Prime Time Dining

Hubby and I just endured a dismal, lackluster lunch at Taco Bell when good friend and fellow meat eater Jay texted an invite to Gulliver’s for dinner. Thoughts of soft, juicy prime rib flooded my nacho-addled brain. Beef served in its own natural juices. Faster than you can say au jus, it was Yesyesyes!



I don’t know what it is about roast beef that reminds me of country club or hotel buffets. I guess it’s the omnipresent carving station, with the glistening meat under the bright yellow bulb. The light at the end of the buffet tunnel. Salvation from the parade of gravy-laden dishes. I have fond thoughts of the Baguio Country Club roast beef. But then again Baguio is at least a six hour trip away.

Whereas Gulliver’s is conveniently tucked in in the top floor of the Great Eastern Hotel in Makati Avenue. The hotel façade is enough to turn away the uninitiated – quite dreary actually. However if you’re familiar with Gulliver’s of San Francisco, you know that crossing the hotel lobby is well worth it. For this is the Manila branch of the very same Gulliver’s in SanFo. Take the elevator to the 10th floor and suddenly it’s a whole new world (cue Disney music).

This is not a swanky place. More dark, old English tavern with hideous carpets (as an aside the lack of light made it extremely hard to take decent photos). But the floor to ceiling view of the Makati skyline is quite beautiful and the prime rib, downright transformational.

I use prime rib and roast beef interchangeably but there is a difference. You can have plain old roast beef and you can go the extra mile with prime rib. It’s all about the cut. Blair Mitch is partial to the meats from the rib section: tender, well-marbled with fat that makes roasts juicy and flavorful. I got the petite cut at 680 pesos, while Christian took the English cut at 890 pesos (note: two people can technically share the English cut but we were too hungry to even entertain that option). Jay wanted to know if there was a German cut and was given a bug-eyed look by the waitress dressed as a saucy Irish wench. There is also an end cut which is mostly composed of the toasted portions.



The roast beef came with creamed corn, spinach soufflé, Yorkshire pudding and baked potato. The best part was hearing the splish-splash of the au jus poured by the waitress. And I loved the creamed corn enough to research on the recipe:

Gulliver’s Creamed Corn
8 ears corn
1 cup whipping cream
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
Butter
2 tsp. flour
Grated Parmesan cheese
Cut corn from cob and place in saucepan with whipping cream. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in salt and sugar. Melt 2 teaspoons butter in small pan and stir in flour. Do not brown. Stir butter-flour roux into corn and cook until slightly thickened. Turn corn into oven-proof dish. Sprinkle with cheese and dot with butter. Brown under broiler. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

If you’re trying to avoid the evening rush hour, drive down to Gulliver’s for some roast prime rib action.

Cheap Steaks for the Cheapskate

When I want a reliable good, old steak I go to Melo’s. Where the ribeye costs atleast 900 pesos for an 8oz. But what to do when you want good, solid meat and not the hefty price that comes with it? You need Cheap Steaks for the Cheapskate.

Before we begin, let’s get this detail out of the way: Blair Mitch does not consider the sizzler variety. Suffice it to say that albeit cheap we are not featuring Sizzler Steak and House of Mini’s. The quality is questionable. That said, let’s get it on.

Everything At Steak



I don’t know what finally propelled me to try this place. It could be the fact that the place was always curiously full (despite its unseemly location – right smack in a Petron gas station compound). Or maybe because I had grown fond of its kitschy name which rivals Saudiya Hair Lines (beauty salon) and Petal Attraction (flower shop).

People flock to Everything at Steak for the 120 peso 8oz Ribeye. Sure, it’s “Anggas” (short for “Batangas”) beef vs the more renowned Angus variety. But at 120, who’s complaining?



The tender steak was decidedly “Pinoy-style”. There’s a home-style marinade that gives the meat a sweetish-bbq taste. It’s actually good, if you like that sort of thing. Ask for the gravy to be placed on the side, otherwise they slather it all over.

Personally I like a meatier tasting, uncomplicated steak. I am more partial to a slight buttery taste than the smoky one that comes from charcoal grilling. Not really a fan of heavily marinated steaks. At most I’d like to give the meat a scant sprinkling of salt, pepper and aromat.

Everything at Steak also serves a gonzo T-bone at 110 pesos. It’s not a date place, so don’t get any ideas.

*Everything at Steak, Petron Gas Station Compound, P. Guevara corner Vicente Cruz Street San Juan

Handlebar Manila



A lot of guys I know (plus curiously, my best gal pal Gigi) get moony-eyed when they talk about the Handlebar Steak. You’d think it’s the holy grail of steaks, the way they grunt and wax poetic: “Maaaaan… you can never go wrong with the Handlebar steak… (big, big sigh)”And so, faced with the prospect of free meat courtesy of Gigi, hubby and I were there in a jiffy.

