Panama Hatties

Bring your own wine for a $25 per bottle corkage fee.

New Chef. New dishes. New dining room. Panama Hatties has changed and stayed the same too.

Matthew Hisiger, the restaurant's sous-chef has added his elegance signature to the menu. The food is terrific.

Panama Hatties itself has expanded, with more space for the weekend spillover and for larger groups. The answering machine now welcomes you to "Pananma Hatties and Banquet," and "Banquets by" shares the marquee. "Bridging the gap between fine dining and catering" advertises the business card.

The nouvelle, L-shaped dinging area is warmed by a fireplace. Marble abounds. And you do have a little more privacy there, though sometimes it can be hard to hear anyone at your table. The front room is tight and noisy and the lighting bright. The most desirable spot is still on the back of the original restaurant, near the kitchen.

Designer neoclassic remains the theme in appointments, from the scones to the illustrations. The shades are soothing.

But the mood of the establishment frequently isn't. Service can be intrusive. Some waitresses do appear and depart at perfect intervals, but others can interrupt and irritate, sounding as if auditioning haughtily for the culinary lecture circuit.

You, however, will have plenty to talk about. The food at Panama Hattie's continues to be an adventure in eating.

Hisiger's slices of grilled ostrich, lean and lush, cap a turret of warm spinach salad dressed with a bacon-sherry vinaigrette. Pan-roasted squab tops a delectable white truffle risotto finished with black trumpet mushrooms.

Peppery, rare tuna rests on frisee, ready for its spirited sidekick of wasabi aioli, a remarkably subtle accent of the Japanese horseradish.

Seared sea scallops are enriched by a basil cream broth. Sesame-glazed shrimp, though a bit chewy, get a boost from the soy-orange dressing.

A warm-weather pleasure is the chilled lobster and asparagus salad, resting on a hillock of tabbouleh, completed with a raspberry vinaigrette. The wild mushroom ravioli is a mellow choice, in a brandy cream sauce.

Towers of rosy, grilled venison, at attention like twin Citicorps, are accompanied by a savory puree of root vegetables, pumpkin spaetzle, and glossed with ta Port wine sauce. The tender, pan-roasted buffalo strip is a juicy alternative to beef, complemented by a sweet potato-pecan combo and caramelized onion jus.

Hisiger's grilled beef tenderloin, with a Vidalia onion tartlet and vinous jus, however, provides a royal ample competition. The roasted rack of Australian lamb, with a ragout of napa cabbage, white beans and black olives, is excellent. Likewise the double-cut pork chop with cipollini and a hint of green apple.

A green peppercorn sauce spurs the deftly grilled, meaty duck breast. Chicken breast, moist and flavorful, leaves the realm of the ordinary with a wild mushroom-and -spinach stuffing and a truffled potato charlotte.

Grilled Pacific swordfish, which you'll be advised isn't endangered, arrives thick, moist and expertly prepared. Outstanding sautéed Chilean sea bass swims in a saffron-coconut broth.

Panama Hatties offers a cheese plate, with up to six tastes, including good Edel de Cleron, similar to a raw-milk French; ripe Yolo from the Pyrenees; and Saint-Maure, a satisfying goat cheese from the Touraine.

All the fare at Panama Hatties is artful and presented with flair. But the desserts are showtime. And, if each one isn't always perfection, they look sensational.

The exhibition begins with "The Scream," which is truly something to Munch on; a lemon meringue tart flowing from a cookie palette, and a dark chocolate easel holding a witty, and edible, reproduction of the painting. It's Long Islands first expressionist sweet.

"The City View" is a chocolate-pecan tart with bourbon ice cream, crowned with a tribute-in-cookie to the Manhattan skyline. And the fruit soup sorbet, which tasted only satisfactory one time, is superb another, with scoops of mango, kiwi and raspberry afloat, and curls of toasted coconut.

The banana "kroquant" is cut on a deep bias to expose nutty, fruity ice cream. Apple crumb cake is a seductive essay in geometry, from the dried apple chips to the A-frame cookies. White Chocolate caramel cheesecake is richness defined. -- Peter M. Gianotti