This week I will be test driving the Chicken Parmigiana at the Albion Hotel (obviously in Albion in the suburbs of Brisbane).
Watch this space for the review and all other things Chicken Parmigiana related.
Postscript: I had originally scheduled to attend the Monier Hotel at Darra this week. The Monier will appear later in the year.
Don’t miss a thing in 2015 as I search for Brisbane’s Best Parma by connecting with your preferred social media platform. You can find Brisbane’s Best Parma being talked about in these places:
Twitter: @brisbestparma
Instagram: brisbanesbestparma
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brisbanesbestparma?ref=bookmarks
Please feel free to leave your comments on anything Brisbane’s Best Parma related here in the comments sections of each post or on Facebook. I would like to make my quest here as interactive as possible so lets keep it social and interesting!
The quest to find Brisbane’s Best Parma had to start somewhere and so it was that last night I broke my chicken parmigiana duck for 2015 at the Newmarket Hotel.
Keeping with the template previously advised, here is my review of the chicken parmigiana at the Newmarket Hotel:
Chicken: The chicken breast was well crumbed, contained a large amount of meat and, as has been pointed out to me on social media, looked a little like a map of Australia (sans Tasmania). I thought the cooking of the breast might have gone a little long because I found it to be a bit dry and chewy in places.
Tomato Sauce: This aspect of the Newmarket Hotel parma was pretty good if a little lacking. The sauce tasted good and was a good compliment to the rest of the meal but given the size of the chicken breast I would have liked a little more.
Ham: No complaints about the ham on this chicken parma save again for that feeling that there could have been a little bit more of it.
Cheese: I really enjoyed the cheese last night. There was a thick enough layering of it, it bound well to the rest of the chicken, tomato sauce and ham combination and, indeed, kept it all together. Proportionally I thought the amount of cheese was spot on.
Side Dishes: I will deal with the salad first because it is the positive part of this review. There was plenty of salad, it was not overrun with dressing nor was there a preponderance of new age salad inclusions like kale. Top marks for the salad. Unfortunately the chips really let this meal down. Where I thought the chicken breast was overcooked, the reverse applied to the chips. They were soggy rather than being crisp and were luke warm at best when they reached the table.
Presentation: This is how the chicken parmigiana looked when it was placed in front of me.
You will note that a portion of the parma is resting on some of the chips. In most cases that would be a significant negative for me however given the size of the meal compared to the size of the plate it was understandable and probably unavoidable.
Size: I would consider this to be a medium to large chicken parmigiana with the chicken breast similarly sized.
The Verdict: I had high hopes for the first chicken parmigiana of 2015 and whilst this parmigiana had some very good points ultimately the chips (terrible) and the chicken breast (dry) were disappointments. I can not imagine that this parmigiana will find itself in the top half of the parma ladder by the end of the year.
Postscript: I mentioned in an earlier post that I would not be judging the chicken parmigianas I eat based on the service received or value for money in the meals. I stand by that. Equally, I also commented that I would also provide comment about both in each review. I have to say that the Newmarket Hotel let itself down massively on the service front. I don’t whether it was because it was a Wednesday night or because there were too few staff on or because I just bring the worst out in wait staff but I found the service to be glacial in speed at best. It was not a happy dining experience for this reason.
In January I will be trying out the Chicken Parmigianas at the following venues around Brisbane:
| Week Commencing | Venue |
| 5/01/15 | Newmarket Hotel, Newmarket |
| 12/01/15 | Monier Hotel, Darra |
| 19/01/15 | Pineapple Hotel, Fifth Quarter Bar, Kangaroo Point |
| 26/01/15 | Albion Hotel, Albion |
I had intended on picking a day as “Parma Day” and eat consistently on that day this week. However on reflection focusing on one day is going to be difficult. Hence I have just noted the week in which I will attend each venue. That said: I am aiming on having my parmigianas on a Tuesday or Wednesday.
Watch this place for each week’s review and the place each venue’s parmigiana has on the Parma Table.
It is 2015 and that means that the quest to find Brisbane’s Best Parma has now begun. 50 parmas in 50 weeks to crown the “Robert” and other parmas.
Keep an eye on this blog for weekly reviews, the Parma schedule and the Parma wall!
