Chicken Parmesan

 By Bruce Shawkey

On a recent trip to Las Vegas, Dawn and I went to a supposedly upscale Italian restaurant inside the Venetian Hotel and ordered chicken parmesan and got something that looked like this:


Dawn sent hers back; I choked mine down. The waitress looked at her funny as if to say, "What's wrong with it? That's the way we prepare it." They brought her a replacement, and it was just as overcooked. It was basically the consistency of shoe leather. And it wasn't cheap. If I recall, it was around $30.

Apparently, this happens quite a bit. I found an article on the Internet titled "You Should Probably Skip These Menu Items At A Restaurant," and one of the items highlighted was chicken parmesan. Said one chef: "I would never, ever order chicken parmesan, It's always frozen before cooked and tastes like a gross version of chicken nuggets."

Here's what my chicken parmesan looks like:



It's gratifying to me that I make it better than most restaurants do, and Dawn agrees with me. Making it dirties a lot of dishes, but it's worth it.




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