A couple of things girls need to know about Handlebar: (a) It is a veritable dive swimming with biker boys which may or may not be your thing and (b) Not a good idea to stay past 10pm because all sorts of strange women come pouring in. Hint: Patpong. You know what I mean.

But barring those parochial warnings – Handlebar is my kind of dive. In fact, hubby and I spontaneously voted this place with the blaring biker metal music as the best spot to watch the World Cup finals next year.

And the steaks… The 16oz Ribeye costs 415 pesos, while the 12oz version is priced at 345. The same cost applies to the Porterhouse. We’re talking thick, man-sized Aussie beef. I was the evening's straggler and pitifully couldn’t finish my 12oz. The meat is like two inches thick, it reminded me of a pillow (I kid you not). You’re better off not ordering medium rare, or you can do what Christian did – which is to ask that the meat be “butterflied” prior to grilling. I especially liked the fact that you are made to fetch your killer steak at the grill and help yourself to the sidings, including giant baked potatoes you can load up with bacon, sourcream, chives and cheese, coleslaw and baked beans.



Mixed reviews on the steak – three of my companions practically snorted it away in like 15 minutes flat (we’re talking 16oz here) while Gino (aka Pop Tart) and I couldn’t finish. Some felt their steak was tough and undercooked although I would think the culprit was the uber thick slab which make it harder to cook. I thought mine was good but wondered if there was an 8oz option for the wusses.

Make a beeline for Handlebar and make sure you’re up to the challenge.

*Handlebar Manila, 31 Polaris St. Bel Air Makati

Shoe Fetish

I am a fervent shoe admirer. I don’t like to think of shoes solely for their use which is to cover and protect the foot as one travels from one point to the next. Rather I am enamored by a shoe’s uncanny ability to transform a slow morning, lift one’s spirits or convey a very precise message without necessarily saying it aloud (case in point: the quintessential “f*#@@!!! you” shoe).



I am not designer-impaired although running across a lovely designer pair on sale never fails to make my heart skip a beat. My favorite trophies include apple red Kate Spade flats at 80% off, a Pucci wedge at 60% off and buttery soft leather Sonya Rykiel boots at the amazing sale price of 995 pesos.



As they say, there is comfort in beauty, so I don’t mind traipsing around the metro in sky high, graceful architectural wonders. But what really gets me are those badly designed, badly constructed, designer rip-offs. For example, I don’t understand why our local fashion rags keep featuring Janylin. Clearly the people behind that store have no intellectual integrity, liberally copying styles from other legitimate brands. I have bought some Janylin shoes in the past and they pinched my toes and wreaked havoc on my ankles. I have sworn to never again buy shoes from that place. And just so you know their shoes don’t come cheap too.



My heel got caught between wooden planks once and resulted in a muscle spasm. My doctor banned me from heels for a while which started my little love affair with flats which remains to this day. My most recent favorite is a pair of satin ballet slippers from T in Rockwell. It has a print of mauve English roses interspersed with leopard spots. I love the fact that the shoe couldn’t seem to make up its mind if it was naughty or nice. More often than not I find that T comes up with the most darling ballet flats.

Just recently Blair Mitch was “diagnosed pregnant” which means that I have to start building an arsenal of flats, tiny kitten heels and flip flops. A friend immediately offered that pregnant ladies’ feet grow a size and ½ bigger and that she wanted my shiny, cherry red, pointy shoes pronto.

What a big dilemma for I am a verified shoe hoarder. I keep and collect pairs – including those that I have only worn once, or have not worn at all! It’s a little like art, you buy pieces solely for appreciation. I know that fellow shoe enthusiasts can relate. It’s going to be a real hard sell for me to part with my babies anytime soon. But since she’s a really good friend, I might reconsider, just this once.



It is not coincidental that a beautiful glass slipper proved pivotal in the popular fairy tale Cinderella. Because shoes are never really just shoes. They are like signatures - extensions of ourselves.

Tagaytay Mini Break

I recently posted three new restaurants hubby and I visited in Tagaytay. Now I will feature the bed and breakfast we stayed in.

It must bear mentioning that Christian and I are not overly fond of the rustic scene and so Sonia’s was out of the question. Hubby will not appreciate the edible flowers and the absence of a working television. And so I was in a quandary over where to stay.

Run by the same people behind Discovery Suites Manila, I came across the place when I was interviewing some girl for an advertising job. Having mentioned that she had just visited Tagaytay, I asked her where she spent the night. Leaning forward in a conspiratorial manner, she whispered, “Discovery Country Suites.” I love secrets and was suitably intrigued.

