[info]When? - 8th of May, 2014
Where? - The Metropolitan, 263 William St. Melbourne
Website? - http://themetropolitanhotel.com.au/
Reviewers – Fridge, Lee, Nikki, Stefo, Tony [/info]
I realised while eating Tuesday's cooking experiment that I had unwittingly signed myself up for three parmas in a week this week. First was the aforementioned Tater Tot & Bacon Parma, then was this review parma at The Metropolitan, followed by a bucks party on Saturday night where we are going out for ... you guessed it! Parmas. Look's like I'll be hitting the gym on Sunday.
The Metropolitan is one of those pubs that I've walked past hundreds of times, but never really 'clicked' that we should try the parma there. There is another Metropolitan in North Melbourne, unaffiliated (as far as I know) with this one who serves up a damn good bird - I guess when we decided on this pub I was hoping that some of the mojo from that Metropolitan would rub off on this one. I suppose time would tell.
On arrival the Metropolitan was abuzz with activity, unbeknownst to us Thursday night is Trivia night from 6:30, we didn't partake but those who did seemed to be having a damn good time.
First up are some beer specials that I should cover. Aside from the trivia, Thursday also offers $14 jugs of Boags (until 8) and $9 Heineken pints (till 7). I partook in both, and both were delightful - on the palate and my wallet. Also each the fonts (the bit that the tap is attached too) were made from exquisitely carved pieces of wood, which were frosting up with ice (as fonts tend to do) - I'd never seen anything like it in the past and thought it was worthy of a picture -
Once the group arrived we took our seats and spied the menu -
Good start! From the description alone I figured we were in for a quality meal, all the elements of a good parma were in front of us in black and white - and for $17.50 it was as pleasing to my wallet as the $14 jugs of Boags. We placed our orders and waited for the parmas to arrive, listening in on the Trivia in the next room. (although the only question I can remember now was "who was known as the backpacker murderer")
Before too long (about 3/4 of a pot from my Boags jug) the parmas arrived...
My first impression (apart from the shocking nudity and burnt edges) was that the schnitzel itself was pretty thick, small in circumference, but well over and inch in thickness - It didn't look great on the outside but I had high hopes that it could redeem itself. You can't judge a book by its cover.
Until I cut into it, then you realise sometimes a book's cover pretty accurately describes what will happen in the book.
The schnitzel was thick, this is true, but 30 percent of its thickness came from the crumbs - the thick, doughy crumbs that are the hallmark of processed schnitzel.
Deep fried and overcooked, once you cut into it the crumbs would remain in the same position while the chicken fell away, leaving a perfect parma-shaped hollow shell. Other than its thickness (which I will admit that even without the XXL crumbing was thicker than your standard schnitty) I really have nothing positive to say about the schnitzel. Off to a bad start.
The toppings, unfortunately, weren't much better. There was plenty of ham, which I did like, so much so that it was doubled-over on top of the parma - but there wasn't nearly enough cheese or napoli coverage short of a small dollop in the center. Out of the full dish I'd say that only 50% of its surface area was topped with every element that would make it a "parma".
Despite being listed on the menu as "beer battered", the supplied chips were nothing of the sort. Standard unseasoned pub chips. If they had've advertised them as regular chips they would have been okay, however promising beer battered chips and not delivering definitely lost them some points.
The salad was actually pretty decent. Best part of the meal. Just a garden salad, however all the ingredients were fresh - lettuce, onion, cucumber, tomato with a rich creamy dressing and not skimpy on the good stuff. I eat my salad last, and the non-horribleness of the greens perked my mood up a little after the parma.
In a world where its hard to find a parma under $20 I was happy to see that this one only ran $17.50, however after eating it I feel like that was far too expensive.
There's a $15 "parmas of the world" Monday that you could check out if you wanted, maybe the novelty toppings could help hide some of this parmas sins, but do so at your own risk - I wouldn't recommend it.
I walked out of The Metropolitan sad as I loved this pubs vibe. It's got a great atmosphere, cheap drinks and a (seemingly) awesome trivia night - other than the food it's a tick in every box! Unfortunately the parmas are what you're here to read about and to be honest I doubt you'll find me at this pub again, there are just too many better options in this area of the CBD to tolerate this kind've effort.
[pros]
- The salad wasn't terrible
[/pros][cons]
- Burnt, processed schnitzel with horribly thick crumbs
- Not nearly enough toppings to cover the schnitzel
- Menu promised beer battered chips which were not delivered
[/cons]
Parma - 2.00
Chips - 3.20
Salad - 4.40
Value - 4.40
Total - 3.20
The search continues...
