Parigi: The Italian Name for Paris?

So I am back to working nights...the day shift was great but here I am.  Since I don't get to see Sol as much I decided to get my arse out of bed and go to lunch with her.  We wanted something good but couldn't figure out where to go.  I even posted something on chowhound and only got one response!  Well we decided on Parigi, a small restaurant that focuses on fresh ingredients.

From the street it had large glass doors that are placed under a giant white arch.  They seemed to have a great patio crowd, even with the temperature dipping below 60.  It was kind of odd most of the people there were dressed up, not like they were on their lunch break dressed up but like they dressed up to go to "Parigi".  It was Friday by the way, I could understand it a little more if it was the weekend.  And I swear the real housewives of Dallas were sitting right next to us...kinda wierd.  On to food.

Still waking up I ordered a Latte, it was served in a large coffee cup, wierd right?  A Latte in a real cup?  It was fantastic.  Sol ordered the Soup of the Day, Albondegas, a mexican/spanish meatball soup with a clear broth (notice her ring in the picture:).  I am not real big on soup so I skipped it.  But after a taste I almost wished I hadn't.  It tasted just like my grandmother makes!  Very well done.  The bread was very soft and delicious.  I like baguettes that are soft on the outside and the inside.  Not sure whats with people that like hard crunchy outsides - bleh

 I ordered the:  “KNUCKLE” SANDWICH
LOBSTER, BACON, GRUYERE, SCALLIONS… AVOCADO, CUCUMBER & GRAPE TOMATO SALAD, pictured to the left.  It had a nice crunch, not the type that tears up the roof of your mouth.  One great thing was they weren't shy on the Lobster & Crab.  It was a little rich with the cheese involved but it pulled the sandwich together for sure.  The cucumber salad didn't do it for me.  I am not real big on veggies.  However, one cool thing about the salad was the cucumber and avocado was cut exactly the same so you didn't know if you were eating avocado or cucumber, some places do this on purpose and I assume they did.  Since I know I am not a huge fan of salad I thought ahead and ordered Pommes Frites.  They were very good.  I am not sure why fancy places feel the need to call their french fries pommes frites but they always come out tasting great!  Good sandwich, would I order it again?  Probably not.

Sol ordered: PAPPARDELLE LOBSTER, SHRIMP, CRAB, MUSHROOMS, AND TARRAGON PESTO CREAM - Pictured Right.  It was a light cream sauce, I really liked the presentation so I had Sol take a pic.  It was what it was supposed to be, the taste I had was very good but I'm not going to lie, it didn't knock my socks off.   It was a cool place with a good concept.  As a side note, Pappardelle is a very wide noodle as you can see.

The service was on and off.  Some moments our server was dead on and other times he seemed a little out of it.  He definitely knew what he was doing but maybe a little too much - a little full of himself maybe?

Definitely worth a try if you like fresh food and seasonal menus.  If you're in the Oak Lawn area give it a try & let me know what you think.

Nice Setting_ummmm yea?  Sorry I guess I need to dine when I'm fully awake from now on.  My taste buds weren't broken in for the day.  I won't make this mistake again.  Big Ups to the chef who uses a lot of local products.

As a last comment why would a New American restaurant use an Italian name for a French city?