Vroom Bistro

Having been to Vroom Bistro a few times for breakfast and enjoyed our meals, it was good to get there for lunch this weekend. They don't have a parm on the menu but I saw this last time we visited.

I was intrigued as to how a panko schnitzel would taste. As it turns out, pretty damn good is how it tastes. The chicken was a little thin but it was cooked to perfection. And the panko crumbing was far from plain, there was all sorts of other herbs in there, dancing on my palate  As far as chickens schnitzels go, Vroom's offering could not be faulted in any way, shape or form. It was also quite large on the plate.

That picture really doesn't do it justice, but that drink in the background is a 660ml Lick Pier ginger beer, it's a big bottle and looks kinda small.

The coleslaw was a bit of a surprise too, I'm not usually a 'slaw man but it had a really nice flavour and worked perfectly with the chicken. The salad didn't excite, fairly boring and not much of it was eaten.

The Chicken Schnitzel at Vroom doesn't come with chips so they were ordered on the side for $4. The chips were great. Beer battered, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Also came with a little tub of spicy mayo type sauce that was awesome.

Love you Lick Pier!!

I've read some bad reviews of Vroom in the past but I really don't see it. The food was great, the service was good and for what we ate, was priced very well. I'd recommend Vroom to anyone.

Dave the Mega-Parm

ps. if you sit outside you'll get to watch patrons drive around looking for a car park. It's fun (in a schadenfreude kind of way) to watch the trendy type think they have a park only to have it taken by someone else.

Elephant Arms - Parmageddon

It was blind luck that I found out about Parmageddon at The Elephant Arms, and I am glad so I did. For the low price of $5 (and any drink purchase) you can choose from six different parms. Only catch is you have to go there on a Thursday night. Not really the best night for us workers, but you only live once. So why not.

We crewed up after work and headed to The Elephant Arms on what was probably the coldest night ever in Brisbane. Got there about 6:00pm and headed to the outdoor area after ordering some drinks. After finally finding the parma menu we ordered our food. With six different parms to choose from it was pretty exciting.

1. Crumbed Chicken Breast with Ham, Cheese and Napoli Sauce
2. Crumbed Chicken Breast with Ham, Pineapple, Cheese and Napoli Sauce
3. Crumbed Chicken Breast with Chorizo, Olive, Fetta and Napoli Sauce
4. Crumbed Chicken Breast with Pumpkin, Chickpea, Cheese, Tzatziki and Tandoori Sauce
5. Crumbed Chicken Breast with Bean Salsa, Cheese, Guac, Corn Chips and Sour Cream
6. Crumbed Chicken Breast with Chefs Famous Gravy

Pretty cool. Enough there to have some important decisions to make. I went with the Chorizo parm while the rest of the crew had the Mexican and Indian parms. How was the Chorizo parm? Picture is below.

I can't really review this like a regular parm, but for $5 it was an absolutely ripping meal. The salad was tasty enough (for a salad). The chicken was really well prepared and cooked and the toppings were pretty good. It could have done with a more generous helping of toppings but really, for such a low cost the meal was great. The chips were pretty boring and there wasn't enough of them. But the quality of the chicken made up for it.

It's probably only the second time I've been to the Elephant Arms (and the first time I've kept my shirt on) but I would definitely go there again. Monday and Wednesday is $5 steak night, and Tuesday is $1 tacos so we might be there again sooner rather than later.

Thanks for the great meal Elephant Arms. Brisbane needs more fun time parm joints, keep it up!

-Dave the Mega-Parm

Bitter Suite

I'm going to say this right off the bat, this isn't going to be a chicken parm review. "This is a parm reviewing blog though Mega-Parm, what's the deal with that?" Well, I figured anyone that is interested in reading about chicken parm is also going to be interested in roast pork sandwiches, and beer. So here it is.

It's Mothers Day here in Australia and seeing my birth mother is in another state we took Mrs Mega-Parms mother out for lunch to Bitter Suite in New Farm. We've walked/driven past it many times and I'm stoked to finally go there for a meal. We made a booking and got there a couple of minutes early. No problems though, we were pointed to our table in the corner and sat down. The waitress stocked with menu's came over a couple of minutes later, explained the huge selection of beers to us and left us to our devices.

I already knew what I was having, but I was surprised that both Mrs Mega-Parm and her mum also went with the roast pork sandwich. At $18 it's fairly well priced for someone looking for a nice meal, and there was plenty to eat. Not the largest meal I've ever had but certainly enough to fill me up.

The pork is absolutely amazing. Soft, juicy and succulent. Falls apart as you chomp into the sandwich. Sometimes with pork like this you have to tear the meat apart, or a huge chunk of it comes out when you bite, but not this. Historically I haven't been a huge fan of pork but this was perfect.

The roll was rustic and toasted nicely, and the 'slaw and lettuce was just what it needed. The chips were also pretty good but needed a bit of salt to draw their flavour out. We had a discussion about this during the meal though, it's probably better to be under-seasoned and have salt on the table, than to over-season in the kitchen. Great crunch to the chips too, they were fun to eat.

I also had a couple of beers with the meal, my favourite being the Fortitude Original from Fortitude Brewing. With 7 beer taps and over 60 bottled beers available it's definitely a place to check out if you're into beer drinking. Have a squizz at the beer menu.

We really enjoyed our meal at Bitter Suite and can't recommend it enough to anyone looking for a nice place to go for lunch. We'll be going there again (for either breakfast, dinner or a drinking session). Looking forward to it!

One last thing before I go, a huge Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers out there.

-Dave the Mega-Parm

ps. Mrs Mega-Parm is a Glutenoid. The bread they supplied with her meal looked pretty good and she was very happy it.