If you want to know whether an Italian restaurant is worth your time, order the chicken parm. That’s the truth. It’s the litmus test of red-sauce cooking — simple, classic, and nearly impossible to fake. At Ristorante Corleone, the chicken parm doesn’t just pass the test; it makes you wonder why you ever settled for less anywhere else.
The plate arrives like a quiet little celebration. Golden cutlet, pounded just thin enough, blanketed in bubbling mozzarella, edges crisp but not dry, and sitting in a pool of marinara that looks too pretty to be called “sauce.” It’s the kind of dish you lean toward before your fork even touches it because you can smell the garlic and tomato building a case for themselves.
And here’s the part that gets me: balance. Most chicken parms live in extremes — either dry cutlet drowning in cheese, or limp chicken hiding under a gallon of sauce. Not here. At Corleone, every bite hits the right notes. The crunch of breading stays intact, the chicken stays juicy, the mozzarella stretches like it’s auditioning for a commercial, and the marinara is bold without being harsh. You don’t need extra Parmesan sprinkled on top, though I won’t judge if you do it anyway.
The service keeps pace with the plate. My server actually looked excited when I ordered the chicken parm, like she knew I’d made the right call. Bread came out warm, water refilled before I noticed, and the pacing of the meal made it feel like the kitchen was cooking for me, not a clock.
And sure, the menu has plenty of heavy-hitters — veal chops, salmon piccata, handmade cannoli — but the chicken parm is the one that makes me want to come back. It’s the anchor. It’s the reason Corleone feels like a special-occasion restaurant that doesn’t need white tablecloth stuffiness to prove it.
By the time dessert rolled around (yes, I still made room for tiramisu), I wasn’t just full, I was satisfied in that old-school Italian way that makes you want to linger at the table a little longer. That’s how you know a chicken parm has done its job.
Ristorante Corleone isn’t trying to reinvent Italian food, and thank goodness for that. It’s about doing the basics so well they feel brand new again. And their chicken parm? That’s the dish that tells the whole story.