Discovery Country Suites is a charming B&B with seven themed suites. There’s Nantucket, Oxford, St. Tropez, Siam, Ceylon, Adalucia and Nara. If you’re looking for the Jungle Room – we’re not on the same wavelength here.

Right when we got in, we were welcomed by fresh fruit shakes and a gorgeous view of the Taal Lake.

We booked the Japanese-themed Nara Suite with the shoji screens and tatami mats and were delighted to find that it opened up to the gardens. Wi-fi enabled, with a cable-ready widescreen tv and a dvd player – It was zen with all the amenities of modern living.



After a quick warm shower (no hotel-issue soaps for you here, they only offer L’Occitane bath products, thank you), hubby and I were off to deep sleep surrounded by giant, fluffy pillows. Incidentally, my version of mini-break involves a lot of sleeping and eating. Yes, I am a bum.

In case you have trouble sleeping or relaxing, Discovery Country Suites also offers shiatsu, Swedish and aromatherapy massages in the privacy of your own suite.

At sundown we partook of wine and cheese, plus dates, candied peel and marinated olives while executive chef and resident hottie David Pardo de Ayala went around inviting the guests to dinner at the Verbena Restaurant
*We skipped dinner in favor of Fire Lake Grill (see blog post below)



At around ten pm the house also gives you the turndown service – fluffing up the pillows and delivering warm milk dusted with cinnamon and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.



We had our breakfast served the next day in the outdoor patio, by the gardens, luxuriating in all that fresh mountain air.



Newly opened Discovery Country Suites is a must visit. Click on the url below for reservations.
http://www.discoverycountrysuites.com/main.php

More Meat for the Meat Eaters

Fire Lake Grill is not for the fainthearted. If your wallet is on a diet, then the menu can get intimidating. First entry: Herb-rubbed certified Angus Beef Cowgirl Steak with Duck Liver Butter at 2,200 pesos.

However, this is how I see it: If you’re currently spending around 700 pesos on a mediocre meal in some restaurant franchise like say, Tokyo Tokyo - now that’s a crime. Fire Lake Grill is worth every pretty penny you shell out.

Affable chef Paul Huang works both the kitchen and the floor. You get the feeling that he’s really in his element. He knows all the patrons and calls them by their first names. He makes an effort to get to know new diners (us included).

Apparently Paul Huang was a slave to the corporate world when he saw the Light. Or maybe the burning coals from a hot grill. How wonderful it must be to have the courage to throw it all away and embark on a grand adventure! He took the Heny Sison school and worked in The Mandarin (where Tony Boy Escalante also had a brief stint). And now, voila…Fire Lake Grill.

Being the carnivores that we are, Christian and I both ordered the same dish. How predictable (or crazy) is that?

Christian: I’m going for the Ribeye.
Blair Mitch: Can we share? And maybe I can try the sea bass or something…
Christian: Are you kidding me?! I don’t think that’s a good idea. More meat for the meat eaters. Please go get your steak.
Blair Mitch (to the waiter): I’m taking the Ribeye too.

Well actually I wanted to try the Cobia steak they had on the menu. Cobia is a fish farmed in General Santos. The buzz is that it actually tastes like steak. So you’re getting all that wonderful meat flavor and the goodness of fish. Sounds like a winning proposition, right? Except that they stopped farming the Cobia due to the small demand. I knew it was too good to be true.

What makes Fire Lake Grill different is that they use volcanic rocks instead of charcoal. Okay – I’ll be honest…I can’t tell the difference. All I know is that my steak rocked. Juicy with just the right amount of marbling. I like mine medium rare and it was nice to slice up a chunk and see the pinkish color in the middle – the hallmark of perfectly cooked steak. I read in Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential that you should never order your steak well done. It provides a golden opportunity for evil chefs to trot out their oldest cuts. After all when the steak’s cooked and all and your jaw’s getting a mean chewing workout – who’s to say you got the best meat, right?


Back to the Fire Lake Grill steak – it was divine. And it had sidings of mashed potatoes and vegetables which I promptly ignored. A nice touch was the giant prawn drenched in lemon butter, laid out on top of the meat – much like a ribbon tied around a nicely wrapped gift. Incidentally, do you eat steak with rice? Because I’m so Pinoy that way and it drives my hubby nuts!

Dessert was rather fancy: Pineapple Carpaccio with Malibu rum and pink peppercorn, candied citrus peel and coconut ice cream in a brandy snap basket. It was Chef Paul’s reco and I just knew it was going to be a Show-Off Dessert.



