Italian restaurant Parm plans to open for business on Tuesday night, finally filling the long-vacant restaurant space on Columbus between 70th and 71st street that was formerly occupied by Lansky’s.
Parm is a traditional Italian restaurant from the group owned by hotshot downtown restaurateurs Mario Carbone, Rich Torrisi and Jeff Zalaznick. It’s known for its sandwiches and “Italian soul food” like grandma used to make. The first one opened on Mulberry street in 2011.
A Times review from 2012 was particularly laudatory:
“In that case, I would like somebody to explain why my mind keeps drifting back to the meatball parmigiana hero at Parm. Like most things at Parm, which opened on Mulberry Street in November, it is prepared by cooks wearing white paper hats and is set before you in a red plastic basket. And, like most things at Parm, it is completely faithful to your memories while being much, much better than you remembered.
At first, the sandwich exhibits nothing out of the ordinary. The tomato sauce, simple and summery, just seems to have been made by a good cook. The mozzarella and torn leaves of basil are fresh, which isn’t unheard of. The seeded roll is completely normal. The meatballs are not normal. For starters, they are not balls, they are patties. Anyone who has ever taken a bite of a meatball hero and watched one of the meatballs launch into orbit will recognize at once the significance of this deviation. Patties stay put.”
The space on Columbus includes a bar up front and lots of seating in the back area. As of Thursday morning, workers were still putting on finishing touches, while cooks were busy in the front. An employee told us they don’t expect to open for lunch until Thursday, but are planning to serve dinner Tuesday. The owners had initially forecasted that they’d open next year.
Check out the menu below (click to enlarge). If you go tonight, let us know in the comments how it was.
Yes, a traditional Italian restaurant where bread…..bread is a menu item to be charged for … Bread is charged for in a traditional Italian restaurant … Pretentious bs from these clowns who are spreading their high highfalutin eateries all over town, in the guise of traditional Italian and now French cuisine.. PASS !!!
@Ron you always pay for bread at Italian and other restaurants you just don’t see a line item on your bill. The cost of your traditional “free bread” is built into the prices of all items on the menu.
Try their warm mozz appetizer served with perfectly prepared garlic bread, you’ll change your tune quickly! There is nothing pretentious about this place, quite the opposite actually.
I believe they are also planning on serving Haterade, so you may want to check it out!
You honestly may want to ease up and give it a chance…the food is excellent and the UWS can always use more great restaurants.
They were serving dinner last night, as well. Having dined at the Soho location many times, I went in knowing what to expect and left fully satisfied, as always. It’s a great addition to the neighborhood. Works equally well for a quick meal alone at the bar or a full dinner with the family. Kid-friendly, but still cool.
I, for one, couldn’t care less if they charge for bread. The dishes are so well portioned and fairly priced that there’s no reason to fill up on empty carbs.
@ james…Traditional Italians don’t care about the carbs!!!! Bread should come with meal. It’s partially all about the bread sopping up sauce! Breaking bread with Family IS tradition!
As far as there being a charge for bread….while this is not common in the US, in Italy it IS common to have a bread and water charge.
Well tiddly anywhere that I’ve been in Italy I didn’t have to pay for bread. Water yes but not bread.
I was fortunate enough to be working in Soho when both Torrisi’s and Parm opened and can’t say enough about how good their food is, their joints are anything but pretentious.
I’ll gladly pay a few bucks for bread, especially when it’s freshly baked Parisi bakery bread. Sure you can get free bread at local places like Regional, but it’s generally stale, and flavorless. What a great addition to the neighborhood!
Was passing Sugarcane the other day about lunchtime, as three young women were exiting. I asked them their opinion of the place, and they all made a face and turned thumbs down. They seemed to be rushed, so I couldn’t ask them to elaborate, but it made me think twice about inviting some friends there for a tasting.