Pangaea Grill goes big with its breakfast cocktails, and you don’t want to go home.

What has sweet and toasty coconut shrimp, a crispy taquito, dumplings, a meatball, bacon and more? Take your time.

If you answered “a Bloody Mary, of course,” you are spot on. If not, you can be forgiven. Most people, after all, consign the cocktail to hair of the dog or brunch duties. At Carmel’s Pangaea Grill, however, the Bloody Mary is breakfast, brunch and renewed spirit in – and sprouting from – one glass.

“Most people are amazed at all the garnishes,” observes Sergio Vasquez, a staff member at the popular restaurant. “It’s pretty much a meal in itself.”

There are other Bloody Mary options, but “The Pangaea” is weighted with all of the above and more, all but the familiar celery and olives prepared by the kitchen, and all complementary to the ruddy drink itself. Admittedly, it can take awhile to dine your way to the Bloody Mary. Yet the cocktail is its own reward – brisk, grounded, with a swarthy swagger and dusty spice, an herbal bite and, all the while, a flickering heat that crackles but doesn’t ignite. There’s a lot going on. “Extra horseradish,” Vasquez says as he begins ticking off the makings of the bar’s mix, before pausing and drawing a smile. “I can’t tell you all the ingredients.” Dudley Ashley, an owner of Pangaea Grill, can’t really explain why they chose to build a carnival ride cocktail. “Everyone does a [normal] Bloody Mary,” he points out.

Sure, it’s a spectacle. Yet everything about it represents a restaurant devoted to fusion, East and West – or in this case, food and beverage.

PANGAEA GRILL, Ocean between Dolores and Lincoln, Carmel. 624-2569, pangeaegrillcarmel.com