Winterlicious 2007: Pangaea

Winterlicious has begun this year on Friday, Jan. 26th. Jay and I of course had made reservations as soon as we could, still we did not get some restaurants that we wanted... well there is always next year... hahahaha

Yesterday we went to Pangaea with Magda and Patrick.. our reservation was at 8pm, and the place was packed. The hostess looked like she was going to have a nervous breakdown any moment... madhouse I tell you... We ended up at one of the best tables... I had the perfect view of the restaurant.. and our waiter was witty, funny and attentive... plus the bar service was lightning fast, always a good thing..

PANGAEA RESTAURANT WINTERLICIOUS MENU:

Appetizer
Pangaea Hot Soup Lobster bisque, with wild mushrooms and waterchestnut relish
or
Pear & Endive Salad Roasted pear, shaved fennel, watercress, frisée, walnuts, Stilton cheese, mustard dressing
or
Grilled Quail Asian glazed, crisp tempura onion rings, mizuna greens, mustard-honey sauce

Main
Ocean Trout Pan-roasted, on aromatic beluga lentils, organic beets, sorrel, crispy onions
or
Lamb Grilled lamb chop on cassoulet of lingot beans, braised lamb shank, heirloom carrots, lamb braising juices
or
Sweetbreads Riesling braised cabbage with smoked apple, bacon, potato rosti, black truffle sauce

Dessert
Passionfruit Pot de Crème Tropical fruit salad, coconut cookies
or
Fresh Ginger Cake With caramel apple and vanilla sauces, maple candied pecans

The soup was actually lemon and parsnip not lobster bisque, could have been a touch warmer but other than that delicious. Jay and Patrick had the quail, which was very tasty as well. For the main Magda and I went with the trout, Patrick with the lamb and Jason with the sweetbreads. My trout was beautifully done, cooked to perfection. Lentils were good too, but Jay makes them a lot better. The plate could have used some kind of a sauce, a bit more salt and I don't remember seeing any sorrel. Jay's sweetbreads were amazing, although they were cold, however since the plate was piping hot, they warmed up quickly. Patrick enjoyed his lamb as well, it looked a perfect medium rare. The dessert did not disappoint. The plating of the pot the creme could have used a bit more thought... the sliced and diced pineapple were kind of out of place. The ginger cake was delicious, I just felt the pastry chef should strain the ginger before mixing it into the batter so one doesn't find strings of ginger in their cake.

Overall a very nice dinner, would definitely recommend.