Parizzi

Ristorante Parizzi
Via della Repubblica 71,
Parma


Parizzi is an amazing Michelin-star restaurant in Parma, helmed by a talented chef Marco Parizzi. Contemporary decor and airy atmosphere is pleasant and not at all stuffy, as would be expected from one of the most expensive restaurants in the city. The food is excellent and moderately-expensive by NYC standards.

The restaurant splits the menu into two parts. The first section highlights contemporary cooking and the second is focused on the traditional, provincial Parma cuisine. The contemporary side wins with a solid lead, but the traditional cuisine, while lacking some subtlety is nevertheless flawlessly executed.

One of the best things about Parizzi is its wine list that offers a wide range of local vintages. An extremely helpful waiter, detecting uncertainty in my behavior, has recommended an excellent and the cheapest bottle of sparkling white Malvasia that complemented the meal perfectly.

Parmesan Mousse


Duck Ravioli with Shaved Black Truffles


Baby Pork Chop with Potato Gratin

Bali Nusa Indah

My little neighborhood discovery of the past two weeks - an Indonesian restaurant Bali Nusa Inda on 9th Ave and W. 46 Street. This is my first brush with Indonesian cooking and I found it quite agreeable - the crudest description I can provide is that it reminds me of a heartier Thai cuisine. What is great about this place in particular is a number of prix-fixe arrangements that combine miniature versions of the entire menu.
But if you go for separate dishes, a must try is Fisherman's soup, a spicy fish and seafood stewed in tangy tomato broth and Ikan Pepes - a broiled red snapper fillet in a similarly spicy and sour tomato sauce.



One of the prix-fixes Nasi Rames

Pixel side of life

On the pixel side of this blog there are two major art events that attracted my attention in a big way. The first one being Marina Abramovic's retrospective in MoMa. And the other one is Banksy's mocumentary Exit through the gift shop.

Completely different in both substantive and emotional effects, these two artists however have re-defined, in the span of over a quarter of century, what art is and how we perceive it. More over, they have re-defined the medium of art; Marina focuses on a human body, her own in many cases, and Banksy's fascination is with our body as a society. What makes these two artist share a common DNA is that both have made the viewer as much part of the art experience as the piece of work itself.