Melbourne 3000
http://www.mrsparmas.com.au/
03 9639 2269
You can imagine my reaction when I was told that Mrs Parma’s was the chosen destination for our team lunch. The Aussie pub staple of crumbed chicken topped with Napoli sauce and cheese is a must for tourists to this multicultural city, but not for me.
Trawling through the menu online I saw that whilst parmas in many variations were their speciality, they also had some other meals (like gnocchi and pumpkin salad – nothing original here, I doubted they would do either well).
I had been cynical.
At the restaurant, as others looked through the parma menu (original with Napoli, ham and cheese; Mexican with salsa, jalepinos and sour cream; calabrese with salami, capcisicum and basil) I read through and discovered a welcoming addition. For the parma base you can choose from chicken, weiner schnitzel, and a very lucky third: eggplant. Wanting to fit in with the team and try the boy’s club’s favourite, I ditched the idea of gnocchi and ordered an eggplant parma with pumpkin, fetta and basil.
The eggplant was set out flat like all the other parmas on an oval dish – you would have never guessed it was hiding eggplant. The slices of my favourite vegetable were thin and crumbed heavily then crisped in a pan. The tomato sugo was fresh, the pumpkin well-cooked appearing like croutons and the pesto added bonus flavour. It was delicious. Served with crunchy, salted chips and salad to share, I took back the disdain my presumptions had provoked. It was brilliant.
Turning a favourite dish into a gourmet, the concept of Mrs Parm’s is original but demanded in Melbourne. It is set up like a pub with quality food and a focus on local beers.
The outcome? Mrs Parma's will now be on the tourist list for all my international friends visiting Melbourne. And even better, I will enjoy it too.
