting there's an additional wrinkle, you're right. A wood-fired oven set to 900 degrees will be churning out Neapolitan pizzas every two minutes — including aCarnivore (speck, pancetta, calabrese, pepperoni, housemade fior di latte, basil, and San Marzano tomato) and the Zucca (roasted butternut squash, gorgonzola dolcelatte, caramelized sweet onions, toasted walnuts, and sage oil) — along with items such as whole branzino and a porcini-dusted Wagyu coulotte steak, each roasted overalmond wood. Having cooked at a number of well-regarded places in the Pacific Northwest, Ramadan has received some attention from PBS television, winning a "Best in the City" nod from Zagat, while his chef de cuisine, Carrie Anne Lopez, was until recently the executive sous chef at S.F.'s own Michael Mina.
The dining room's capacity has been slightly reduced from its formerly massive layout, with room for 100 indoors, another 40 patrons on the patio (which has two steel gas fireplaces), and spots for 17 at a bar that looks out onto the Bay. And the name has nothing to do with the Italian word for "head" (or with the likably grumpy assistant warden on Orange is the New Black, for that matter). It's a reference to 00 Caputo, the pizza dough flour that's highly prized for its finely ground character and low gluten content, which should satisfy a lot of people in a town that still can't shake an association with below-average pizza.
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