Zoe Restaurant By Chef Zoe Feigenbaum

Zoë Feigenbaum is obsessed with parsley.

During our smashing meal at Feigenbaum's brand-new namesake restaurant, Zoë, on the Lower East Side, the underrated plant appeared on so many plates, we feared she was in need of an herb intervention.

But oh, how her runaway applications worked.

Turkey rillettes ($9) were laced with a thunderclap of Parmesan, anchovy and capers, finished with a sprig of Italian parsley and flanked by a toasted baguette stump cracked open down the middle.

Likewise, flat-leaf parsley garnished plates of pickled eggs with fried shallots ($5) and a Mediterranean lamb diptych ($12), its breast disassembled into a fried nugget and melting ribs and served with pickled cherry tomatoes and a dill-heavy tzatziki.

Then the herb segued into a featured role, appearing in a muscular radicchio salad ($11) tossed with endive and a creamy garlic and anchovy dressing–a Caesar on steroids.

Most revelatory of all was parsley's final showing. For dessert, Feigenbaum set an old-time English eggless custard, posset ($8), on a graham-cracker crust. The crumbling base was studded with both parsley and tarragon, a startling counterpoint to the silky lemon filling.

"Sure, parsley is a garden-variety f$%&ing herb, but it's so underloved," notes Feigenbaum. Point proven.

Zoë, 245 Eldridge St. (at E. Houston St.); 646-559-5962 or zoerestaurantnyc.com