Parma Sub at the Parma Pastavino & Deli in Las Vegas!

A nice quality Italian sub at Parma!

     The Parma Pastavino & Deli is located in a shopping plaza at 7591 West Washington Avenue in Las Vegas.  That is really a confusing address for many people to find, so this next description is much easier.  The Parma Pastavino & Deli is at the intersection of Buffalo and Summerlin Parkway in the plaza that is located on the northeast corner.  Most people travel on the Summerlin Parkway to get to this area and very few travel on Washington Avenue.

     The Parma Pastavino & Deli has a nice cozy atmosphere for dining on authentic Italian pastas and quality Italian delicatessen sandwiches.  The deli has an old fashioned hand written board that lists all the items available in the deli case.  A to-go style menu is also posted.  

     The Parma delicatessen carries choice high quality imported Italian meats and cheeses.  Italian American artisan crafted deli meats are also available.  If you have been seeking real Italian government certified Parma Prosciutto, then the Parma Deli is the place to go!  Everything from mortadella to gorgonzola is offered at the Parma Deli.  The Parma Deli also offers their own hand crafted Italian sausages and antipasti creations. 

     A nice selection of Italian dried pastas, olive oil, imported Italian canned tomatoes and many other products are offered at Parma.  It seems like grocery stores out in the western states have a problem with stocking imported Italian canned tomatoes.  Back along the east coast and in Chicago, every grocery store stocks Italian tomato products.  Canned California tomatoes are too acidic and they have the wrong flavor profile for making Italian tomato sauces, but they are great for Spanish and Mexican cuisine.  I was happy to find many name brands of imported Italian canned tomatoes that I am familiar with at the Parma Pastavino and Deli!

     I sat down in the Parma dining room to have a sub sandwich after attending French chef school a few days ago.  It was a lecture day at school and there was no cooking to do, so I was hungry.  An old fashioned Italian sub really sounded good the afternoon meal!  

     The dining room at Parma has a large seating capacity.  The dining room was clean and comfortable.  The service was attentive and polite.  When I had questions about menu items, I got good informative answers.  

     It has been such a long time since I have worked in an Italian family style restaurant, that I had forgotten what Sunday Sauce was.  Sunday Sauce was offered with a few of the Parma subs and pasta creations.  The Sicilian owner kindly reminded me that Sunday Sauce was a tomato sauce that is simmered with a large amount of roasted pork or sauteed pork.  

     The caramelized pork is added to a tomato sauce for flavor, then the pork is removed, before the sauce is strained through a hand turned food mill.  The pork meat can be returned to the milled sauce.  Then sausages and meatballs can also be added.  I used to roast whole pork shoulders just for making large batches of family style Italian Sunday Sauce many years ago.  The memories really started coming back, while the owner described the Sunday Sauce!  A good Sunday Sauce is something that you must try and the Parma Pastavino and Deli has it on the menu! 

     I had a half order of  The Parma sub sandwich for lunch.  I was really craving good old fashioned Italian deli meats after suffering through many weeks of French food that was cooked by students at the French chef school!  The flavors of a good Italian sub can make any day better.  

     A tapenade style olive spread was used to flavor The Parma Sub.  The olive spread added a very nice select Italian olive and garlic flavor!  Imported Italian mortadella and provolone with a few other choice Italian deli meats were on The Parma.  I was more than just satisfied with the quality of The Parma sub!  The meats were authentic and the bread was perfect.                   

     Italian artisan bread is also stocked at the Parma Deli.  A local Las Vegas artisan bakery that specializes in regional Italian bread delivers fresh bread to the Parma Deli everyday.  I needed some ciabatta bread for making panini sandwiches and I was pleased to find a large loaf of ciabatta at Parma.  

     In many small Italian restaurants that I worked in, the specialty breads were contracted from a local Italian bakery.  The bread was always consistent in quality, when a bakery was making the specialty bread for the restaurant each day, instead of when an overburdened chef made the bread.  

     The paisano comradery of Italian food service relations does create an atmosphere of pride in the quality of authentic Italian bakery products.  All of the great Italian chefs that I have worked with do demand high quality bread.  Italian chefs do not simply sign a bread delivery ticket blindly.  They inspect each loaf of bread and sample the bread for quality!  

     I have seen Italian chefs smile and congratulate Italian bakery delivery guys when the bread is up to the chef's expectations.  Very few times have I seen an Italian chef send the bread back to the Italian bakery, but when that did happen, it was like the world came to an end.  All the paisano comradery goes right out the window and the messages of hate are sent with the delivery driver, with the bread, back to the bakery.  Then the phone calls start coming in and a loud argument in Italian language over the phone can be heard coming from the chef's office.  Times like this are great for bystanders to learn how to properly curse in Italian!  

     An hour later, the Italian bakery owner shows up at the restaurant with a new delivery of perfect Italian specialty breads.  Scowling looks of hatred soon turn to smiles.  The Italian bakery owner and the Italian chef then sit at a table and they tell us cooks to make a nice lunch for them, while they sit and talk about old times, sporting event odds and regular Italian stuff.   

     Those same events happened every time that the bread was sent back to the Italian bakery by the chef at the last Italian family restaurant that I worked in.  One such day, just after the bread was sent back with the delivery driver, I asked the Italian chef if he wanted me to start cooking lunch for when the Italian bakery owner showed up with the new batch of bread.  The Italian chef said to me "What are you?  Some kind of a wise guy or something?"  Us cooks just started laughing, because we could not wait to hear the Italian chef use the old Italian cliche "wise guy" question routine.  The Italian chef knew that we liked to hear his wise guy routine, so he saved it for opportune moments!  Good Italian bread has a way of making everybody smile! 

     Yes, I highly recommend the Parma Pastavino and Deli for visitors of Las Vegas and locals alike!  The Parma Pastavino and Deli does have a catering permit and they have a seating capacity that is capable of handling large parties.  If you have been seeking a good Italian deli or Sunday Sauce in Las Vegas, then the Parma Pastavino and Deli is the place to go!  Yum!  Ciao Baby!  ...  Shawna