Por Frank Sabatini Jr.

For this reviewer, 2014 was the year that restored my faith in local Italian restaurants, with Parma Cucina Italiana in Hillcrest ringing in as the finale.

First came the discoveries of Buona Forchetta and Piacere Mio Ristorante Italiano, two South Park jewels slinging authentic, regional dishes sans the American-style overloads of garlic and red sauce. Bottega Americano in the East Village followed; a place where pizzas, imported salumi and fresh seafood occupy various food stations within an Old World market atmosphere.

At the quaint and charming Parma, however, Chef “Celso” adheres strictly to his northern-Italian roots with meats and ragus that cook for hours in wine and herbs before being mounted onto polenta or pasta.

Because Parma is a landlocked city, seafood becomes a footnote in the form of a salmon appetizer served over arugula with citrus vinaigrette. After that, it’s all about beef and pork, plus chicken scaloppine and a few vegetarian dishes that include spinach-ricotta ravioli in pink tomato sauce.

The restaurant operates from a smallish space that formerly housed an Italian coffee shop and the failed Urban Eats. The design is warm and inviting, with a soft color scheme complimenting shiny hardwood floors and a corner banquette festooned in comfy pillows.

At nearly two years old and with an enthusiastic all-Italian staff in place, it is doing a brisker business compared to its former tenants. In fact, if you don’t have reservations, even on a Sunday night, you risk being turned away.

Farro soup with pancetta appears regularly in the daily rotation. It’s thick, warming and wonderful and stocked with carrots, celery and onions. The final touch is a drizzle of smooth-tasting olive oil.

Sausage ragu served over tender polenta squares also helped thaw our bodies from the day’s cold weather. As an appetizer, the dish is substantial in size but easy to polish off given its fine textures and teasing measures of tomatoes and rosemary.

The menu spotlights various pasta dishes as traditional preludes to the main entrées. Among them is lasagna constructed with a concert of béchamel and red meat sauces, veal tortellini in white cream sauce and penne pasta in spicy tomato sauce.

Still mesmerized by the sausage ragu, we opted for the beef-pork ragu over tagliatelle egg noodles. This was the kind of pasta dish I could eat by the pot load and not feel bloated. The ribbon-y noodles were exceptionally lightweight, striking a pleasant balance to the Chianti-soaked ragu speckled with bits of braised tomatoes. It’s basically the slimmer sister of Bolognese.

Brandy, white wine, cream, sage and parsley rose to the occasion in a delectable entrée of slow-roasted pork shoulder. Buried within the white sauce were earthy porcini mushrooms while perfectly cooked broccoli, carrots and potatoes draped faintly in butter and olive oil performed their magic from the sidelines.

My companion’s choice, brasato con polenta, brought a welcome return of the cornmeal cakes to the table, but topped this time with precision cuts of super-tender pot roast. The thick wine-laden sauce, formed primarily from the meat’s juices, clenched the dish with a beautiful, rustic essence that called for another complimentary basket of crusty bread with honey butter to further soak it up.

Where authentic Italian food is served, desserts are a guaranteed pleasure bomb. Parma is no exception to the rule with its creamy ricotta cake sporting a mantle of dark chocolate or lemon custard pie speckled with pine nuts. Wash them down with a teeny cup of Italian-strength espresso and chances are good that you’ll start plotting your next visit here.

—Contact Frank Sabatini Jr. at [email protected]