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Parmesan and Pepper, Chorley
MM visits PP... in other words, MALCOLM MORRIS reviews Chorley's Parmesan and Pepper
I suppose it was a tough ask.
It had been a weekend when all the sporting Gods had conspired to cause maximum discomfort from where I surveyed the fortunes of my assorted football, cricket and rugby teams.
And from that favourite armchair the immediate prospects weren't too promising either.
Lashing rain, soggy underfoot, darkness descending, winter chill, Monday looming, Sunday newspapers all read, no definable meal lurking as yet unassembled in the fridge, nothing at the various takeaways within easy reach tempting the taste buds...
So it was that we placed the considerable responsibility for lifting the gloom on Parmesan and Pepper, that nicely-lit restaurant at the back of Market Street, Chorley.
I had spent many a happy time at its previous incarnation on Market Street where it was much smaller and had a busy, cosy, bustling bistro atmosphere with chefs twirling pizza dough in full view.
Now it's much bigger, but would size matter?
It was still happy hour, with pizzas and pastas at 4.25 which would explain why a large party celebrating two birthdays were indeed happy.
It's not a quiet restaurant, as 'Happy Birthday to You' sounded from one end as a member of staff clanked a bell from the other and Cindy Lauper on the music system sang that girls just wanna have fun.
Clashing as it was, it was still preferable to the Abba on a loop we endured at one local restaurant.
On the main menu there's lots of pizza and pasta choices, a good specials board, and interesting meat, chicken and grilled dishes.
For starters, the squid, at 6.95, came in spicy sauce with olives. The squid was a little too tough and certainly tasteless. The success of the sauce didn't quite rescue the dish.
The bruschetta at 3.50 was a huge portion of what amounted to three slices of a glorified cheese on toast. The bread was good, and not the sliced bread which had been passed off as bruschetta at one local restaurant of renown.
The mains were tagliatelle del mare of mixed seafood, garlic, chilli and tomato at 8.75; a happy hour vegetarian pasta at 4.25, and a fillet steak with grilled mushrooms and tomato at 17.50 (a sauce is an extra 1.75).
After taking soundings, my steak was the highlight. Deep and tasty, medium to well done rather than the rare to medium requested, it came with a dark gravy and a separate kidney dish of lovely veg and new potatoes.
Second home was the tagliatelle del mare. It was hot and moist, the pasta cooked nicely and in a rewarding sauce, but the seafood let it down. The mussels lacked taste.
Hot and filling was the verdict on the vegetarian penne. While the veg was indistinguishable, the sauce was tasty.
A slightly underwhelmingly presented desserts menu (the contents looked fine enough) failed to tempt the main exponent of the art, and of course it would have been impolite to ignore HER lead. A summer fruit meringue tower would have set me back 4.25 though.
We'd also, due to the relatively early hour, given the wine a miss. But the house red and white seemed well priced at 11.95, the Pinot Grigio coming in at 15.75.
Parmesan and Pepper is a busy, friendly restaurant and serves its pizza and pasta at pretty competitive prices – a main pizza Marinara costing 7.50. The staff are attentive, if prone to lurk around the tables.
We left warmed and well-fed, and even the rain had eased up.
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Weather for Chorley
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
