From the design, you'd never guess this place had any connection with the guys who are taking over the Four Seasons space. You have to go to Carbone first to understand what Parm is about. Carbone takes the old fashioned red-sauce Italian restaurant formula and makes all the food absolutely delicious and at the same time making you feel like you're in the movie Goodfellas. Parm is the casual spinoff of the same feeling.
One friend thought we were in some kind of retro diner. I said: "IT'S NOT WHAT IT SEEMS!" There is even a hint of TGIF about the red and white colors all over the place. But the food is another story.
Having been to Siberia lately (at Gotham), I scouted out a nice table. The service director was very nice about letting me choose a table. He was wearing a sharp suit and knew exactly what he was doing. We got a cozy booth by the window in the middle of the room.
Our waiter appeared. He clearly worked at Fawlty Towers before coming to Parm. He had that edge of anger and hostility that Basil Fawlty exuded, minus the ingratiating smile. He kept appearing when he was not wanted then disappearing when needed. He had no understanding of wine yet told us boldly what "his favorite" was. Then he tried to bully us into ordering more food and larger portions. I ignored him.
The fried zucchini was light and tasty: like french fries but much fluffier. The three giant meatballs, topped with mozzarella and tomato sauce were juicy and tasty. The linguine alle vongole was heaven: garlic, salt, parsley and a heap of fresh, tasty, small clams. The club sandwich had too much mayo (and potato chips folded in: gross). The chicken parm on an roll (a bargain at $10) was hot, had lots of tomato sauce, and was served on the perfect bun.
The wine by the glass turned out to be quite good: Chianti, Nebbiolo. The beer selection was good also.
The service manager passed by and I joked with him about his "special" waiter. The service manager is a former captain at Carbone: that's why he was so good. He explained that his mission was to bring some of the "Carbone feel" to Parm. I asked him if was interested in the Four Seasons project and he laughed and said that everyone was.
We did jumping jacks to order another glass of wine from our waiter. We asked for the dessert menu, but he was too busy. Then he came back and said there was no dessert menu. He listed what was available. We decided to split a brownie sundae.
The service manager came out and served us four desserts on the house: the sundae, two ice cream cakes, and key lime pie. All's well that ends well. It was fun.
Grade: A-
Parm Battery Park City
250 Vesey Street
212-776-4927
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