Pangea

I love sushi and my favorite place to eat it as Pangea on Hertel in Buffalo. I've been there twice now and the place is amazing. You will wait ridiculously long for your food, but that's because the owner makes every single piece by hand, as you order it. It's so fresh and delicious, it's completely worth the wait.

Both times I've gone, the wait for food has been compensated by free food and drinks. Last night, our party of five each ordered a glass of wine, which was complimentarily refilled because the waiter wanted to make sure everyone had wine with dinner. We also scored a carafe of hot sake on the house to warm us up before we went out into the cold at the end of our meal. I don't even like sake, but the gesture was really nice. The waiter, who happened to share the same April Fool's Day birthday as my friend Jesse, was really nice and kept us laughing all night.

It seems like everyone that works at Pangea is incredibly friendly and attentive, it's a pleasure to get into conversation with them. On my first visit, we sat at the sushi bar and learned the life story of the owner as we watched him make piece after piece. He came to Buffalo to study urban planning at UB, got into the field after he graduated and hated it. So, he put his sushi-making skills to use, which he learned as a waiter at Shogun while he was in school, and opened the restaurant. I think the place opened a little over a year ago and they seem to be doing really well.

The best part of Pangea is obviously the food. I started with some beef wasabi dumplings with ginger soy dipping sauce. The wonton was perfectly chewy and the the filling was seasoned just right. I also had spicy tuna rolls, eel avocado rolls, shrimp tempura rolls, soft shell crab rolls and california rolls. It was all really, really tasty.

The night continued at Allen Street Hardware and randomly Mulligan's Brick Bar for a few more drinks. With Melissa's brother in the hospital, the mood wasn't exactly cheery, but we did our best to distract her and enjoy each other's company. Molly's leaving for San Francisco May 31 and I'm going to miss her so much when she's gone. There's only a few weeks left to spend with her and I plan to take full advantage of our time together. I have some really great people in my life and for that, I am grateful.