Dear Parma Army,
I have today launched a Brisbane’s Best Parma YouTube channel. The link to the first post is here: http://youtu.be/0XCSi5qeg2o
Watch this space for more videos as the quest for Brisbane’s Best Parma continues!!!
Steve
Brisbane Best Parma: the YouTube channel
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Man v Parma: The quest makes the news … Thank you Brisbane Times!
Yesterday I was privileged to be interviewed by the Brisbane Times for an article about my quest to find Brisbane’s Best Parma.
Here is the article which followed the interview: http://m.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/brisbane-man-stephen-humphreys-quest-to-find-the-citys-best-parmigiana-20150416-1mmpcl.html
To say I am overwhelmed at the response to the article would be an understatement. Thank you all: new readers and those who have been with me since the beginning.
Bring on next week’s Parma!
Parma Number 15: The Shafston Hotel … The Shane Watson of Chicken Parmigiana
The Verdict: The chicken parmigiana at the Shafston Hotel came with a big wrap on it from a number of sources and was met with much anticipation. Ultimately, whilst in some parts this Parma really hit the mark, in areas where it should have been easy to succeed this Parma failed and let itself down.
Parma Pic:
Chicken: The piece of chicken in last night’s Parma was the best part of the dish. It was well crumbed and well cooked which must have been difficult for the chef because it was easily one of the larger (and the thickest) chicken pieces I have had to date.
Tomato Sauce: If the chicken was the best part of this dish the tomato sauce ran a very close second. It was bountifully spread across the chicken piece and tasted excellent.
Ham: This is where this Parma started to lose its lustre. Whilst the ham was nice enough the slice of ham provided was just not big enough. At the start of the meal it was obvious it only covered about 65% of the chicken.
Cheese: Again this is a factor that should be easy to get right and again the Shafston Parma got this wrong by not having enough cheese on the chicken. Lack of coverage is my main criticism here because otherwise it was well melted and complimented the dish well.
Side dishes: To me the easiest part of the chicken Parma meal should be the salad. How hard is it to make a decent salad? The Shafston Hotel Parma’s salad was bland and did not add anything really to the meal. The chips, conversely, were good: well cooked and nicely salted.
Presentation: You know already what I am going to say here; viz, the plate was too small for the meal and the chicken rested on the chips without any room to move it off. Again: how hard can it be?
The Venue: The Shafston Hotel is a Brisbane drinking icon. Situated on Shaftston Avenue it is a short 5 minute drive from the city. It has gone through a renovation in recent years. Wednesday night is trivia night as well as $15 schnitzel night. The normal price for last night’s Parma is $23.90.
The Final Word: Cricket fans will have understood the reference in the title to Shane Watson after reading the verdict. I am massive fan of S Watson as a cricketer but he always seems to leave me a little disappointed particularly when it comes to converting 50s to 100s which a player with his talent should be able to do on his ear. The Shafston Hotel Parma left me feeling the same way: all of the ingredients for a great Parma are here BUT a couple of very easy things to get right went wrong which means this Parma will not be Brisbane’s Best.
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Tagged Brisbane, brisbane eats, brisbane food, chicken parmigiana, Shafston Hotel, shane watson
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Is Instagram really killing the chicken parmigiana?
I awoke on Sunday morning to a number of texts, tweets, voicemails and messages on Facebook alerting me to a story on the Today program that was talking about chicken parmigiana and its alleged demise from pub menus in Melbourne. I did not see the story but I have read the newspaper “article” that seems to have formed its basis.
I have been asked about the story by a number of readers of this blog since I went back to work on Monday so thought I would put my opinion about the story and the premise up here for all to read.
Here is the article: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/how-instagram-is-killing-off-pub-favourite-chicken-parmagiana/story-fni0fit3-1227299704056
The premise of the article is this: a chef at the Tramway Hotel in North Fitzroy has removed the chicken parmigiana from his menu because, and I quote the article here, trendy pub patrons are demanding “food porn” that they can photograph and share with friends on Instagram.
This chef is the single source for the article. No other hotels seem to have been asked whether they are serving the chicken parmigiana. Therein lies the obvious folly of the headline because whilst Instagram has ostensibly lead to the removal of the Parma from one pub menu there is no evidence presented to suggest that any other venue has acted similarly.
The article is nothing more than hyperbole. Whilst I have found some pubs without chicken parmigiana on the menu during my search for Brisbane’s Best Parma those venues are venues that I have known of for years, eaten in and I know that they have never had a Parma on the menu.
Additionally, if the chicken parmigiana was really being killed out by Instagram or other social media sites would sites like this one actually have a readership at all? I know there are a number of other sites out there that are similarly looking at chicken parmigianas at various locations and there are a number of Instagram accounts that are focused on just chicken parmigianas.
