Pete Wells Drops Two Stars on Parm

Parm's chicken parm sandwich

By Kelly Dobkin

Newly installed NY Times dining critic Pete Wells has bestowed two stars on retro lunch counter Parm, a joint opened by the chefs behind Torrisi Italian Specialties that serves up red-sauce staples like baked ziti and the namesake chicken parm. In the review itself, Mr. Wells spends most of the write-up justifying his two-star rating, concluding with: "Would a few candles stuck into straw-covered Chianti flasks be pushing the joke too far? Maybe, but Mr. Carbone and Mr. Torrisi aren’t afraid to embrace a good cliché. Recall those chefs and food writers telling us that pasta is its own course, not a side dish, when you’re enjoying a springy cube of baked ziti with your chicken francese at Parm. Who cares what they do in Bologna? This is Mulberry Street."