The Boston Globe – Cheap Eats – by Bella English

Status Without Pretension On The Hill

It’s difficult to find much affordable on chic Charles Street. Rarer, still, to find a restaurant (outside of a hotel) that serves all three meals every single day. The Paramount offers all of this, with high quality food in an attractive bistro atmosphere that Beacon Hill regulars love.

The place has been around a long time, preciously operating as a Greek coffee shop. But in 1996, Mike Bissanti and two other partners bought it, updated it, and expanded the menu. There are pumpkin-colored walls with exposed brick, black and white photos, and sconces and votives on each table. Framed photographs feature Kevin White, who was a regular when he was mayor, and remains one, nowadays bringing in the kids and grandkids. “He likes the chicken piccatta and marsala,” says chef Carlos Buscarioli. House Speaker Thomas Finneran comes in for the waffles with fruit.

The restaurant is a hybrid: for breakfast and lunch, you take a tray and go through the line, cafeteria-style, though the eggs, omelets, waffles, burgers, and sandwiches are made to order.

At 4:30 p.m., the Paramount closes for an hour, gets out the white linen tablecloths, and reopens as a service-only place.

The 44 seats are often filled with neighborhood families and Emerson students (Jay Leno said he still misses the steak tops) and politicians. Warning: If you go for breakfast on the weekend, you’ll have to wait in line, just like Katie Couric and boyfriend Tom Werner did recently, with her children; or like Sean Penn and Robin Wright, when he was in town to shoot ‘Mystic River’.

As you’re seated, a waitress brings chunks of fresh foccacia to the table, with a white bean dip. Any of the appetizers could serve as an entrée, they’re that generous. The Prince Edward Island mussels ($7.95) was a heaping bowl of the shellfish, cooked in a fish broth with fresh herbs, fennel, and tomato. We also loved the fried calamari ($8.25), a platter of lightly fried squid with a hint of garlic and sautéed hot peppers for an extra kick. Grilled quesadillas ($7.95) included tender pieced of chicken and pork, along with black beans, sautéed onion, and Jack cheese – an oozing delight.

We noticed a diner enjoying an interesting looking salad and said: “We’ll have what she’s having.” It turned out to be the frilled tenderloin salad ($12.95), with thinly sliced tenderloin atop baby greens, homemade croutons, caramelized onion, and bits of blue cheese, drizzled with a sweet balsamic vinaigrette. A couple of pasta dishes were very satisfying: the fettuccine carbonara ($12.95), consisting of black pepper pasta in a creamy Parmesan sauce with peas and pancetta – not heavy, as this dish tends to be.

The Paramount offers nightly specials: We tried the goat cheese ravioli ($13.95), the pasta cooked al dente, with the filling still firm, not mushy. Inside was goat cheese and ricotta, outside was a red pepper cream sauce. Caramelized leeks and prosciutto completed the dish. A Kevin White loyalist in our group (yes, they still exist) wanted to try the delectable chicken marsala ($12.95), which came in a sweet, rich sauce with a surplus of crimini mushrooms. All of the entrees are served with red bliss mashed potatoes and a vegetable; grilled asparagus on a recent night.

Because we’d heard so much about them, we ordered a side of house-cut French fries. For $3, a mound of crispy, salty fries arrived at our table and were quickly devoured.

The dessert list is limited, but this should not deter you. We especially liked the crème caramel, a velvety concoction sprinkled with fresh raspberries ($3.95). The flourless chocolate cake ($4.95) was fine, but not knock-your-socks-off memorable.

The Paramount offers a decent wine list, and unlike many places, does not jack the prices up to the stratosphere. This unpretentious place in the heart of a pretentious street offers a nice alternative to the usual Beacon Hill dining experience. And did we mention: the burgers are fantastic.