Parm NYC

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Never too old to have ice cream cake

Baked Clams!

I am a big fan of what the Torrisi guys are doing-even though I have never eaten there. I really only eaten their food at the San Gennaro festival and now at Parm. I do have to stop being lazy and commit to eating at Torrisi sometime but if the food at Parm is any indication of what to expect, then I should get cracking at making a reservation soon.

Parm is the offshoot of their main restaurant and set up like a lunch counter. The menu looks like your average Red Sauce American style Italian food but of course, if it was just like any other, people would not be lining up to eat here. 

What Chicken Parm should be

If you are scared of eating solo, I suggest you come here to eat to ease your fears, the bar makes up for the majority of the seating and it is spacious and comfortable. Their sandwiches are the thing to get here, either on a hero or a roll or go for a platter that comes with a side salad I believe. I got the chicken parm sandwich on a hero and an order of bake clams. Parm hits on the nostalgic factor, I mean I do not even remember the last time I even had baked clams and after eating them, I felt I needed it more in my life. The clams were simply adorned with seasoned bread crumbs, hit it with a bit of Tabasco, I am a happy man.

The chicken parm sandwich is the epitome of all chicken parm sandwiches. Eating one of these will atone for all the crappy chicken parm sandwiches you ate during those late nights in college. Normally when getting a chicken parm sub, there is the expectation, well not expectation but just an acceptance that there will be parts of the chicken that will be dry and stringy. This one was juicy and tender and the blanket of red sauce and mozzarella, a Parisi bakery semolina roll, this is what Red Sauce American Italian food should taste like. 

I love ice cream cake.

Do not leave without a piece of ice cream cake. That’s right, ice cream cake, I am hoping they will come up with a fudgy the Whale version soon (cough, maybe a birthday present idea for me? Cough). This tri-layer ice cream cake is the perfect way to end a meal here. The only thing from making this an everyday spot is that it is a bit pricey. But, I guess you have to shell out a bit more for great tasting food.

Parm

248 Mulberry Street
New York

http://parmnyc.com/

Torrisi Italian Specialties @ Feast of San Gennaro

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Within the 20 minutes spent walking San Gennaro, “Party Rock” I concluded is on a continuous loop. Liked it better when Usher songs were the summer anthems

The Feast of San Gennaro is the closest that New York will ever get to the state/county fairs found out in Middle America. Although the Feast will does not feature such culinary and avante garde cuisine such as the fried bubble gum and fried stick of butter, the amount of oil used during this two week feast is surely enough to give the cast of the Real Housewives of NJ and Jersey Shore crew a shine that will last them a good season. Also I do not think that the Iowa State Fair had MozzArepas, true fusion of Latin and Italian.

Though the Feast has been in the past years a 5 block radius of all the fried oreos and calamari, cannoli and the sweet smell of grilled sausage and peppers, the Feast has gotten a bit of an upgrade thanks to Torrisi Italian Specialties. Debuting last year at the feast this year they are stepping up their game. Not only is Torrisi producing some great grub, a few other New York notables such as the folks at Rubirosa, The Breslin, Brooklyn Bangers and Stellina to name a few have set up booths as well giving a nice upgrade and change up to the standard fare found at the Feast. Sadly, LAFMO will still be blasting from speakers. 

Torrisi debuted last year with fried mozzarella wontons, a recognition of Chinatown’s proximity and influence in Little Italy. Playing on the same theme, this year they have come up with ribs and wonton nachos. The ribs are served in the standard Chinese takeout oyster pail and have the all to familiar imperial red color and charred edged just like char sui pork. 

Ribs!

The meat had a divine slightly sweetened glaze and the meat, grilled perfectly had a tender chew and the meat just clings to bone, requiring little effort. The Nachos was a nice twist and I thoroughly enjoyed. It was fried wonton skins that got a sprinkle of sesame and although there was no Velveeta here, it came topped with Chinese hot mustard and duck sauce which balanced each other out. The Wonton skins were light, crisp and surprisingly not greasy. 

Wonton Nachos

The wonton nachos were a guilty pleasure for me because when my family went out to eat Chinese food, we never got the fried noodle crackers and duck sauce that was for Mei Guo Lain, Chinese people got pickled radish, cucumber and carrot medley and peanuts. The Feast runs till the 25^th so I would suggest hitting up the Torrisi booth, located in from of their restaurant and getting some ribs. The other big food players formerly mentioned are all setup within that proximity so no need to go venturing all about Mott and Grand to find these tasty delights. Plus, you can get a temporary tattoo.

