Tapas: The Best Potluck Ever
Last night, Johnnie and I had dinner at Pangea with Alex and Kyle, who were actually excited about dining with a food blogger. I keep wondering if my friends will get tired of eating out with me--impatient with my picture taking and recording notes on the dinner and conversations. I love that Alex and Kyle actually invited me along because I blog. And they're just so fun to eat with anyway because they are great conversationalists. Kyle told a story about asking Harold Bloom to leave a classroom (Kyle was teaching and Bloom came in before the class was over) and Alex spied Jacques Derrida ordering a bagel and cream cheese in Irvine. You've got to love a conversation in which academics gossip about the big names in our little universe, don't you? Those were just two stories that made dinner such a pleasurable experience.
In addition to the great conversation, I'm happy to say that I finally had a meal worth blogging about. Pangea, which opened in Fresno just a few months ago, offers small plates/tapas (although, as they say, the plates are a little bigger than tapas). They offer global cuisine, in that they mix flavors and styles from a variety of palettes within one dish. It's in Fig Garden Village in Fresno and its interior reflects the high-end location.
Our waiter started us off with bread which we could then dip in garlic infused olive oil or slather with onion butter. Another complimentary dish followed: mushroom risotto cakes. Both were a nice beginning to the meal.
We decided to choose five dishes, then later added a sixth because we wanted to try one of the sushi dishes. The fritto misto and Mexican sushi were the first two plates to arrive. The fritto misto, accompanied by an aioli dip, was presented in a conical metal basket and included both vegetables and calimari. I enjoyed the green beans and asparagus . . . and I even tried the calimari. I loved the Mexican sushi with salmon topped with tortilla crumbles. Our table soon was cluttered with dips, since it came with one as well. I was glad we had added on the sushi, though, a creative and tasty combination of Mexican and Japanese cuisines.
The next dish was samosas which were stuffed with potatoes and peas. They were also quite yummy. The last three plates were macaroni and cheese (with several different types of cheese and tomatoes, as well), chicken with incredible mashed potatoes, and tamales with pork, rice and a tomato and cotija cheese salsa. We ended our meal with a pluot galette and vanilla bean ice cream.
Overall, I enjoyed our meal. Although I wish the kitchen would have sent out the food at a more leisurely pace to allow for more conversation and more attention to each dish, there was something energizing about moving so quickly from one taste to another. I think my favorite plates of the night were the sushi and the samosas.
I love the small plates concept, I guess because I love trying many different foods at the same meal. It's like the best potluck you've ever been to, if you order right, that is.
In addition to the great conversation, I'm happy to say that I finally had a meal worth blogging about. Pangea, which opened in Fresno just a few months ago, offers small plates/tapas (although, as they say, the plates are a little bigger than tapas). They offer global cuisine, in that they mix flavors and styles from a variety of palettes within one dish. It's in Fig Garden Village in Fresno and its interior reflects the high-end location.
Our waiter started us off with bread which we could then dip in garlic infused olive oil or slather with onion butter. Another complimentary dish followed: mushroom risotto cakes. Both were a nice beginning to the meal.
We decided to choose five dishes, then later added a sixth because we wanted to try one of the sushi dishes. The fritto misto and Mexican sushi were the first two plates to arrive. The fritto misto, accompanied by an aioli dip, was presented in a conical metal basket and included both vegetables and calimari. I enjoyed the green beans and asparagus . . . and I even tried the calimari. I loved the Mexican sushi with salmon topped with tortilla crumbles. Our table soon was cluttered with dips, since it came with one as well. I was glad we had added on the sushi, though, a creative and tasty combination of Mexican and Japanese cuisines. The next dish was samosas which were stuffed with potatoes and peas. They were also quite yummy. The last three plates were macaroni and cheese (with several different types of cheese and tomatoes, as well), chicken with incredible mashed potatoes, and tamales with pork, rice and a tomato and cotija cheese salsa. We ended our meal with a pluot galette and vanilla bean ice cream.
Overall, I enjoyed our meal. Although I wish the kitchen would have sent out the food at a more leisurely pace to allow for more conversation and more attention to each dish, there was something energizing about moving so quickly from one taste to another. I think my favorite plates of the night were the sushi and the samosas.
I love the small plates concept, I guess because I love trying many different foods at the same meal. It's like the best potluck you've ever been to, if you order right, that is.
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