El Caporal dishes up seafood with quality ingredients

POCATELLO – Located right along the Gate City’s busiest road, a restaurant has made it a priority to serve only the best ingredients they possibly can.

El Caporal, which has locations in Burley, Pocatello and Twin Falls, serves a variety of dishes, ranging from hamburgers and tacos to seafood dishes with octopus. Hector Cruz, the manager of the Pocatello location at 612 Yellowstone Avenue, said that the restaurant prioritizes getting fresh seafood, rather than frozen.

“My boss, he always prefers quality over quantity. He says, ‘I don’t care if it costs me a little bit more,’” Cruz said. “That’s what he cares about the most.”

The first dish El Caporal served EastIdahoNews.com was the Molcahete Siete Mares, which is served to the customer with steam rising and the base soup bubbling and boiling.

The bowl contains scallops, shrimp, crab, octopus, clams, ceviche, shrimp and fish. Melted cheese is served on top of the clams, making for an unexpectedly perfect combination. Cruz said that while one person is sometimes hungry enough to eat the whole bowl to themselves, people will often order it to share between two people.

The next dish El Caporal brought out was its signature steak, which is served with chips and shrimp on the side. The ribeye steak has mushrooms, onions and bell peppers served on top and below it.

Customers who cut into the steak will find it to be juicy, thanks to a house-made sauce it marinates in.

The final dish served to EastIdahoNews.com was the Pulpo Enamorado, which is a platter of quesadillas containing beans and cheese, tomatoes, avocado, chips and octopus served on top of rice with baby shrimp.

While some customers eat it separately, many will eat the octopus with the rice, which pair together deliciously.

Cruz said that even when employees have suggested finding cheaper ingredients, the owner of El Caporal has insisted on continuing to find only the best to serve in his restaurant, and that won’t change anytime soon.

“Maybe we say, ‘let’s try out this other kind of steak and see if it’s a little bit cheaper,’ he says, ‘No, this is the steak I want. It’s a little bit pricier but this is what I want, and I want quality,’” Cruz said.