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Friday, July 30, 2010

Pangea and Virage - Manhattan

Pangea and Virage: they sound like casinos in Las Vegas. They are, in fact, two restaurants within a few blocks of each other in the East Village, a place where many of our reviews are centered because we tend to hang out there a lot. So do a number of friends of ours, in particular, one charming gentleman, Jerry Long, who suggested we review these two establishments. It had never occurred to me to do so before, because, though I've been to both on more than one occasion, neither particularly stood out. However, I don't frequent them as much as others, and I have a feeling that those who do have a lot of fond things to say about them.

To me, Pangea conjures up Sunday brunch with a large group of friends on New Years Day: patient waiters catering to each as we stumble in one by one, each of us politely refraining from ordering until we are all assembled, so by the time we do, we're so starved everything seems delicious. I also remember late night glasses of red wine with another group of friends, the staff allowing us to meet in the back, in a dark, mysterious room to mull over our urgent conversations. So, Pangea: flexible, solicitous, open when you need them. Sincere? Sure.

Virage is brunch central. A particular friend likes to meet us there because it's literally half a block from her apartment. The food's fine, the prices OK, the atmosphere pleasing. Otherwise, nothing stands out good or bad, for which reason I probably wouldn't have posted about it unless it had been suggested. Sincere? Maybe.

I urge those with stronger opinions about either locale to post a comment. Let us know where they stand on your sincerity barometer.

For now I evaluate them both: Kind of sincere

Digg!


Pangea
178 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10003
(212) 995-0900
www.pangeanyc.com

Virage
118 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10003-8303
(212) 253-0425
www.viragenyc.com

1 comment:

  1. Jerry Long says: "My loyalty to Virage is based on being a regular during the week for years. I've grown close to the management and several waiters. One of the owners is also the chef and has done an excellent job of controlling cost without sacrificing quality and imagination. Quite tasty. They also helped me out with St. Mark's a couple times.[St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery, 2nd Ave. & 10th St. - Manhattan]"

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