Sadly another post sans photos, they didn't come out at all...
Last Friday Mike and I spent the night at his place in Vermont. He had been dying to try a local restaurant but hadn't yet, so reservations were made.
The restaurant he chose has two sides - the formal, fine-dining restaurant, Pangaea, and the more laid-back, Pangaea Lounge. When we walked up we first passed the lounge which was packed and then we walked into the main restaurant which had one other couple dining and 1 waiter.
We were seated at a table in the window, and just as soon as we sat a group of carolers, complete with candles walked through the street and past the window. They ended up in the Lounge and we could hear parts of their beautiful songs.
I have to imagine that because the restaurant was so slow, it caused the service to suffer. It is an interesting phenomenon is the world of waiting tables. Too few tables and service gets slower, this can also happen when they restaurant is very busy, but oddly it always happens when it is slow. You'll see how despite that face that I enjoyed our meal over all, the service was just always a step behind.
We ordered our drinks - a beer for Mike and a Maker's Mark Manhattan. We waited for at least 5 minutes. When they did arrive, my drink was watered down (I think that it was left on the ice during that whole 5 minutes before being strained). While we were waiting for our drinks, Mike looked around the room and said "it looks like the owner has a creepy teen girl foot fetish". I looked around too and he was right. 6-8 paintings of teenage girls and young women modeling shoes in what appeared to be a Payless store.
And here's where I'll get picky. The table was set with a charger, a bread plate, two forks, a spoon, a knife, a water class and a wine glass. Neither of us ordered wine, and they wine glass should have been removed as soon as he took our drink order. Instead they just kept getting pushed to the side. They weren't removed until our entrees came out.
OK, fine. Our amuse bouche came out, and though I can't recall what it was, I know I enjoyed it.
For appetizers, Mike had the savory cardamom and Vermont chevre cheesecake and Parmesan cookie. He said that it was really rich, otherwise he would have finished it, but he did really like it. I did too, the small bit I took was rich and creamy, a little tart from the chevre but not sweet like a dessert cheese cake. He said that he loved the flavor of his Parmesan cookie, however the texture reminded him of of an MRE Oatmeal Cookie Bar from when he was in the Army.
I had the wild boar and brie Wellington. The boar was fork tender, almost shredded with a piece of brie resting on top if it and all wrapped in puff pastry. My only complaint was that I would have like the pastry to have just a little more crispness on the outside, but that being said, the flavors were fantastic.
Mike chose the grilled hanger steak with red wine, green peppercorn and shiitake sauce.He described the steak as "awesome"
I had the Braised veal breast on potato croquette with veal supreme. The veal was first braised but then most have been seared. There was a great crust on the outside. The middle of the piece of veal was soft and juicy. It was on top of a potato croquette that had a crunch on the outside and creamy mashed potatoes in the middle. It was was served with a veal supreme - with is a sauce with the veal-e-iest flavor you can think of. It was thick and VERY rich. So rich, that I actually needed to take a few bites where I avoided it.
I would definitely try Pangaea again, and hope that it would be busier and we would get better service. Actually perhaps we'll check out the lounge the next time!
And dessert you ask.... well, that's a story for another day! Stay tuned...
Last Friday Mike and I spent the night at his place in Vermont. He had been dying to try a local restaurant but hadn't yet, so reservations were made.
The restaurant he chose has two sides - the formal, fine-dining restaurant, Pangaea, and the more laid-back, Pangaea Lounge. When we walked up we first passed the lounge which was packed and then we walked into the main restaurant which had one other couple dining and 1 waiter.
We were seated at a table in the window, and just as soon as we sat a group of carolers, complete with candles walked through the street and past the window. They ended up in the Lounge and we could hear parts of their beautiful songs.
I have to imagine that because the restaurant was so slow, it caused the service to suffer. It is an interesting phenomenon is the world of waiting tables. Too few tables and service gets slower, this can also happen when they restaurant is very busy, but oddly it always happens when it is slow. You'll see how despite that face that I enjoyed our meal over all, the service was just always a step behind.
We ordered our drinks - a beer for Mike and a Maker's Mark Manhattan. We waited for at least 5 minutes. When they did arrive, my drink was watered down (I think that it was left on the ice during that whole 5 minutes before being strained). While we were waiting for our drinks, Mike looked around the room and said "it looks like the owner has a creepy teen girl foot fetish". I looked around too and he was right. 6-8 paintings of teenage girls and young women modeling shoes in what appeared to be a Payless store.
And here's where I'll get picky. The table was set with a charger, a bread plate, two forks, a spoon, a knife, a water class and a wine glass. Neither of us ordered wine, and they wine glass should have been removed as soon as he took our drink order. Instead they just kept getting pushed to the side. They weren't removed until our entrees came out.
OK, fine. Our amuse bouche came out, and though I can't recall what it was, I know I enjoyed it.
For appetizers, Mike had the savory cardamom and Vermont chevre cheesecake and Parmesan cookie. He said that it was really rich, otherwise he would have finished it, but he did really like it. I did too, the small bit I took was rich and creamy, a little tart from the chevre but not sweet like a dessert cheese cake. He said that he loved the flavor of his Parmesan cookie, however the texture reminded him of of an MRE Oatmeal Cookie Bar from when he was in the Army.
I had the wild boar and brie Wellington. The boar was fork tender, almost shredded with a piece of brie resting on top if it and all wrapped in puff pastry. My only complaint was that I would have like the pastry to have just a little more crispness on the outside, but that being said, the flavors were fantastic.
Mike chose the grilled hanger steak with red wine, green peppercorn and shiitake sauce.He described the steak as "awesome"
I had the Braised veal breast on potato croquette with veal supreme. The veal was first braised but then most have been seared. There was a great crust on the outside. The middle of the piece of veal was soft and juicy. It was on top of a potato croquette that had a crunch on the outside and creamy mashed potatoes in the middle. It was was served with a veal supreme - with is a sauce with the veal-e-iest flavor you can think of. It was thick and VERY rich. So rich, that I actually needed to take a few bites where I avoided it.
I would definitely try Pangaea again, and hope that it would be busier and we would get better service. Actually perhaps we'll check out the lounge the next time!
And dessert you ask.... well, that's a story for another day! Stay tuned...
No comments:
Post a Comment