CAPRI PIZZA

CAPRI PIZZA

Location - Amherstview

Price point - Higher on the pizza scale

Rating - #1 in the area

We rate all other pizza against Capri! It is our favourite and has been for twenty years. It is the only place we have cravings for, which means we end up driving all the way to Amherstview to get a pizza. Alright, an 8 minute drive is not really that far, but, it is more the symbolism of the drive than the actual distance - we drive to another town to get a pizza!

What is it that makes Capri the Supreme Leader in pizza? How about - the dough, the sauce, the real ingredients they use. This is not a chain where teenaged kids unwrap a frozen crust and throw on some simulated bacon bits and modified milk products that resembles cheese. This is a place that still makes dough, and you can watch them stretch it out onto the pan for every single pizza. But not only that, but, the cheese is real! That is the problem with most 'fast food' pizza, the cheese just seems 'off', just a bland and greasy mess. Capri pizza has cheese that tastes, well, like cheese. It has flavour and texture and that perfect stringyness that pizza had it in its hayday. These pizzas are made by some real pros, guys that have been there, slinging thousands of pizzas a year, for what seems like decades. This is one of those local gems that is manned by lifers and owners who are in  it for the long haul - so every pizza counts.

There is one problem. It seem that every single time we happen to be in Amherstview, or even just driving past Amherstview we end up 'having' to stop. Even on July 1st, Canada Day, to our delight Capri was open. We ordered the Capri Special. Pepperoni (giant slices), Bacon (real bacon!), Mushroom, Green Pepper.

I really cannot say enough about how dedicated these guys are to the product. Every time we go there it is amazing, top quality, stuff. 
All other pizzas in the area bewar - this is your competition.

EGGSQUIS

Eggsuis

Location :  Kingston Township (2774 Princess, right next to Minos...used to be the location of that really bad chinese buffet)
Rating : Waste of time, money, and calories. One of the worst dining experiences in the past 10 years!
Price Point : Lower on the scale, $30 for two adult and two kids

Our first, and most likely only, experience we had with the new Eggsquis location in Kingston, Ontario was horrible. And, not only was the initial service terrible, but, the lack of follow up has burned me up even more. 

We had heard some good things about the Eggsquis from a couple of our friends, so we decided to try it out. Saturday, April 19th, at about 1 we went in.

The place was not very busy, we were seated right away (+2 points). However, our first impression when we started looking around were terrible. The place was a mess; tables all around needed to be cleared, food all over the floors, even under our table. There was jam, crumbs, and some paper! Not the ideal setting to entice one's appetite (-10 points). I mean, if it was this bad out here imagine the kitchen!

At first I thought maybe this would be a short term problem, that there had just been the lunch rush and now that the place was not busy they'd have it cleaned in no time. Not the case. The staff only seemed concerned with gossiping among themselves. It gave the strong impression these people did not want to be there. That attitude was plainly obvious on our waitress's face. In fact, it was another waitress that brought over some random flashcards to entertain our kids since there were none of those standard colour and maze place mats that entertain kids for a few minutes (-10 points).

We ordered, she brought us our food, then left us to fend for ourselves (-10 points).

The food. For a place with Egg in the title, it was a disappointment that our eggs were not cooked correctly. I ordered hard, they were still yolky. My wife ordered medium, they were running all over her plate. Also, the crepes were undercooked. Ah, but, the fruit could save the meal. Why, you can't go wrong with a nice serving of fresh, healthy fruit. However, we didn't realize it was covered in a simple syrup or sugar (-2 points). We were expecting fresh, plain, fruit. Not your fault Eggsuis, but, just another disappointment to add to the list.

I had the 'Sherbrooke' meal (classic eggs, bacon, toast, hashbrowns, and beans).  The hashbrowns were really good. The first bite had a ton of flavour, but, by the second bite I realized they had drained all the liquid from my body. To say they were salty would be one of those OMG understatements. They could have been labelled, salt with a bit of fried potato mixed in. As mentioned earlier, my eggs were undercooked. The beans were like lardy water. The fruit, over sugared. The crepes, undercooked and placed on a bed of sugary fruit compote. Not good. The only person from our table of four that seemed to enjoy any part of the meal was my daughter who had the waffle with banana and chocolate. So, 25% success rating!

When we started packing the kids up to leave our waitress brought the bill. I'm certain she knew we were not pleased with our food and had avoided coming back to the table. Even when we were leaving and our plates were barely touched she did not ask us how things were, or anything like that. Nobody there seemed to care, about us, our experience, the mess, or the food.

I'm not one to go out of my way to complain, but, if anyone would have asked me I would have said something...it was that bad.

In fact, a few days later I was still thinking about how bad the service and the food were that I went and sent an email to the company. It has been a month and I have yet to receive a response. Apparently, making customers feel unwelcome and ignored is part of the company's culture?

It is a shame too, b/c the food could be good, the prices are right (especially the kid's menu). Eggsuis is one of the only places on the west side of town that appeals to families like us, that are looking for more wholesome and healthier food. 

I might consider returning if there was a drastic change, but, for now I can only share this awful experience about that new Egg place.