Description
After navigating the maze of tall glass towers and concrete parking lots to find the restaurant, Parma 8200's patio will seem a welcome oasis, with its low couches, pergola, fireplaces, and pool table sporting the image of a regal-looking bulldog. Ease into your meal with a cocktail out there or in the dimly lit lounge, which has the mark of a McMansion mancave with its thick pile rug, wide leather chairs, and coffee table made of reclaimed wood. When you start to get hungry, the kitchen turns out a menu of classics-fettuccine Alfredo, meatball sandwich, chicken Parmesan-with a few more contemporary dishes. Cannelloni, the large pasta tubes, are stuffed with ground veal, smothered in a bold, rosemary-kissed tomato sauce, and blanketed in Parmesan, provolone, and béchamel and the pasta sheets are so soft you'll wish you slept in them.
Sautéed asparagus with toasted hazelnuts, brown butter, and burrata cheese is topped with a sprinkle of salt makes all the flavors-grassy, nutty, funky-pop and glow. Pan-seared sockeye salmon lends Italian inspiration to the Pacific Northwest fish when served with spinach, shell peas, and a tangy cream sauce that's garnished with the salty, bitter bite of preserved lemons. For dessert, the chocolate cremosa, a dense custard with a ganache-like texture, is excellent as is the butterscotch panna cotta, a pure bliss of brown sugar, salt, and cream.
