Thanks to all for the advice and cheerleading. Shoutout to SJS who went so far out of the way to give me a rundown of their dining experiences.
VERONA
I flew from Catania into Verona in the am and I thought it was positively lovely. I hope I get to return and stay longer. The buses were easy to use and you could pay on board.
La Figaccia -had rave reviews. I wanted a quick bite so I could see more of Verona, but it took them a while to make a single sandwich. No other customers, 3 guys working and I've gotten a sandwich in less than half the time at busy sandwich places in the middle of Rome. (Perhaps the low volume is why they were slow?) The sandwich was fine, but not worth waiting or going out of the way, IMO. The ingredients were good quality, but it had very little flavor- kind of thin and sad.
Castelvecchio- I only had time for one attraction and I was very happy with this choice. There was one person in front of me for a ticket and no one for the audiotour and it still took 15 minutes to acquire both because the staff was painfully slow and distracted. I thought the art in the museum was some of the most interesting I've seen in Italy and had a strong sense of story. I recommend the audio tour, but warning: the pen device used for it is finicky. The views from the various walks and points are worth the price of admission alone.
Juliet's Balcony- Call me corny, but I wanted to get a few photos. I wasn't willing to give up 2 hours to wait in line (in the rain) so I can't say if it's worth it, but beware there will be a long line even in bad weather off-season.
PARMA
The Host The "luxury hoStel" was what you'd expect from the description. Cool idea in theory, but the hostel crowd doesn't usually mind sharing a room like my roommates did. The owners failed to give any instructions after check in, so I had no idea where the bathrooms were or that there was more than one. I apparently wasn't alone, because a guy with a stomach issue was banging on the outside of the door while I showered despite the two empty bathrooms down the hall. It was, however, clean, comfortable, and very central.
Culinary Guruwalk - The guide has made friends with many shopkeepers and chefs in Parma and we were warmly welcomed into multiple establishments and offered samples at several. It was only myself and a group of British fellas who were in full guys'-weekend-trip mode but they were polite enough that it was fun to be along for the ride.
Osteria Virgilio- I eat around 5pm at home, so by 7:30, when things were opening up, I was lightheaded. I had 4 restaurants in a row say they were fully reserved, even when I arrived as they unlocked or within minutes of opening. I walked for an hour trying to find a place (the cafes with more casual fare were closed). A couple of the places that turned me away sat mostly empty during that time. One of the restaurants accidentally shut my finger in their metal security door and it started to bleed more than the small cut warranted. It was freezing and wet and finally, a waitress that had turned me away saw me walking by (I didn't even realize I'd looped fully around at that point) and called me back in. She set me up at the counter (which was not being used as a bar) and I felt like a little child in a high chair with other diners at low tables, but they were lovely and the pumpkin soup was fantastic. The meatballs were so-so, even being quite hungry. I didn’t order antipasti, but it was immaculately prepared and sliced to order.