The Chicky Chicky Parm Parm at Tasty Burger wondrously places a fried disc of mozzarella cheese a top its fried chicken cutlet. (Photo by Josh Novikoff)
Dish of the Week: Fried mozzarella cheese
Where: Tasty Burger, Taylor Gourmet, Filomena
Picture a Venn diagram where fried food is one of the circles and cheese is the other. What’s the first thing that comes to mind for that little overlap in the center?
What you’re probably thinking of, of course, is a mozzarella stick with a chunk bitten off and the stringy cheese being pulled in an expanding line between your mouth and what’s left in your hand. This beloved, gooey construct graces itself all over bar menus, grocery freezer aisles, and even TGI Fridays’ (2100 Pennsylvania Ave NW) endless appetizer promotion. Tune Inn (331 Pennsylvania Ave SE) is known among D.C. bars for its hand-cut, dipped, and house-breaded morsels. In other words, mozzarella sticks are not hard to find, whether made with love or by Sysco.
But that’s not to say that mozzarella sticks are the only fried cheese game in town. And Ii’s extra special when you find the ooey, gooey stuff in a different take.
At Taylor Gourmet, this takes shape quite literally as a different shape. The starters menu at this local chain includes mozzarella in a wedge form. It’s a wider way to pull your fresh-from-the-fryer hot cheese. And yes, for some reason, it may just taste better that way. The sandwich shop hasn’t yet plunked these wedges on a hoagie, but they should!
And if they—or you—want to see why, then head over to Tasty Burger (2018 8th Street NW). I love the burger at this small Boston-based burger chain. Their classic with lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese, and special sauce may be as close as you’re going to get to In-n-Out without heading west. But the star of their show is the Chicky Chicky Parm Parm, a crispy chicken sandwich with double the Parmesan pedigree. Melted mozzarella is on there with tomato sauce. But the real coup is fried mozzarella on a sandwich. It’s a genius touch.
There are a few other places that I’ve seen it done before. One is Rutgers University’s famed grease trucks, which have been featured on Man vs. Food, where they stuff mozzarella sticks in their fat sandwiches. The other is at the original Two Boots restaurant, near where I grew up in Brooklyn. Along with funky pizzas, they had Louisiana style po-boys, and the best one featured deep-fried smoked mozzarella cheese. An outpost of the expanding Two Boots chain is opening next year at 1025 H Street NE, but they stopped doing po-boys since expanding into Manhattan and nationally. Here’s a personal plea to Two Boots to recreate that delectable sandwich—or someone else to pick up the mantle. Who wouldn’t want fried mozzarella cheese on a sandwich, whether on its own or topping a piece of fried chicken?
Filomena (1063 Wisconsin Avenue NW) melds the ideas of sandwich and fried cheese by frying an approximation of a cheese sandwich. Traditional mozzarella in carrozza involves cheese in between thin slices of bread to be lightly fried and served with sauteed cherry tomatoes.
And if you want to play at home, I’ve found homemade mozzarella sticks easier than you would think. Cut up some mozzarella cheese into any shape you would like. Roll them in an egg bath and then some seasoned regular or gluten free bread crumbs. Maybe do it a second time to get a good, less permeable coating. Next, drop them for not too long in some not-too-hot oil. Dip in marinara sauce and repeat, or get some good bread and just stuff them in!