That said, one further comment is worth making. Whilst I concede that I take a photo of the chicken parmigiana’s for this website I am doing so to add to the experience of reviewing the food. If you are really not going to go to a restaurant, a pub or a club for a meal because the food does not photograph well maybe it is time to have a long hard look at yourself. Eating out is about the food isn’t it? Or maybe I am just a bit old fashioned.
Parma Number 14: The Brook Hotel … there but for the tomato sauce go I!
The Verdict: The Chicken Parma at the Brook Hotel will always hold a special place in my stomach because it is the Parma that got the conversation about Brisbane’s Best Parma started. This Chicken Parmigiana was actually pretty good however it was let down by a lack of tomato sauce and some pretty ordinary salad.
Parma Pic:
Chicken: The chicken piece in this Chicken Parma was good. It was well crumbed, well cooked and quite succulent. It was on the small side which is the only criticism I can find for it.
Tomato Sauce: This was where the principal disappointment in this meal came from. The tomato sauce was both a little bit bland and a little bit lacking. It just did not cover the chicken piece and it did not really add much flavour to the dish.
Ham: Finally a massive piece of ham on a chicken parma! The minute this parma was placed in front of me I knew I would be happy with the quantum of ham provided simply because the piece of ham covered the whole piece of chicken and was folded over for a double layer effect. It also tasted very nice as well.
Cheese: I am told that the cheese looks good in the photo. I have to tell you that the photo does not do this cheese justice. It was well melted and was layered on quite thickly.
Side Dishes: Another Parma let down by its side dishes, or least in this case, one of its side dishes. The chips were excellent: well cooked and well salted. The salad was a major let down. Setting aside the fact that it had broccoli in it about which the best that could be said was that it was unusual, the salad on a whole was a bit bland and had a look about it of just being left overs.
Presentation: I am getting tired of writing this but again the chicken portion of this meal was placed square in the middle of chips. Enough said.
The venue: The Brook Hotel is on Osborne Rd behind the Brookside Shopping Centre. It is a large multi bar venue with a large poker machine room. The Bistro is comparably small and has what could be best described as a classic fit out. One of the main things to note about the bistro at the Brook Hotel is its pricing. My Parma was priced at $12. Read that again: $12. You would struggle to find better value in the suburbs.
The Final Word: The Brook Hotel Chicken Parmigiana is the best priced Parma I have trialled so far (specials aside). It was another Parma that had some really great elements: the Ham and Cheese were nothing short of sensational. The negatives though, the sauce and the salad drop this Parma to the middle of the Parma Ladder.
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Tagged brisbane's best, brisbane's best parma, chicken parmigiana, Parma, The Brook Hotel
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Parma Number 13: The Indooroopilly Hotel … Half a good parma does not equal a winner
The Verdict: The Indooroopilly Hotel used to, notionally at least, be my local hotel albeit I confess that in the 10 years I lived in Indooroopilly I had never eaten a Chicken Parmigiana there. After this Parma I will not be back for another one quickly. It is a shame that the side dishes of this Parma were so bad because the chicken part of it was actually pretty good. The rules though are clear: you can’t win the “Robert” Parma without the side dishes also being good.
Parma Pic:
Chicken: Yes it was burned on the edges in a couple of places but that aside this piece of chicken was quite good. It was succulent, perfectly cooked and well crumbed. It was difficult to fault but for the small bits of charcoal.
Tomato Sauce: This Parma’s sauce was extremely good. It covered the Parma well enough and was very tasty. This was the best part of the dish.
Ham: The ham on this Parma was ample, albeit it did not cover the whole of the piece of chicken. It complemented the other parts of the chicken portion of the dish quite well.
Cheese: The cheese was perfectly melted and was quite thick across the parts of the chicken it covered. My only criticism is that there needed to be more of it.
Side Dishes: This is where this Parma went right off the rails. The chips were, frankly, almost bad enough for me to send back. They were undercooked, undersalted and extremely underwhelming. The salad was bland and just did not taste good. What little dressing there was could not mask the ordinary flavour.
On the Plate: This Parma, like many have gone before, failed to present well. Look at the size of the plate it came on and then ponder why the chicken was placed on top of the chips. The only reason I can think for that is that the chef was hoping the chips might cook a bit more with the chicken on top of it. How hard is it to use the whole of the plate for goodness sake?
The Venue: The Indooroopilly Hotel is on Station Road in Indooroopilly near the Indooroopilly train station. It has a couple of large bar areas as well as a large TAB. This Parma was priced at about $20 which was about right given the size of the chicken portion of the dish.