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Last night I had my first parma of the festive season at Maroochy Surf Club. Obviously this parma does not qualify for Brisbane's Best Parma because it is not in the Brisbane area and it is not 2015 but it represented a chance to hone my parma reviewing skills that was too good to be missed. For each parma I will write a review using the following basic template.
Chicken Breast: The chicken breast was excellent. It was well crumbed, well cooked and had a large amount of meat actually in the breast.
Tomato Sauce: Again I could not fault the tomato sauce on this parma. It was tasty without being overpowering whilst also being abundant which is a personal preference of mine.
Ham: This is where this parma started to fall down for me. The ham looked and tasted like it had come from a ziplock bag of processed ham from Coles. You know the bags I am talking about: the ones that have the ham pre-cut cut into small pieces. This was a disappointment.
Cheese: Keeping with the theme of disappointment I was also disappointed with the cheese for one simple reason; viz, there just was not enough of it. Enough said.
Side dishes: The chips that came with this parma were spot on. Crispy and not oversalted: top shelf for mine. Similarly the salad was just the right amount to compliment the parma.
Presentation: Unfortunately this parma did not get off to a good start. One of my biggest irritations when it comes to eating a parma is when the chicken breast is lazily placed on top of the chips. Last night's parma was guilty of this.
Size: This parma was middle of the range when it came to size.
The Verdict: All in all the Maroochy Surf Club was a middle of the road parma that you would expect from a busy surf club. It had good points and bad. The bad points were not enough to stop me from having the parma again when I am next at the Surf Club but the good points were not enough to have me chomping at the bit to have it again soon.
I have been talking a lot across the lunch and dinner table as well as online with people wondering how I am going to judge Brisbane’s Best Parma. I posted my rules for judging Brisbane’s Best Parma a couple of days ago. The discussion about the rules has begat this thought: in addition to Brisbane’s Best Parma what other “awards” ought I “hand out” as part of my quest to find Brisbane’s Best Parma?
So, again following consultations with my Parma consiglieres, here the categories for the “Parma Awards”:
The “Robert” Parma: Brisbane’s Best Parma will receive this award because it is simply irresistable.
The “Clive” Parma: The biggest parma found as I eat my way through 50 parmas in 50 weeks will be named after Big Clive. Need I say more?
The “Arnold” Parma: This award will go to the parma for which I have had to undertake the longest drive to get to the venue.
The “Laura” Parma: The worst parma I eat in 2015 will be bestowed with the “Laura” because you would rather eat something dead and wrapped in plastic than eat it again.
With only three days to go till 2015 and the commencement of the quest in sight, the excitement is definitely starting to build!
It is almost time for the quest to find Brisbane's Best Parma to commence. It would be fair to say that I have been overjoyed by the amount of discussion that this quest has created both with my family, friends and colleagues. That discussion has oft focused on two things: how I am going to decide which of the 50 parmas I am going to taste is the best AND the venues that I am going to attend in this quest.
The ideas and advice that I have received have been variously excellent and bizarre. I will repeat though something that I have said all along: this is my quest so the decision is ultimately mine. So these are my rules and they will not be varied.
The Rules:
It has been an amazing day: the search for Brisbane’s best Parma has not even started yet but the support for this quest has been nothing short of brilliant.
Discussions with family, friends and colleagues have all be a mix of passionate and whimsical as well as overwhelmingly supportive and positive.
Today even secret Santa came to the party with my present being the first bit of “merch” for Brisbane’s Best Parma as shown in the photo below.
Watch this blog for more information including the rules of the search and my current list of venues. Or follow the conversation at @brisbestparma.
I have started to put together a list of the 50 venues around Brisbane that I am going to be attending in my quest to find Brisbane’s best chicken parmigiana. Of course I am sure there are venues out there that I will not know about so, therefore, I need your help.
If you have a favourite venue for imbibing a chicken parmigiana please let me know. You can reach me in the comments section of this blog, on Twitter @brisbestparma or via email brisbanesbestparma@gmail.com.
I would be delighted to start some conversations with respect to my quest for 2015. The conversations I have had already with friends and colleagues alike have been brilliant so far!
I look forward to hearing from you!
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Brisbane's Best Parma 