The Sauced Chef

Pangea Pizza

Traverse City, MI

www.pangeaspizza.com

Pangea is located in the heart of downtown Traverse City and features pies from around the world.  Pangea also has a large outdoor patio area that is perfect for lounging and drinking in the summer

Get Sauced: 4 out of 4

Pangea has a HUGE beer list.  They offer flights of beers and have bottled beers categorized by country of origin. They also feature local microbreweries on their taps.  Michigan is recognized to be one of the top 5 microbrewed beer producers in the nation, its nice to get that taste right from Pangea’s drafts.  They boast a decent wine list for a pizza place and feature some tasty marguuerita and daquiri drink specials

The Sauce: 2 out of 4

We ordered an Italian, Mexican, Rajasthan (Indian)and Carribean Jerk pizza.  I was most impressed with their basic Italian pizza sauce and the Indian pizza sauce.  Their basic Italian sauce was thick, with a good balance of sweet and tangy.  It also had a fresh basil finish.  The Indian sauce was very unique, with hints of cumin, turmeric, coriander, curry and garlic that  complimented the house made Saag Paneer cheese.  However, I was extremely disappointed in the Jerk and Mexican pizza sauces.  The Mexican pizza sauce was very bland with no kick.  Yes, the pizza had chorizo sausage (just ok) which added some boost to the sauce, but not enough.  I expect to taste chili and cumin with real tang and maybe some minced jalapeno, nothing like that happened.  The Jerk pizza sauce was rough.  No allspice, no thyme,  nothing to represent the sweetness of jerk, not to mention ZERO spice.  Even the chicken on the pizza (supposedly jerk rubbed) was barely seasoned.  It tasted more like a Hawai’in Pizza with chicken instead of ham than an actual representation of real Caribbean jerk flavoring. Whoever made that pizza was the only REAL JERK!

The Reduction: +1 Ambiance for 7 out of 10

Our server was pretty good, she did bring us the wrong beers initially but apologized and corrected her mistake with decent quickness. The outdoor patio is large and has a tiki-bar feel, complete with tropical drink specials.  During the evening it is simply lit with Christmas tree lights.  There does exist a  laid back, let’s eat, drink (and drink some more) and be merry vibe that is really unique, though! Keep the beer list on point, but spice up the SAUCE!

Share on Facebook

Pearl’s New Orleans Kitchen

Elk Rapids, MI

www.magnumhospitality.com/pearls.asp

Pearl’s is located about a half-hour northeast of Traverse City, MI.  You take a verdant and tranquil  drive up M-31 and head downtown.  Pearl’s head chef actually travelled to New Orleans to study the cuisine, this is the real deal – authentic Cajun and Creole style food. This place is always packed, so make sure you allot a good two hours for dinner. 

 Get Sauced: 4 out of 4

Pearl’s has a decent beer and wine list.  You can tell that they really, really focused on their cocktails and bourbons! My goal is to make it through their speciality cocktail list sometime in the next two years! The mixologist provides customers with diverse offerings; from 23 oz Hurricanes, Mint Juleps, Margaritas to Oyster Shooters and their version of Moonshine.  I have to pay homage to the Big Easy Mary, one of my all-time favorite Bloody Marys.  It’s tangy and spicy and is served with an enormous blue-cheese stuffed jalapeno, a crayfish and pickled carrot sticks.  Also, Pearl’s offers bourbon flights! They know their bourbon, folks! The single-malt flight was smooth, oaky with hints of vanilla and smoke.  Fantastic!

The Sauce: 4 out of 4

I ordered the Etouffee, the sauce was thick, creamy and spicy! Hints of cayenne, garlic and jalapeno provided the slow burn that I cherish.  Pearl’s also has the largest selection of hot sauces that I have ever seen.  They line the walls, challenging patrons to try them all.  Their sweet potato fries come with two decadent dipping sauces that compliment the flaky and sweet starch very well.  Then comes the cinnamon ice cream served with the buttermilk pie.  Cinnamon ice cream (when it’s done right) is my favorite.  This one is done damn good; creamy, subtley sweet and cinnamon focused!

The Reduction: +1 Customer Service for 9 out of 10

Our server was knowledgeable and pleasant.  She also perceived that my in-laws are not spicy people and constantly re-filled their waters.  Perfect!  The ambiance is cool, but may be just a little too cluttered.  A funhouse-like mish-mash of Cajun lore, seems a bit busy.  The booth we sat in was a wee bit compact and not very comfortable, we didn’t seem to have room on the table for everything we ordered (a reasonable amount for 4 people).  Overall, this is one of my favorite places to dine in northern Michigan, a diamond in the rough, which always, always delivers on authenic Cajun cuisine, creative and boozey drinks and great service. 

Share on Facebook

Trattoria Stella

Traverse City, MI

www.stellatc.com

Using almost all local produce and featuring the farms on their menu, this 5 year old gourmet Italian restaurant shares space with many other businesses in a huge complex that used to be a mental institution! Needless to say, the feel of the place is very unique.

Get Sauced: 3 out of 4

Stella boasts an intricate wine list featuring wines from prominent regions in France and Italy as well as great local fare.  Their draft and bottled beer selection is on par with what I expected, nothing more or less.  Again, nice to see the great Michigan breweries be featured on the menu. The cocktail list is impressive! A diverse scotch, rum, bourbon and vodka selection. Featuring mojitos with hand-picked mint from their garden (the servers actually pick the mint) and old school turn of the century cocktails made with genuine egg whites.  They offer patrons garlic-stuffed, feta-stuffed or blue cheese-stuffed olives with their martinis.  Which leads me to my only disappointment, the dirty martini; I ordered an extra-dirty martini with Kettel One vodka ( A Sauced Chef staple) and received a drink that was not even cloudy! Upon tasting, it had a really unpleasant bitter finish that could’ve been caused by a number of things (poor quality olive juice, not using Kettel One, or re-using a shaker).  My only Get Sauced qualm.

The Sauce: 4 out of 4

I ordered a decadent Veal Scallopini served with Leek/Celeriac Gnocchi.  The sauce was everything I wanted.  It had a perfect thickness that coated the pounded veal beautifully.  A light brown color (not unlike veloute) made it pleasant to the eyes.  A subtle sweetness with hints of pepper and leek coupled with a rolling savory finish had me mopping it up with bread. A complete success.

The Reduction: +2 Ambiance and Customer Service for 9 out of 10

Our server (Kathy) was wonderfully knowledgeable about the menu and made some smart and tasty suggestions for our group. She pampered us and was meticulous about the course timing, we ordered a lot of food, but didn’t feel the ominous course overlapping.  The creepy stone pillars and wierd doors that don’t open, combined with the elegant and simple rustic decor makes Stella an inviting and interesting place.  Not to mention the ghost stories that some of the staff has.  If the Sauced Chef wasn’t so sauced, he might have been scared!

Share on Facebook