Over the years, I had heard rumors of #VacationParm as an undeniable urge for a classic Italian-American chicken parm while on a tropical beach vacation. My sister would come back from two weeks in Thailand and admit that she had a chicken parm on Day 9 because she just needed a break from Thai food. I vaguely recall another sister eating chicken parm at an all-inclusive in the Dominican Republic back in the early aughts. On the one hand, I understand cuisine fatigue and the need to shake things up after a week plus of the same type of food. But why is it always with chicken parm?
I had yet to experience #VacationParm for myself until 2024 while on a family trip to Akumal, Mexico. We were staying at a gorgeous Airbnb right on the beach with a waterfront pool and we had hired two local chefs to make us a traditional Mexican dinner for our first night. The chefs had made so much food that we were plowing through leftovers for breakfast and lunch for the next few days.
When we travel as a family, we end up making a few dinners at home and each couple is responsible for the menu planning and execution for one night. One memorably lazy dinner we were responsible for in the Douro Valley in Lisbon was a sweaty charcuterie board during a heat wave of 100+ degrees. My family was less than impressed. For our night in Mexico in 2024, we found ourselves wandering the cheese aisle in Mexico not for queso fresco but for mozzarella. We were making chicken parm. We needed chicken parm. We had to have chicken parm. I guess we had collectively maxed out our appetite for fresh salsas, guacamole and tacos. That seems nearly impossible to me as I write this now two years later… how could anyone get sick of tacos?! But it happened, and it seems like our family is not the only ones to suffer from this affliction.
Exhibit A: this very detailed review of an all-inclusive resort in Myanmar. Fresh off the heels of me writing a post about how there’s nothing new to discover anymore when it comes to travel, I was thirsty for off-the-beaten path destinations and what better than ‘US State Department Level 4: Do Not Travel’ Myanmar? The fact that I thought Myanmar was out of the question for the immediate future, as well as the fact that I had never heard of this resort (and that’s saying a lot because I’m constantly seeking out new places to go), you could have put me on a flight immediately.
I devoured this review, reading each detail and salivating over its contents. Imagine by surprise and delight when I read this passage:
Aside from breakfast, there is no menu at Wa Ale. The chef creates new meals daily, with an appetizer, main course, and dessert each time. We were a bit nervous about this at first, but it quickly became something we looked forward to. We only made specific requests twice. Once for chicken parmesan, which was a perfect 10 out of 10, and once to repeat a favorite meal from earlier in the trip. I cannot overstate how good the food is here.
Here is another American (I confirmed) who’s in the middle of the jungle in Myanmar and he’s got a hankering for a good old chicken parm. Incredible!
If someone would like to send me back to school to write a thesis on the phenomenon of #VacationParm, I am open to it. Is your go-to ‘break from vacation’ meal chicken parm too? Why do you think that is? Drop your thoughts in the comments!