Davo (Junior Parma Reviewer) says: I looked forward all day to eating another Parma with my uncle. Unfortunately the Indooroopilly Hotel left me feeling disappointed. On a happy note, the Parma was a good size and although I liked eating it was too big for me. Unfortunately the chips were cold, there was not enough sauce and some parts of the chicken breast were burnt. When I’m invited for another Parma in the future, I hope there are no burnt bits and the chips are not cold!
The Final Word: The side dishes to this Chicken Parmigiana were, for want of a better term, terrible. Undercooked chips and ordinary tasting salad killed this dish for me. I did not finish either which is about as bad a review as I can give.
The Parma Ladder
It is hard to believe that I am now 25% through my quest to find Brisbane’s Best Chicken Parmigiana and have chalked up 12 reviews of parmas so far. Here is the current table updated through last night’s effort from the Breakfast Creek Hotel:
I have decided not to include the Fox Hotel in the ladder. I did not try the Parma because of the parking issues at the Hotel and thus I am just considering it to be a default situation.
Parma Calendar: April
April is a long month and that means that there are five Parmas to be imbibed and reviewed. Here is the schedule for an April of chicken parmigianas:
| Week Commencing | Venue |
| 30-Mar | Indooroopilly Hotel |
| 6-Apr | The Brook Hotel |
| 13-Apr | The Shafston Hotel |
| 20-Apr | R.E. Hotel |
| 27-Apr | The Gap Tavern |
I am looking forward to getting another five chicken parmas through this quest. Will one of these parmas challenge the Calamvale Hotel’s for the fabled “Robert Parma”? Only time will tell.
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Tagged April, brisbane's best, brisbane's best parma, Brook Hotel, Indooroopilly Hotel, Parma, RE Hotel, Shafston Hotel, the Gap Tavern
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Parma Number 12: Breakfast Creek Hotel … Definitely NOT worth the wait!
The Verdict: I went to the Breakfast Creek Hotel last night with high expectations. It would be fair to say they were not met. A piece of chicken that covered all of the chips on the plate was the first indicia this was not going to be a good Parma and did not get better from there!
Parma Pic:
Chicken: The size of this piece chicken was excellent but something went awry in the cooking because it was dry and, in some places, burnt. I felt, whilst eating it, that this piece of chicken could have been put to better service in the car park as a frisbee.
Tomato Sauce: Yet again in my search for Brisbane’s Best Parma have I found the tomato sauce of a dish, the BCH Parma in this case, to be its jewel. It was bountiful and tasty.
Ham: Regular readers will know that I like a slice of ham on my Parma. A slice of ham is what I got last night however it was such a thin slice that any flavour that might have come from it was overpowered by the tomato sauce.
Cheese: The second, and only other, jewel in the crown of this chicken parmigiana was the cheese. It was well melted and was a generous portion covering almost all of the chicken piece.
Side Dishes: If the burnt chicken started the downward spiral for this chicken Parma then the side dishes sealed its fate. The chips were soggy. They clearly had been resting in a hot bay waiting for plating and then were not helped by being covered in full by the chicken. I could not finish them as they were so bad as to make me feel ill. The salad’s only highlight was the mustard vinigerette that came with it.
Presentation: This was a larger than most Parma but it came out on the smallest plate I have seen so far in 12 parmas tested. Bitterly there was no room on the plate to move the chicken off the chips which meant that just about every fork full of chicken was met with chip fragments as well. Big meals go on big plates: how hard can it be?
The Venue: The Breakfast Creek Hotel is a Brisbane icon. The best indicia of that last night was the heaving crowd wedged into just about all of the available space of the venue. It is expensive ($29 for my Parma) and the wait to both line up to order (15 mins) and to get food (46 mins) is frankly a bit off putting for what really is pub food.
The Final Word: The chicken parmigiana at the Breakfast Creek Hotel was an expensive, time consuming disappointment. It would have been a disappointment if it had have been cheap and quick too. The consensus around our table last night was: stick to steaks BCH!
I will leave you with a comment from the Parma Consigliere which sums up the night:
A cockroach just crawled over my foot
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Tagged breakfast creek hotel, Brisbane, brisbane's best, brisbane's best parma, chicken, chicken parmigiana
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Parma Number 11: The Fox Hotel … No park = no Parma
The Verdict: This is one of the simpler reviews to write and the title tells the story in brief. To expand on that story: last night’s Parma became a Parma not eaten because it was impossible to get a car park in the vicinity of the hotel. My Parma consigliere and I tried for 40 minutes to get a park but after a number laps around the Hope St and Melbourne St precinct in West End a joint decision to abandon the Parma was made.
The Final Word: No Parma was possible because I could not find a park near the venue. Obviously the Fox Hotel will not feature on the Parma ladder.
Brisbane's Best Parma 