Caffe Italia on 7th Avenue (PHX)

[bonita]

Has anyone been to Caffe Italia on 7th Avenue? Saw an ad in the newspaper for the restaurant but don't know anything about it.

[e_bone]

city?

[JK Grence the Cosmic Jester]

Caffe Italia is in Phoenix. Someone opened an Italian restaurant two doors down from Harley's? That place has been there for ages... not always as Harley's, but it's been an Italian restaurant since the 1950s.

[sunshineinaz]

How is Harley's by the way? I went when it had a different name - Roman Table? - and wasn't very memorable. Did it change hands?

[JK Grence the Cosmic Jester]

Yes, it used to be The Roman Table. If you weren't impressed by it then, you likely won't be too impressed now. The current owners use the same recipes as the owners of Roman Table. Granted, when the RT owners sold it, it was their second retirement, so maybe there was a hint of wanting to throw in the towel last time. In that area, Pizza a Metro gets my nod for Italian, but I still think Harley's is pretty decent. NB: The gay population in that area can't get enough of the place. I've seen maybe two straight couples in there.

[winedubar]

yes they did. which makes me question the judgement of the owner.

i'd take harley's any day over what we had at caffe italia. i feel for the guy but still.

harley's is decent. i prefer pizza a metro, but ive never had a bad meal at harley's. their chicken sandwiches at lunch, served with a side, are HUGE and served on great bread. and at 6 bucks i'm a happy camper. lunch and dinner at that price is a good thing ;)

[winedubar]

i have..this was the restaurant i wasn't sure i wanted to mention on chowhound because i wasn't entirely sure what the owner was thinking :D

first of all, its less than 50 feet from another italian restaurant. why would you do that?

the goods
- cute inside, spotless, adorable in an old school red checked tablecloth, redsauce italian restaurant kind of way
-kind owner. very sweet. couldn't be nicer if he tried
-the pasta vongole was pretty good
-the bread with dinner was pretty tasty

the bad
-the salad dressing was kraft italian, straight out of my dorm cafeteria.
-cold, formerly sauteed mushrooms on proscuitto with shaved parm? wtf?
-overcooked spinach pasta

i feel badly for this guy because he's obviously struggling, and so nice!!!. i drive by it alot, and i have NEVER seen one person in. we were the lone diners the night we went.

i wonder about his overall judgement. having said that - they have a $5 lunch special. im tempted to try it out because its close, its cheap, and i think he could use the help.

beyond that not sure what to say