Italian: Campisis

Campisis Egyptian Lounge “The Original” 5610 E. Mockingbird Lane/Dallas, TX 75206/ 214-827-0355/Multiple locations www.campisis.us

I’ll probably get some flack for this review but, I’ve got to be frank. I get a little hot under my collar when it comes to Italian food because being Italian myself and a New Yorker, I have had the best. Since being in Dallas I've been disappointed by what is so loosely referred to as Italian cuisine. Try as I might, since 1998 I have yet to find pizza that is sensational. My husband Joey hails from Chicago so he longs for deep dish pizza, but he likes NY style too. So, when our Dallas pals told us that Campisi’s was the place to go for the best pizza and Italian food in town we didn’t hesitate. “Go to the Egyptian room,” they said. Excooze me. This is good Italian food? Umm. No. Feh getta bout it! My Italian relatives would agree too. This would never pass in NY’s Little Italy—oh my heavens no! The pizza was cracker-crust thin and cut into little squares. The sauce tastes like it was poured straight from a can. Hey, nostalgic movie buffs—Think Saturday Night Fever. John Travolta strutting his stuff down Brooklyn Avenue shoving two stacked slices of pizza into his mouth with one hand. Huge, macho slices that don’t make you feel like you just got heisted by a couple of wise-guys. That’s real pizza. Once you’ve eaten it there are few competitors. After two bites of Campisis famous pizza I wanted no more. The second bite was only to confirm what I tasted the first time. Joey, who isn’t Italian by any stretch, continued to eat his saucy squares undaunted by my rants. I ordered spaghetti and meatballs. I figured, how bad could they screw that up? First, I was served garlic bread that was unequivocally Texas toast, and then a sopping wet salad of iceberg lettuce with a tomato fragment and other scant garnishes. Please, Campisis, show some respect for your well paying customers and feed the cheap, un-nutritious iceberg lettuce to starving park squirrels and rabbits. When my pasta arrived it was a glommed pile and the meatballs didn’t taste homemade. I guess to be somewhat fair I should mention the history of Campisis. It’s known as a landmark, opened in 1946 by Papa Joe Campisi who apparently introduced pizza to Dallas. Dallas you got a bum rap on that one. In true mafia-esque style Campisis has had its share of tragedy and blood-shed. It’s reported that Lee Harvey Oswald dined at the ‘orginal’ on the eve of JFK’s assassination. Other sources say that Jack Ruby ate here before he killed Lee Harvey Oswald. Will the real bad guy please stand up? Whoever it was I hope it wasn’t their last meal. I also heard that a famous Major League Baseball Umpire was shot outside the restaurant and the cast of the Sopranos supposedly ate there. Embellished reality, or not, the Campisis chain is all over town and run by third and fourth generation family. Critics are generous word-smyths and faithful diners bring their families. I wonder if any of them can tell me what Italian food has to do with Egyptians, especially when the walls are dotted with mobster décor. The menu is loaded with many Italian favorites, but come on, no Gelato or Cannolis? What gives? They have New York cheesecake. Points for that one. The service wasn’t great or friendly. The parking is lowsy. Good thing we didn’t have to wait to be seated. For you more conservative, family types, (and by family I don’t mean La Cosa Nostra) if you Google their website don’t be surprised to stumble upon relative and Playboy’s Miss February 2005, Amber Campisi. Is that what happens to graduates from Dallas' prestigous, high tuitioned Southern Methodist University? I wonder what Papa Joe would think? As for rating: I say it's fair to poor. Joey says its average. The verdict... Yankees Eat Rating = 3/Average