La Cremeria Gelato

On Nomz Hero Note to Self: Brain freeze is just a consequence that I will happily accept

I have put the doughnut quest on the back burner because as much as I like doughnuts, it is hot outside and I want some frozen treats. I have ranted constantly about the amount of gelaterias in the West Village and I have always wondered why they have sprung up in the West Village rather than in places such as Little Italy. I mean, gelato is a Italian, southern Italian creation, would it not make sense that great gelato should be found in Little Italy? The only place that comes to mind is Ferrara’s that is constantly mobbed this time of year by tourists but recently, there has been a newcomer on Mulberry that is quietly making quality gelato and pushing to be one of my favorites in the city. 

La Cremeria quietly opened in the spring, but it steadily building a following. Opened by Capri (island with all the lemons) native Martino Caciagli, he is sourcing all his ingredients from Italy so he may not win points with the local-vore crowds, but one taste of their gelato and all your Alice Water-like notions disappear.

Not only are the sorbets such as the blood orange intense and flavorful, he is also dishing out flavors such as zabaglione, the cream made for tiramisu which captures the sweetness of the Moscato or the Nerone, their intense chocolate gelato. I however, have been drawn and loving the Monella, which has cherries, almonds and bits of chocolate, like a suave version of a Cherry Garcia. La Cremeria coaxes out all of these flavors in their gelato and imparts a smooth and creamy texture. I suggest hitting up La Cremeria as soon as possible before this place starts to explode especially in the current heat, La Cremeria is a nice remedy against the heat…that and hydration. 

This looks more like a flower than the gelato at Amorino

La Cremeria
178 Mulberry St
Manhattan, NY 10012
http://www.la-cremeria.com/

Jacque Torres and Oro Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Eating chocolate chip cookie, walking and texting is true multi-tasking

I am always on the look out for a good chocolate chip cookie and this week I was able to try a cookie from Oro Bakery in Little Italy and Jacque Torres in the Meatpacking District/Chelsea Market. Reputable sources such as the internet, swear that each of these bakeries make a damn good chocolate chip cookies and I had to check it out. I mean, when has the internet ever lied to me? Oh by the way, if anybody talks to that disposed Nigerian Prince that randomly emailed me and needed some cash, can you see how he is doing? I hope he and my sure investment is doing ok.

Jacque Torres is a straight up badass chocolatier. Dude gets to rock a special collar on his chef collar that only the French President can give you. Not something that they give away to just anybody and very few have this honor of rocking this collar. I assume they also get some kind of decoder ring as well but that is for another time.

Jacque Torres Cookie, thumb not included

The cookie is hefty and it is nice that they will heat up the cookie for you if you want, just enough to get a bit of that chocolate to soften and melt a bit. The cookie itself is buttery and is very much like a shortbread cookie. The cookie is like a hybrid of a pastry and a shortbread cookie. The cookie has layers in it and is buttery like a pastry but has a crumb texture and firm consistency of shortbread.  He also uses chocolate disks that are layered in-between the layers. Like if the cookie was the earth, it the chocolate would be like tectonic plates…tasty tectonic plates.

Oro Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookie

Next up was Oro bakery up in Little Italy. It is a bar/café and has a small selection of bake goods and mainly known for their Frenchy pastries such as their croissants and madeleines. However, off to the side and should be displayed more promiently are their cookie jars, filled with cookies and one of them being the chocolate chip cookie. The cookie has a firm yet it is able to soft at the same time. The cookie was littered with thick chopped chocolate chunks but did not give you a sugar high and balanced just right with the hint of salt that hits you after you taste the chocolate.

A good chocolate chip cookie is hard to come by when it is the minority in a city full of mediocre and complete crap cookies. Both these places not only have good chocolate chip cookies but other great products as well that you can shove into your gullet without feeling like it was complete waste of caloric intake.

Jacque Torres Chocolate
Various locations in NYC
www.mrchocolate.com/


Oro Bakery and Bar
375 Broome Street
New York, NY 10013
http://www.orobakerybar.com/