wordplay: Ben Simkins
images: Todd Nakashima
Question; Recall a memory of a meal that forever keeps a small part of your heart warm in its recollection. Was it a home cooked meal?
If it wasn’t, you might as well go glassy-eyed for a moment while I finish up here, but if it was, then read on. For most of us, memories of Thanksgivings, Christmases or just a mid-week evening dinner with the family dishes up some of the best dishes found up and down this tiny globe. Why? Because it presents that certain kind of comfort food that fills the belly and warms the heart, the kind that even a quart of ice cream and a warm spoon at midnight can’t quite match. Parallel Seventeen understands that.
Exposed brick? Check. Angled Mirrors? Check. A Minimalist design with plenty of varying angles? Check. All the prerequisites for a modern dining experience are here, creating a warm yet wholly styled approach to the dining revolution happening across our fair streets. The upside-down parasols add a seriously nice touch, but it’s the blown up photographs on the wall that have me transfixed. Like flicking through an old family album, these candid, family style photographs draw you in to the true nature behind Parallel Seventeen’s menu choices. These might not be meals we all saw at the dining table in our youth (as it is a Vietnamese restaurant), but I challenge you to not feel like they were.
As if understanding this approach, the menu’s ‘to start’ section deals up a ‘Tour of Vietnam,’ basically translating into a sampler. Fresh Summer Rolls and Crispy Spring Rolls (vegetarian, pork and shrimp) deal up a refreshing start, with thick peanut and fish sauces that move things along a more familiar trend. The Imperial Wings are served up with a hot sauce that takes a principle close to many American’s hearts, but takes it in a direction away from direct heat to a subtly that allows the intricate flavor of the sauce to play on your palette before the heat finds its way into the mix. The true star in this ‘sampler,’ though, is the Caramel Chicken Meatballs. Sweet and subtle spice makes its presence known through the accompanying lettuce wrap, to create a combination that is truly the opener to a meal that takes homemade-inspired comfort food to a new level. This was all washed down with a ’02 Liopart. Rose brut cava from Spain. A refreshing rose that kept the opening movement light.
Next was the ‘To Share’ section of the menu, that incorporates the major philosophy of Parallel Seventeen’s “Family Style” cuisine. From this section, we were treated to the Green Mango and Papaya Salad, an ambitious dish pulled off through layers discovered throughout. From the crispy shell to the meaty strips of fibrous fruit, peanuts and aromatic Anada oil dressing, you can’t help but feel like this dish could be the focal point of any meal, never once feeling cheated by a salad. The same can be said for the Coconut Ginger Encrusted Calamari that rethinks a standard by incorporating the citrus in the dish instead of just plunking a lemon wedge on the side, as if as an afterthought. Fried with the dish, the citrus slices speak volumes, and when you add in the pear slithers and watercress salad, the dish’s true nature springs. Topped with a sweet chili and cilantro coulis, this nest of goodies demands your chopsticks to act as both cutlery and exploratory tool. These were paired with a 2005 anselmi from Italy and a bottle of Fukucho (Moon on the water) sake that was beautifully presented.
The main courses are where P17’s philosophy rings truest with a selection of pure comfort foods dished up with pizzazz worthy of a dining experience. Take the Jasmine Tea Smoked Duck Confit for example. Perfectly balanced, the salt of the smoked duck is accentuated by a mango chutney with hints of saffron and a lychee compote that makes the normally underappreciated fruit impossible to disregard. So that the dish doesn’t overload the palate, a watercress salad is on standby. Next came the Sizzling Saigon Crepe, stuffed with sprouts, mushrooms and onions, with your choice of either pork and shrimp, chicken or crispy tofu. The idea behind this hearty portion is to tear off a part of the stuffed, crispy crepe with a sprig of fresh herbs; carrots and dikon, then dip it in a light chili sauce. Easily shareable, the Saigon-stuffed crepe rounded out third and drove home my thoughts on P17’s philosophy. But where would any home cooked meal be without dessert? How about a pear tart infused with Star Anise and cinnamon, housed in home made pastry and served up with Vanilla ice cream? Accompanying this was Vietnamese coffee that, for people who don’t already know, is a mix of espresso, chicory and condensed milk.
If you grew up in my house, home cooked meals and ritual family get-togethers were always infused with drinks, laughs and partying. This is just one more thing that P17 gets and implements flawlessly. At around 10/10:30 the dining room transitions ever so slightly as a DJ slides the music up and people flood in for drinks (They have a wide selection of Cocktails along with the hand selected wine list). Or if a slower pace is your style come in for their Lunch menu and just chill on their spacious patio. Your choice, but which ever you choose Parallel Seventeen delivers in spades.
1600 17th Avenue
(303) 399.0988
ParallelSeventeen.com