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Park Avenue Paninoteca is neither on Park Avenue nor just a paninoteca in the evening. It is a sit-down restaurant with a full bar and good beer on tap (I’m looking at you every place in the Roc without beer on tap). Ever since it moved from Murphy’s Law to its own location replacing Vinalia Urbana (RIP), your croupier had it earmarked for a Roulette. Rumor has it that one of the original Vinalia Urbana owners is the owner of this very same paninoteca! We had four veteran Rouletters and two guests – including this croupier’s sister and 86 year old Mom! Apologies for the delay as this meal was enjoyed a couple months back and the menu may have shifted seasonally.
The complimentary Bread and Herbed Butter was a nice touch for the table. The butter had a nice garlicy flavor, and the bread was nicely baked. If you’ve ordered paninis from here, you know that their bread has a solid crust with a pleasantly soft interior. ⭐️ 4.1 ⭐️
The second lowest rated dish of the night was the Scampi & Fresh Bread: sautéed garlic, shrimp, smoke paprica, butter, chopped parsley, served with a side of crostini. The shrimp had a distinctly fishy taste which rubbed several Rouletters the wrong way. That being said, one Rouletter picked this as their top dish of the night. The crostini was quite: it’s the house bread nicely grilled. ⭐️ 2.9 ⭐️
Next up was the Bruschetta: house made ricotta, classic bruschetta, balsamic reduction. The ricotta was average as Roc ricottas go. This is a ricotta town and for yours to stand out you have to do something to accentuate the delicate flavor…you know, like salt it well. Overall, Rouletters enjoyed it. The grilled bread was good as was the balsamic reduction. Honestly, had the dish been bread and ricotta, the score would have been higher because the tomato topping just didn’t really make sense. It had more of a salsa vibe than a bruschetta one. Look, we’re all for a deconstructed bruschetta, but if you’re deconstructing it, you have to be thoughtful with it and elevate it. By way of example, the best deconstructed bruschetta that this croupier ever had is at Grappa – the ricotta is nicely flavored paired with cherry tomatoes covered in balsamic mixed with basil. The Paninoteca version had potential but missed the mark a bit. ⭐️ 3.2 ⭐️
The highest rated dish of the night was the Fresh Mozz: panko breaded fried fresh mozzarella with sauce. Two Rouletters rated this top dish of the night. The mozzarella was fresh and it had a perfect fry for a crispy outside and soft gooey center. What else is there to say? The sauce paired nicely. ⭐️ 4.2 ⭐️
The second highest rated dish of the night was the Traditional Arancini: A rice ball filled with ground beef, peas, and mozzarella cheese. Served over our homemade signature sauce. This had a nice texture (another perfect fry) and good flavor. The red sauce worked well to give this a well-rounded taste. ⭐️ 3.9 ⭐️
Spinach & Cheese Arancini: A rice ball filled with spinach and cheese served over our homemade signature sauce. These were a bit unbalanced. The spinach flavor severely overpowered the cheese, which all but disappeared. Another terrific fry contributed to a very pleasant texture. ⭐️ 3.3 ⭐️
The lowest rated dish of the night was the Caesar Salad: Romaine lettuce, tomato, red onion, bacon, homemade croutons, asiago, and pecorino Romano cheeses. This one lost some points because it just isn’t really a Caesar salad so much as a regular salad with Caesar dressing. The tomatoes and onion (plus possibly the bacon) just took this away from a Caesar vibe all together. Several Rouletters remarked that they now understand why Caesar salads don’t have tomatoes in them. ⭐️ 2.7 ⭐️
The Parisian Paradox of the night was the Italian Mac & Cheese: 5 cheeses blended to perfection topped off with our toasted bread crumbs. Two Rouletters had this as their top dish of the night loving this very cheesy and nicely textured dish with an unexpected but lovely spicy aspect. Others were a bit turned off by the spiciness and found this to be an otherwise average mac and cheese offering. ⭐️ 3.8 ⭐️
We followed this with the Chicken Parmigiana: Breaded chicken cutlets with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan served over linguini in our signature sauce. The chicken parm was very well executed. It had good flavor and texture: another excellent fry for a crispy outside and juicy, well salted chicken on the inside. The pasta was cooked to a nice al dente but under-seasoned with a very forgettable flavor. One person listed their top dish of the night as the “perfectly average chicken parm.” ⭐️ 3.7 ⭐️
We ended with The Fritelle Panino: Two grilled meatballs, roasted red peppers, pesto aioli, arugula with provolone cheese. This was a tasty sandwich. The meatballs were sliced thin, which is a bit unusual, but we liked the balance of flavor and texture. The pesto aioli was a nice touch to add a freshness and make it less heavy. Some Rouletters didn’t love the flavor profile on this twist on the classic meatball sandwich and were left dreaming of a more traditional offering. ⭐️ 3.6 ⭐️
People wouldn’t stop talking about the kettle chips that came with the panini so I offered an opportunity to rate them. If we’re being technical, this was the highest rated dish of the night. That being said, they came from a bag, so I didn’t count that, but here it is for your pleasure: Rouletters remarked that these were perfectly crispy and there was a healthy portion, but they could use a touch more seasoning (couldn’t we all?). ⭐️ 4.5 ⭐️
Rouletters enjoyed the cocktails on offer. The Espresso Martini was top notch and the Blue Mule was wonderful (though the trade copper mule cup meant we couldn’t admire the lovely color). They had Peroni on tap, which your croupier loves, but no Peroni glasses – ah well, still excellent. One Rouletter ordered a lemonade and it seemed to be missing the sweetener. Otherwise, we were quite happy with the bar! ⭐️ 3.9 ⭐️
The service was terrific. Our server was friendly and accommodating without being overbearing. He also got drinks for our whenever we needed them. ⭐️ 4.8 ⭐️
Overall, it wasn’t a terrific showing. Your croupier has had dinner here before and had a much better experience all around. So is the nature of the Roulette – we can only score on the day we rouletted. It seems like this place is having a bit of an identity crisis. They still do a nice panini business for lunch and dinner take/out and delivery. It’s what they’re known for, and folks have followed them from their original shop on Park Ave to their latest location over the years, which is a testament to their fresh bread and great ingredients. Since it’s still called a paninoteca, not many folks in town know it as a nicer dinner spot in the Roc with a full bar and elevated options. In fact, when you go to the website, the panini menu dominates. A re-branding for the dine-in side of the house might just get this place more customers and in turn, the meals would turnout more consistent. We loved the all-gender restrooms and dedicated parking lot. ⭐️ 3.8 ⭐️