Capers Cafe & Bakery

Q: What do Salina, Italy (a tiny island in the Aeolian Sea) and Salina, Kansas have in common?

A: Capers!

Capers The Italian Salina is renowned for producing the world's finest capers - pickles created by plucking the unopened flower buds of a Mediterranean shrub and then processing them in salt. In homage to this small but powerful culinary delight, restauranter Murray Gorman has created Capers Cafe and Bakery in Salina, Kansas.

This cafe is casual rather than formal with an emphasis on flavorful, wholesome ingredients - pasta and grains, fresh vegetables, olive oil, herbs, roasted lean meats - and unexpected combinations, all of which contain the caper. The pickled buds are included in every dish the cafe's chef prepares - sandwiches, salads, and daily specials with a sunny Mediterranean flair.

"You cook with capers to enhance, round out the flavor of a dish," Gorman explains. "They're always added at the end of the cooking cycle, unlike garlic. We always have a hint of flavor of that caper, whether diners know it or not."

Baked Goods & "Ooey Gooey" Rolls As popular as the daily menu are the delectable baked goods that stream from the kitchen displayed in glass cases at both ends of the service area: cheesecakes, pies, cinnamon rolls, scones, brownies, muffins, and the favorite "ooey gooey" rolls Gorman named one day as he searched for the words to describe them to a customer. Also offered are all-kosher, all-natural fresh-baked breads and bagels made from regional and local flours.

Capers Cafe and Bakery opened in December 1999 in two adjoining storefronts on Salina's "main street" at 109 N. Santa Fe. In every detail, the establishment is carefully overseen by Gorman's vision for a place which caters to body, mind, and heart. Events, such as weekend jazz concerts, wine dinners, cooking classes, beer tastings, and the community's annual poetry series, are as important as the food. Perhaps the perfect melding of event and food is found in the cafe's full-line catering, which ranges from platters ordered ahead and ready for pick-up at the cafe, to Capers staff delivering and setting up a "spread table" (Gorman's description of Capers' multi-level buffet) or serving a complete sit-down dinner. Only a year after opening, catering accounts for more than 40% of Capers' business.

The source of Capers' Mediterranean emphasis is the way Gorman likes to eat at home - from fresh garden vegetables in salads, to vegetables on the grill served with cheeses or tossed with pasta."When we cook, we keep it fresh and we keep it clean," Gorman says of Capers' distinctive flavor. "We don't clutter our food with too many ingredients. It's simplified flavor done in its freshest form."

One way Capers' kitchen serves freshness is by having very little storage room so that deliveries of produce, meats, and baking ingredients are frequent. With no walk-in freezer, the cafe does not rely on frozen products. And that pays off in the look and taste of the dishes the cafe turns out.

Walking into Capers is an experience for all the senses. Warm and distinctive decor, the aroma of good cooking, and the happy noise of music and conversation greet diners who pursue menus on blackboards hanging behind the counter and place their orders at the one of two service stations. Staff, decked out in Capers caps, assist guests with the menu, take orders, and prepare beverages from the huge selection of daily coffees, tea, and specialty sodas.

The dining room's walls of rich indigo, moss green, and rose are lit by warm amber sconces and hanging lamps. Capers Dining Area Big easy chairs upholstered in fabric featuring designs in the signature colors are positioned in conversation groupings with low tables. The clean curves of the black steel railing, booths, and tables and chairs in the dining room's slightly raised upper level create an "uptown" visual impact. Over it all, the original tin ceiling is painted deep purple and stripped with track lighting useful as spotlights during concerts, readings, and other events. The cafe's logo - a loose spiral with radiating lines - is repeated in the curves of the interior decor and the bases of lamps situated in conversation areas.

"Capers is built around the art of conversation," Gorman explains. "I don't want any televisions. I wanted people to have a place to focus on what is being said, on a place to get away and read or just to 'talk story' as they say in Hawaii."

Keeping the emphasis on freshness extends to the cafe's presence in the community. Gorman's ideas for Capers and for its downtown neighborhood are as lively as his tangy cuisine. In the works for the summer is a farmer's market in the parking lot behind the cafe which will feature produce, fresh flowers, and more. Capers chooses to buy as much local produce as possible, and the businesses' relationship with local growers grew naturally into the farmer's market idea.

Also in the plans for spring are high tea on Wednesday afternoons featuring sweet and savory tea time fare along with hot tea, and the continuation of the popular wine dinners which allow the chef to create more complex flavors and to pair each of the several courses with a different American wine. The uniqueness of Capers' daily menu, in-house events and catering operation has become something of a local legend in only a year. Salina and regional business owners have come to Gorman asking him to take over failing or empty restaurants. Gorman says he is always flattered to be approached, but his vision for the next three years keep his plate full. Plans include strategic satellite locations and perhaps the opening of an upscale bistro with a more formal menu and sophisticated decor.

"We're not here to make rules. We're here to break the rules," Gorman says. His fanatically successful cafe and bakery in the middle of America's grain belt based on the tiny, tangy Italian caper may prove rules just don't matter when it comes to energy, vision, and taste.

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