#99 – CHICKEN PARMESAN at BEST PIZZA

For the third year in a row, I’m going to attempt to eat every single item on Time Out New York’s annual 100 Best Dishes list. In no particular order, here’s my take on their Top 100. Let the gluttony continue…

It’s kind of ironic that Time Out included a list item from the boldly named Best Pizza and it was not the pizza.

Time Out seemed to think the chicken parmesan sandwich was best at this little joint on a side street of hipster Williamsburg. Best Pizza is one of the few new pizza spots that will sell their pizza by the slice. I didn’t get one since I had a big sandwich to conquer, although I took a bite of my friend’s. I’ll have to come back for a full pizza review to determine if they are indeed the best.

The chicken parm took about 15 minutes to prepare so I waited patiently eager for my world to be rocked.

Unlike most chicken parmesan sandwiches, this bready concoction came with bright green basil sprigs. Just like a traditional Margherita pizza, it looked like the Italian flag.

The only problem I had with this sandwich was the proportion of chicken to the large crusty baguette. Usually, the chicken is sticking out of the bread and it’s tough to hold it together. For this one, I only got a bite of meat in every other bite.

The good news is the chicken that I did get to taste was pretty spectacular. Definitely the juiciest and most flavorful meat I’ve had in a sandwich of this ilk. I would have been happy eating it sans bread (and by the time I got to the second half, I did).

The rich house-made mozzarella and tangy, but sweet tomato sauce definitely make me eager to taste the self-proclaimed best pizza. If the quality of their chicken parm is any indication, I’m betting it’ll be good.

But until then, maybe they should rename the place Best Chicken Parmesan?

Would Best Pizza’s Chicken Parmesan make my Top 100 of the year? The chicken on its own might, but as a sandwich it gets lost in the bread and makes me sad that there wasn’t more to go round. Still, 8 out of 10.