Fab Finds: Parma Ristorante
I'm officially back!!! It's taken me a few days to get back in the swing of things, but slowly and surely I've managed to kick it into gear and get rollin'!
I know most of you are dying to hear about all the deets from my Chicago trip, so stay tuned because those are coming up soon!
This past Friday, we celebrated my Dad's birthday and for dinner, he chose to go to Parma Ristorante here in town. I was shocked that my dad actually picked a place that I hadn't been to before, so I was very excited to try this place and see what everyone is talking about!
When you walk in, a beautiful sea of sky blue table cloths draping each table instantly catch your eye all while the servers welcome you with their matching blue shirts and glistening gold bowties.
To start things off, I brought two bottles of wine for us which were absolutely delicious! The first was a Chenin Blanc made by Protea and it was the perfect, crisp wine to start our appetizers off with! The next was a newly favorited Pinot Noir by Joel Gott, 2013 Vintage, which was a fantastic compliment to each of our dinners. My dad gave them both two thumbs up and an applause, so I'd say we were off to a good start!
Now let's talk food...appetizers to be exact. In case you're wondering how Italian this place is...it's ITALIAN! like menu items are written in Italian, ask the server (or Elena the owner who was personally serving us on Friday cuz she knows my mom, of course. 😉 🇮🇹 )....Italian. So basically, we did as Elena said.
|| Antipasti Misti ||
Assorted appetizers that include: crostini, prosciutto melone, caprese, frittata, eggplant medallions, and spinach salad
Oh my.... I could honestly order that and that alone. Like just put me in a corner on timeout with a plate of that and I'll be a good girl. I don't even know what half of it was, but it was SO so good. Ridiculous.
On to the main courses... Almost all of us except my dad and brother managed to order different things. So I pretty much made my rounds and got a little taste of everything!
|| Tris di Pasta ||
An assortment of three pastas:
1. Gnocchi di Patate (Potato Gnocchi served with four-cheese sauce)
2. Agnolotti di Vitello (Agnolotti filled with veal in a brown butter and sage sauce)
3. Pappardelle al Pesto (Pappardelle with fresh tomatoes , crispy prosciutto and pesto)
|| Petto d'Anatra ||
Smoked duck breast and polenta topped with sautéed peaches accented with rosemary
|| Lasagna alla Parmigiana ||
Lasagna layered with bolognese sauce , béchamel and parmesan cheese
|| Coniglio alla Cacciatora ||
Farm-raised rabbit braised in wine with fresh tomatoes , oregano, bell pepper and grilled polenta
|| Fiorentina di Vitello ||
Pan-seared veal T-bone served with Parma-style spinach and roasted potatoes
Probably my favorite out of all of the entrees has to be the Veal T-Bone...Holy Flavor!! Ugh, and that spinach! Whatever "Parma-style" is, is most definitely working! The next one I liked the best was the Lasagna. So creamy and meaty, but didn't feel too heavy. I am not a fan of a"saucy" lasagna, so this was perfection. Next in my favorites was the rabbit! The fact that it was braised and basically fell of the bone was heavenly. The Duck was next in line with those yummy sautéed peaches, the perfect compliment to the smokey duck. Lastly for me were the pastas... They were still delicious, but maybe I was just in the mood for meat! haha
My dad requested a carrot cake (with raisins of course) for his birthday, so we called our friends over at Eddie's Bakery and ordered up a delicious carrot cake with the most decadent cream cheese frosting!!
I always love getting together with the family and experiencing new places and enjoying good food together. Parma provided us with an exceptional food experience and such wonderful service! I can't WAIT to go back!!
