Parm & Pepper opened this week! This is the latest venture from my friends and star restaurateurs Stan Stinson and Tina Ford, and with it they turn their considerable talents to gourmet sandwiches. It is in the south end of the restaurant row at Stovehouse, just as you round the corner into the area (if you parked on the west side by the tractor place).
Now I’ll just get this out of the way up front: the house-smoked and cured pastrami at Bark & Barrel is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. So, that was what I looked for first on the menu, and there it is—in a smoked Reuben.
In fact, huge swaths of this menu look as if they were crafted directly from my gustatory dreams. There’s a wedge salad, with heirloom tomatoes, bleu cheese, and thick bacon bits. There’s a whisper of Earth and Stone in the grinders and pizza by the slice. There’s the gaucho burger, made with chuck and brisket, that I’m proud to say I actually helped develop. In all there are nearly two dozen different salads and sandwiches available, rounded out with a selection of craft appetizers and outstanding homemade ice cream (and the adult-only bourbon butter pecan is also one of the best things I’ve ever eaten).
Today I was after a club sandwich. I bragged on a club at another local eatery several times, and they day I went to officially give it its moment in the sun on BoWilliams.com I discovered they had unceremoniously killed it. I’ve been looking for another best-in-town club ever since, and I think I might have found it.
Stan and Tina work hard to get things right and keep them that way, so if they turn their culinary attention to one of your favorites, you can bet it will be a worthwhile example. The Stovehouse Club is made with fresh ingredients of excellent quality, and generously portioned. It is served (as are all sandwiches) with the house kettle chips. Did I demolish it? Yes, I did.
You know, though, I couldn’t leave without snagging some of that outstanding pastrami. Stan, would you sell me a pound to take home? No problem. Stan starts with raw brisket and transforms it himself, and the results are otherworldly. I’m really looking forward to the sandwiches that shall accompany our football viewing this weekend.
Stan and Tina are my friends, but their quest for excellence is genuine. Tina especially insists that I give them warts-and-all feedback, because if there are improvements to be made, they want to make them. Thing is, by the time something makes it to the menu, it’s generally so good that I never have anything bad to say. They’ve got me walled off on pizza, barbecue, and sandwiches now. If they open a Mexican place and an Asian place next, they’ll have me completely captured.
Great work, folks! Best of luck!
Parm & Pepper
3414 Governors Drive, Suite 510
Huntsville
(256) 678-7039
Sun – Thu 11 am – 8 pm
Fri – Sat 11 am – 9 pm
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