As I mentioned, the Magic Pan post I wrote back in January 2008 seems to have drawn daily interest. It was even cited in WIkipedia! (How cool is that?)
Given that so many people wanted recipes (and @melanig from twitter wanted vegetarian!) I have putting up yet another recipe. (see post here for basic crepe recipe!)
Magic Pan Banana Crepes Chantilly
You take a fresh crepe, and spread it with apricot jam. Then you slice one
banana (just ripe, not mushy), carefully toss the slices with a little brown
sugar and sweet vermouth, and let them steep for a couple of minutes. You lay the
steeped banana slices in a line across the middle of the crepe, blanket the
line in whipped cream, and then flap the crepe edges one over the other around
the puffy line of bananas and whipped cream. Finally, you dust the outside of
the rolled crepe with powdered sugar, top it with another dollop of whipped
cream, top the dollop of cream with toasted slivered almonds and maybe a banana
slice and a mint sprig.
I’ve been looking for this recipe for a long time.
Thanks
Thank you, thank you! That was my favorite Magic Pan recipe!
I might just have to have a Magic Pan dinner party now that I ave found this nest of recipes.
I was just remembering the Magic Pan after we had just finished our meal, wishing we had a nice dessert. I said if there was one near by I would go there right now. I remember the one at the Eaton Centre. A friend of mine, Murray Storton worked there and had introduced us to it. It was lined up outside the door. We were so fascinated by the carousel that the pans rotated on. I was just wondering what happened to them. It is unbelievable that a place like that would go bankrupt.
I just made Monte Cristo sanwiches for our dinner and they were nothing like the Magic Pan had. I would like the Magic Pan recipe if anyone has it.
We also enjoyed the Spinach/mandarin salad with a dressing thatI have not tasted since.
We experienced these tasty treats at Sherway Gardens in Toronto Ontario.It was an hour drive for us,but well worth it.
I would like some of the recipes–like the spinach salad with mandarin oranges and vinegarette dressing. It was wonderful! and the pea soup with sherry
All of the crepes were wonderful.
Everytime I go to South Coast Plaza in Calif. I think of the Magic Pan and the Chicken Divan Crepes. I have bought Crepe recipe books to find a recipes like it, but have not succeeded. How do I get the recipe for the chicken divan and the pea soup?
I have the salad recipe Lance wanted (it was romaine lettuce not spinach) and the pea soup recipe from The Magic Pan. Email me if you would like a copy.
Does anyone remember a dish served at the Magic Pan called Sesame Almond Chicken? If anyone has the recipe, PLEASE send it to me!!!
The Magic Pan Creperie pulled out of the Canadian Market just before the GST rolled in and headed back to the US where it originated from in Ghirandeli, San Francisco, CA. Home of their famous Ghirandeli Chocolate Mousse.
I remember Murray Storton he was the General Manager at the time and hired me at the Magic Pan Sherway Gardens Location and was an inspiration for me in the food industry coming right out of college and looking to start a career with this company…I heard he died shortly after the restaurant closed…R.I.P. Murray!!!
Can someone help guide me as to how to go about getting a Magic Pan restaurant recipe for it’s once upon a time, Monte Cristo sandwhich? I’m new to this and not to sure where to go or even how I got here. Just know that in Southern California 25 years ago, I had one, and no place has yet to match the taste that I remember. Thank you to whom ever will help me. Philip in New Hampshire
I asked for a monte cristo recipe, not bannana chantilly crepe. Can some one help find me thier recipe? Thank you. Philip of New Hampshire.
if anyone from the original Magic Pan remembers Joe Zavala, and his kids from the Bay Area, hello!
Somewhere in the midden pile that is our life, we have every single recipe….the orange almond salad is still wonderful to make, as is the Seafood St Jacques, and the bittersweet chocolate cherry ice cream dessert.
I am delighted to know there are others ouy there who remember and loved The Magic Pan. Please, please send me any recipes you might have. Many thanks Jane
Hello, i used to work at the magic pan in south coast plaza just before it closed, i was a cook for a little over 3 years, just loved the food, i used to do the prep but after almost 20 years i’ve forgotten most of the ingredients, i can still remember several of them as i still cook most of the food at home just to remember the good food, what i cant remember is how to make the diane sauce we used for the steak diane dish,.. oh well one day i’ll find it
It is just wonderful to read all the comments about the Magic Pan. I was the cook at the Magic Pan in Sherway Gardens in the late 70’s and early 80’s. I spent five wonderful years there working and working with the most amazing people. If anyone knows Chris Sheppard, can you believe he was actually our diswasher? I have such fond memories of him and everyone else I worked with. It really is too sad that they chose to change their menu thus prompting the decline in guests and the inevitable closure of the restaurant. Maybe some smart marketing executive in the U.S. will come up with the idea to bring back the “Pan” in its original form. One can always dream.
I worked at Camden Drive location of Magic Pan. It was my first job in the US. I remember the chef named Tally…funny guy and Ray, Eric whom I met years later in Disneyland.. I can never forget Karen who worked there to save money to travel Europe. I loved all items on the menu, specially the spinach salad, the Hungarian soup, Crepe Suzette. I learned to make desserts there while working for Magic Pan and today I impress my friends by making some of those same desserts at home. I have visited the restaurant many times in the 80s. I truly miss the food. It would be a very successful restaurant if someone would start with the same business model. Don’t forget Cherries Jubilee. What a great dessert!
The description of the chantilly crepe on the MP menu always said “brandied apricot sauce” – so when I was creating my own recipe, I warmed apricot jam with some brandy, then tossed the banana slices in it before assembling the crepe, and it worked perfectly.
Hi Terry & Carol! I was over at The Magic Pan Project looking for recipes and decided to search for Magic Pan Sherway Gardens to see what came up and it brought me here. I crave some of the food now. I heard Dorothy Rogers passed away last year. I remember Chris and Debbie, Patrice & her sister, Barb W., Brett and his mom, Ellie, Janice and her brother. Who can forget Wayne!
Susan
I also used to work in a Magic Pan as a waitress. The pea soup can be made from the Better Homes and Gardens recipe for pea soup with ham. Add the garnish of either a dollop of sour cream or of sherry and a little fresh parsley when serving. They had a fresh spinach salad with hard boiled egg and crumbled bacon, served with a sweet and sour dressing but I liked the blue cheese dressing. Favorite crepes were the Chicken Divan crepe, the country beef crepe, both of which had a filling (any recipe will work) and melted cheddar cheese on top. Desserts were actually pretty simple if you were using fruit, just use fresh strawberries, for example, and drizzle with honey, place inside the crepe with sour cream, then garnish with whipped cream on top. Or just use any fruit with a light sauce of your choice, vanilla ice cream inside, and whipped cream on top with toasted nuts, coconut, drizzles of chocolate, etc. Chocolate mint crepes can be made with choc. mint ice cream inside, a small melted bar of dark choc. underneath the ice cream, first, then top with mint cool whip and choc. shavings. Hope this helps – I just happened to be looking for recipes to tell a friend.
This is very fun! I am Murray Storton and want folks to know that news of my death is premature. I live in San Francisco now and work as a Burning Man artist. Those dessert crepes were the best!
Hi, I was a Magic Pan crepe maker in Philadelphia in the 70’s. My mother-in-law bought me a crepe pan. LOL! Never made crepes at home. Today I woke up from a nap and decided to make a Chantilly Crepe. About to assemble it now.