LEO's Eats with Robin Garr
"Casapela." Utter this word slowly, with Mediterranean rhythm, assonant and mellifluous, "Cah-sa-PEH-laaaah," and it sounds as Italian as Tony Bennett crooning "Arrivederci, Roma." But plug it into Google Translate or ask a friendly Italian what "Casapela" means, exactly, and you come up with nothing. Zero, zip, even, well, niente.
But it means a lot to the DiFabio family, friendly hosts of DiFabio's Casapela in Clifton (and its parent shop in Madisonville, Ky.): "Casapela" is a quick mash-up of the family's first names, Caity and Sarah and their parents Peter and Laura, the friendly folks who make these Italian-American eateries work.
DiFabio's joined the Frankfort Avenue restaurant row two years ago and has become a popular spot on the strip. I hadn't been back for a while, so, hungry for hearty Italian-American family fare, Mary and our friend Lucinda and I claimed a comfortable table in a back corner and settled in for a casual evening and a filling meal.
The smallish venue ranks as one of Louisville's most historic structures. The 200-year-old building started life as a tollhouse on the old Frankfort Pike. Its small, covered porch offers a pleasant al fresco option for people-watching, but we like the comfy dining rooms, which have just enough iconic Italian-restaurant decor (strings of lights, Chianti bottles in wicker fiaschi, stacked cans of olive oil) without going over the top to red-checked tablecloths or fake grapevines.
The bill of fare is rooted in the classic old Italian-American family style, and when you're in the mood, that's all you really need. But it goes beyond that to incorporate some steak and seafood options that fall into a more upscale "Continental" category. Accordingly, while it's not bewilderingly long, it offers a good choice of styles and prices.
Read the full review on LouisvilleHotBytes,
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/difab ... le-italian
And in LEO Weekly:
http://leoweekly.com/dining/difabio%E2% ... ort-avenue
DiFabio's Casapela Italian Restaurant
2311 Frankfort Ave.
891-0411
http://difabios.com
Rating: 86