It can't be burnt. The meat should be juicy. The coating shouldn't be too doughy. The sauce should be plentiful and not overly bitter. The pasta should be good quality (spaghetti or angel hair, no ziti.)
The chicken must be pounded, not just tossed in as a big lump of meat. The sauce has to work with this specific dish, not the "this is the red sauce that you put on everything and that doesn't work very well with anything, isn't it?" sauce. And God help you if you don't drain that pasta correctly and there's a puddle of water underneath it.
The location they're going into is only nominally in the mall at all. You can avoid the whole rest of Copley Place by going in from Southwest Corridor Park/Dartmouth Street. It's the only space at that entrance and the mall is up the escalator.
I will guess that this piece mostly still holds up, in which case don't play the included drinking game. One update that could be made: I saw a couple of minutes of disgraced bigot Dave Andleman on that show a few years ago, and I'm pretty sure he's backed off on his old, bizarre tangerine spray tan.
I will wait until the reviews hit the wire, but I have been very content with Mario's on Humboldt (a little sweet but the presentation matches the flavor)
the Major Food Group, which also operates the great Carbone in Manhattan and Contessa in Boston. I haven't been to a Parm, and there's no guarantee that a fast-casual sibling will be great just because its elders are great (e.g., I loved Jody Adams's Rialto but don't think much of Saloniki), but those two fancier restaurants have spectacular food.
Carbone does an elevated version of Italian-American cuisine (the kind that evolved out late-19th century immigration here from Sicily and Campania), and its deserved success is what launched the whole enterprise, so that's a promising sign for Parm. I will make it a point to give this place a try, either in Boston or Burlington.
Comments
love - hate
Love chicken parm.
Hate (strongly dislike) malls.
Tough call, but parm might win this battle for me.
Depends
For me, depends on the parm. Lotta meh parm out there.
Many variables at play
It can't be burnt. The meat should be juicy. The coating shouldn't be too doughy. The sauce should be plentiful and not overly bitter. The pasta should be good quality (spaghetti or angel hair, no ziti.)
Hmm...
Eggplant, yes on the good coating, good sauce, basil, and penne rigate. And a fuckton of cheese obv.
Also
The chicken must be pounded, not just tossed in as a big lump of meat. The sauce has to work with this specific dish, not the "this is the red sauce that you put on everything and that doesn't work very well with anything, isn't it?" sauce. And God help you if you don't drain that pasta correctly and there's a puddle of water underneath it.
Not particularly mall-y
The location they're going into is only nominally in the mall at all. You can avoid the whole rest of Copley Place by going in from Southwest Corridor Park/Dartmouth Street. It's the only space at that entrance and the mall is up the escalator.
just wait
the transplant cab and ride share drivers will take everyone with a Boston accent to the Palm.
The various items are also available in eggplant parm
No one eats eggplant, or they shouldn't anyway,
just as no one eats parsley, which reminds me of a joke, but never mind.
Did somebody mention the lost verse of Hallelujah?
They aren’t even open yet but
They aren’t even open yet but that won’t stop Phantom Gourmet from devoting an hour to them and calling their food “addictive”.
If you enjoy busting on Phantom Gourmet
tropes and tics, I have an old blog piece for you, with an ironically timely Chowhound theme.
I will guess that this piece mostly still holds up, in which case don't play the included drinking game. One update that could be made: I saw a couple of minutes of disgraced bigot Dave Andleman on that show a few years ago, and I'm pretty sure he's backed off on his old, bizarre tangerine spray tan.
Nah...
Saw him recently and he's still sporting the tan. Hard to believe that he likes that darker skin hue, isn't it?
Is Dave Andelman still on the air after
his latest racist tirade? (He's been that asshole for many years; their old radio show was truly appalling.)
I thought they might have booted him out of on-camera roles. If so, maybe you saw a rerun?
Nah...
But he can still be seen scamming free food at either Bianchi's or The Kowloon.
Burlington
They've been open in Burlington for a bit already.
I will wait until the reviews
I will wait until the reviews hit the wire, but I have been very content with Mario's on Humboldt (a little sweet but the presentation matches the flavor)
I was just at the Burlington
I was just at the Burlington Mall and they are opening one there too.
That reminds me: this chain is from
the Major Food Group, which also operates the great Carbone in Manhattan and Contessa in Boston. I haven't been to a Parm, and there's no guarantee that a fast-casual sibling will be great just because its elders are great (e.g., I loved Jody Adams's Rialto but don't think much of Saloniki), but those two fancier restaurants have spectacular food.
Carbone does an elevated version of Italian-American cuisine (the kind that evolved out late-19th century immigration here from Sicily and Campania), and its deserved success is what launched the whole enterprise, so that's a promising sign for Parm. I will make it a point to give this place a try, either in Boston or Burlington.