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The Basics: Il Capriccio restaurant information

Il Capriccio

888 Main Street
Waltham, MA 02451
781-894-2234

Il Capriccio restaurant information
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Waltham wasn’t always on the culinary map. But when Il Capriccio began racking up awards in the early ‘90s, knowledgeable foodies beat a path to this 128-belt suburb – and not all of them were computer geeks, either.

Today, chef-owner Rich Barron and his partner Jeannie Rogers run what is widely acknowledged as one of the best destinations for Italian food and wine in the country. Among awards too numerous to be listed here, Il Capriccio has been awarded Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence countless times. Credit Rogers, a world-class sommelier and devotee of Italian reds.

News and Events at Il Capriccio restaurant

Wines from Under the Tuscan Sun
Taste some special Tuscan wines at Il Capriccio, where they're exploring the wines of Agricola Querciabella on Friday, May ...

The Dining Docket
March 26th - April 1st
Get your fill of fun food fetes this week. We've got plenty of options to ...

Il Capriccio' s Three Course Anniversary
Most folks expect to get a present or two for birthdays and anniversaries. 

Richard Barron

Chef at Il Capriccio

Chef Richard Barron at Il Capriccio

Richard Barron, Newton native and George Washington University graduate, began his culinary career literally on the streets of Washington D.C., working for a catering company that sold gourmet goods from pushcarts. After working at a series of restaurants and hotels in D.C. and Cambridge, Massachusetts, he entered the Culinary Institute of America and upon graduation helped to open Il Capriccio.

Greatly influenced by original owner Enzo Danesi, a native of Milan, Barron developed his unique interpretation of Northern Italian cooking, using the freshest products, cooking them simply and maximizing the tastes and textures as only the Italians can do.

After a stint as Sous Chef at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Barron returned to Il Capriccio. Together with partner and wine guru Jeannie Rogers, Barron has since elevated the restaurant to its current position as a nationally known culinary destination, in a high-tech suburb of Boston.

Il Capricio's many awards include two years running as Sante magazine's Best Northeast Restaurant "Cooking for Wine" and Boston Magazine's Best Sommelier, multiple Awards of Excellence from the Wine Spectator, and consistent inclusion in Zagat Survey's Boston Top Ten and Gourmet magazine's "America's Top Tables."

Barron's sophisticated cooking has caused many a critic to ponder whether the best Italian cooking in Boston is actually in Waltham. The regularity with which Il Capriccio is booked weeks in advance may be evidence that some people think so.

In any case, we can all agree that Barron has come a long way from that pushcart in D.C.

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Dictionary
 
Cannelloni
1. noun Large, stuffed pasta tubes baked in sauce.
Carpaccio
1. noun Wafer-thin slices of raw beef served cold; named after the Renaissance Venetian painter.
Ceviche
1. noun Raw fish and/or shellfish in a citrus marinade.
Chèvre
1. noun French for "goat," as in cheese.
Chorizo
1. noun Crumbly, spiced pork sausage.
Cipollini
1. noun Small, yellowish onions that add sweet and savory accents to cooked dishes.
Compote
1. noun Slow-cooked fruit in syrup.
Confit
1. noun Meat (usually goose, duck or pork) that is slowly cooked in its own fat and preserved with the fat packed around it as a seal.
Emulsion
1. noun The mixture of two liquids that cannot normally combine smoothly (e.g., oil and water). Mayonnaise and hollandaise are two familiar emulsions.
Foie gras
1. noun Expensive, silk-textured goose or duck liver that has been enlarged by a process you don't want to read about if you're going to eat this dish.
Frisée
1. noun A curly, mildly bitter member of the chicory family, eaten raw in salads.
Frisee
1. noun French for curly, but usually refers to curly endive, the bitter salad green of the chicory family.
Gravlax
1. noun Cured raw salmon.
Jus
1. noun French for juice, jus also refers to the unthickened juices from a piece of roasted meat.
Lardons
1. noun Diced bacon that is blanched and fried.
Mascarpone
1. noun Ultra-rich, soft cheese known best for its role in tiramisu.
Nage
1. noun This culinary buzzword usually indicates a bouillon with (among other things) white wine, shallots and herbs.
Niçoise
1. noun Dishes typical of cuisine from the Nice, France, region, where garlic, black olives, anchovies and tomatoes are nearly always part of the mix.
Pancetta
1. noun Cured Italian bacon.
Panna cotta
1. noun Egg-less Italian custard.
Pesto
1. noun An Italian sauce traditionally made with basil, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts and Romano and Parmesan cheeses.
Polenta
1. noun A slow-cooked cornmeal porridge popular in northern Italy; can be served soupy or firm, sometimes fried.
Porcini
1. noun Smoky, meaty wild mushrooms.
Queso
1. noun Spanish for cheese.
Ragu
1. noun Tomato and meat sauce from Bologna.
Ramp
1. noun A wild onion.
Risotto
1. noun Italian dish made from rice cooked by intermittently adding small amounts of stock or broth. Other ingredients are added as required.
Schnitzel
1. noun Egg- and breadcrumb-battered, fried meat cutlet.
Semolina
1. noun Very coarse flour used to make pizza and bread. Also refers to rounded parts of wheat used to make a pudding of the same name.
Spaetzle
1. noun Tiny flour-and-egg noodles or dumplings.
Tartare
1. noun Ground or finely chopped, seasoned raw meat (traditionally beef). May or may not come mounded, and with a raw egg.