Parm at Primo’s

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The Bite

Ambiance: Rustic Supper Club

Music: We didn’t really notice music…maybe it was pop?

Service: Friendly

Price: $$

Food Style: Italian French Fusion

What to Order: Focaccia

Go Again?: Sure, but not at this location

No walk ins – must call or reserve online ahead of time
$2 credit card fee – ATM available
Only open through January 2022

The Whole Plate

David will be kicking off this review.

Parm de le parm. I love the idea of pop up restaurants. Like online dating, it’s a low commitment. All you gotta do is throw on a thick layer of make up, brush up on your flirting, and you’re good to go. But like online daters, pop up restaurants can struggle with their identity. So was the case of Parm. If Parm were a woman, she’d have a great personality.

Parm is a French-Italian fusion restaurant currently taking over the kitchen and dining area of the for sale Primo in Oshkosh. Parm is the brainchild of locals Andy Saray and Caleb Crooks. We love that they focus on fresh, local ingredients. With the help of the Venture Project, the duo was able to prove their MVP (minimum viable product for the entrepreneurial folks) with a tasting menu hosted at the downtown co-working space. With some established fanfare, Parm was born.

We first heard the pop up was officially happening from Lindsay’s sister and of course, we were intrigued. Always room in our hearts for some good eats. So on a chilly Saturday night, we bundled up and made our way to Oshkosh for our 5:00 PM reservation.

Knowing it was a pop up, we were keeping our expectations reigned in. Pictures of the food looked great but we had no idea how service or ambiance would be. Pulling into the parking lot, the Primo sign still illuminated with no evidence of Parm actually being there. But I assure you they are there, ready to serve.

If you’ve been to Primo before, Parm is keeping things a little more intimate by blocking off the bar and part of the rear dining area with reclaimed wood dividers, otherwise it’s pretty much unchanged. As the hostess seated us, I saw the one iteration of the restaurant name: PARM in large letters (probs from Hobby Lobby) hung daintily between two paintings on the far wall.

We sat and perused the menu for a bit, pretending like we hadn’t scoured it the night before. Another group came in shortly after us and the waitress took their order first. When she did come to us, we had a pretty good idea of what we wanted. Our waitress was prompt and friendly with a decent recommendations. Right away, we both agreed that tablecloths would help elevate the ambiance to match the food.

My drink of choice for the evening was a Titletown Brewery Honey Ale 400, a light ale for the evenings fair. Lindsay stuck with water. The beer was served canned with a glass to pour yourself. They do have a selection of wine.

We started out with the leek focaccia. You get four large pieces of the fluffy bread covered in charred leek bits. Tear off a bit of the crispy edged cloud and it’s perfectly dunk-able with the provided olive oil, balsamic, herb plate. You’ll probably have to ask for a second plate of olive oil like we did if you really like to soak it up. Lindsay didn’t taste it, but I tasted the slight tang of sourdough in the bread. Perhaps the best part of our meal.

Before we had even finished our first piece of focaccia, our entrees came out. It was ridiculously fast service. I had the short ribs over asparagus and pistachio risotto cake. Lindsay had the chicken carbonara.

I wanted to try the five course tasting menu from Chef Saray but Linds didn’t want a big meal and I didn’t want her to wait for me. If I would have known how fast they were maybe I could have gotten it! The short ribs were great though; fork tender with a succulent gravy. Linds and I both agreed it needed more salt to make it really shine. This was served atop a few perfectly cooked asparagus. The dish was only served with a fork and the veggies got me wishing I had a knife. Beneath the meat and veg was the pistachio risotto cake. Imagine the texture of a hash brown patty but the flavor of a risotto. Superb. The pistachio was lost to me. So much so I had to go back to the online menu to double check what it was. Overall, the three played well together nicely on the palette.

Lindsay will be taking the review from here:

I’m not normally the type to order pasta at a restaurant. I typically like to order things I wouldn’t make at home. The carbonara was an exception because even though it’s pasta, I probably wouldn’t try to make it at home. Right off the bat, the portion was perfect to eat in one sitting. Don’t expect leftovers. It had a strong smokey gouda flavor that was consistent through every bite. Thankfully, I enjoy that flavor so it made for a great dish. However, smoked gouda is not in the menu description so that flavor may have been the pancetta parmesan combo. It was a very simple dish. I would eat it again, but would try other entrees before coming back to this one.

We were very excited to get a cannoli for dessert but they didn’t have any that evening so we opted for the rotating pastry. It was an apple galette which to be completely honest, was a disappointment. It would have GREATLY benefitted from being served warm and with a scoop of ice cream on the side. I take my dessert seriously and this simply didn’t measure up.

We got our check and made our the front hostess stand to pay. It should be noted that our entire dinner, including appetizer and dessert, was 45 minutes. While we appreciate fast service, it felt very rushed, almost like we were getting nudged out to clear a table. Though, at no point in the evening was every table full. Some ladies came in without a reservation and were turned away. It’s not very clear on their website that there are no walk-ins but booking through the website or giving them a call is very easy. Be aware as a pop up, they do have limited hours.

Side note: I PRAY whoever buys the existing Primo building will do an overhaul of the bathroom (and the whole interior decor really). It is tragically outdated and smells like a bathroom that hasn’t been deep cleaned in years. I don’t blame Parm for this at all.

PARM has good food and great service. The ambiance is lackluster. We think you should try still it. Go with friends and family, not an important business meeting. Support local dreams. Eat good food, but know you’re going to a work in progress. We would go to Parm again, just not at this location. We’ll wait til they do a pop-up somewhere else.

David Kalsow