Can the pineapples be sliced any thinner? The dish was so pretty it was almost criminal to touch it. The taste was peculiar and familiar at the same time. Delicious yet disconcerting. The pineapple and the peppercorn, a triumphant melding of two entirely different tastes.

We’re coming back for more. And hopefully this time I can get past the steak.

Good Day, Good Eats

You have to go to Buon Giorno, if only for the Cannelloni.

I am not saying this because it is owned by Linda Floro, a dear old friend. I just would not want you to miss such an awesome, well-prepared dish.

Imagine tender bits of Chicken and Mortadella ham rolled in sheets of Spinach pasta then smothered with rich tomato sauce and cheese.

Wrestling for the last piece was the only time there was any conflict in our Tagaytay weekend respite. Christian ended up with it while I was this close to licking the plate dry. He pronounced it the best dish the eating spree has produced. And seeing that he is a hardcore carnivore – that’s saying much.



I can rhapsodize endlessly about the Cannelloni but there were other winners in our lunch that likewise deserve their airtime.

The MarlinJo vinaigrette brings the ‘special” in the Buon Giorno Special Salad. The well-revered house dressing is named after the Floro family (Mark, Linda and Jonathan), it is the vinaigrette I have lusted for all these years, even while I was working with foodstylist Linda in our Del Monte shoots. I begged her for some when I went out of town with Christian during our dating days and it was the salad and the magic vinaigrette that saved us from an otherwise dreary dinner of tough, burnt steak.

Tita Linda has bottled the magic and it retails for 80 pesos. Needless to say I promptly hoarded bottles.



The other house reco that we enjoyed was the Braised Lamb Shanks. The meat slides off the bone and totally melts in your mouth, like butter. Okay, call me a bad, unhealthy eater but I zeroed in on the slippery soft “litid” parts. I was so distracted I didn’t notice that Christian was already devouring the last of the cannelloni.

Which led me to a realization: The cannelloni is not meant to be shared. Get your own and forget about splitting the order. It simply won’t work.

Buon Giorno is at The Cliffhouse along the ridge. Give your taste buds a whirl.

Blair Mitch's Debut Post:
Chillin’ and Grillin’ at Antonio’s

I call Tagaytay Detox Central. And when I say detox I don’t mean a trip to the fat farm or going cold turkey on some vice.

My version of Detox is escaping harried, hectic Manila and heading off to Tagaytay. Where life goes slow-mo, people stumble into long, leisurely lunches – everyone’s relaxed and the pace is decidedly drowsy. Even the resident volcano is dormant, for crying out loud.

I was looking for some alone time and culinary diversion with hubby Christian. We were booked in Discovery Country Suites, a rather charming bed and breakfast. More so, we were set to eat the weekend away in three formidable new restaurants: Antonio’s Grill, Buon Giorno and Fire Lake Grill.

For my debut blog post I will feature Antonio’s Grill. The rest will come in succeeding posts.

We arrived just a little past lunch and drove straight to Antonio’s Grill. It is Chef Tony Boy Escalante’s latest venture, the first two being high-end Antonio’s (where the wait list can probably rival French Laundry) and the more relaxed (and still pricey) Breakfast at Antonio’s. I read somewhere that Chef Tony Boy is a secret grill fanatic fulfilling his little grill fantasies with this new place. I just wished that he named it something a little less generic, but I guess branding it “Antonio’s” has to add for something.

Anyway – I was titillated to see that this one had way more affordable prices. I guess I’ve come to expect stiff sums dining at Antonio’s. The waiter told us that Bacolod cuisine was the specialty and so Blair Mitch wisely decided to order La Paz Bachoy, Chicken Inasal (throw in some indispensable ensalada and garlic rice for good measure) and Vanilla Ice Cream with Dulce Gatas for dessert. Hubby stuck to his old reliable, Grilled BBQ Pork Spare Ribs to serve as blank canvas by which he can gauge how well The Grill would deliver.

We were far from disappointed. In fact we were floored by how Chef Tony Boy practically transformed common dishes into absolute masterpieces. The Chicken Inasal and La Paz Bachoy we have been used to eating all this time was crap. This was the real thing.



First, the La Paz Bachoy – the sweetish broth sprinkled with delicate morsels of chicken, liver and crunchy chicharon. A brilliant yellow egg yolk resting atop plump (should I daresay happy?) noodles. Christian laughed in wonder when he slurped his first spoonful. It was magical. We ate the bachoy in silence, in reverence almost.

Then came the Chicken Inasal. Its dramatic entrance marked by a waft of pure bliss. The Inasal was served with anato oil on the side, to be drizzled on the accompanying garlic rice with a pinch of salt. I was having a little dance of inasal-ensalada-garlic rice-inasal-ensalada-garlic rice with my eyes closed. Christian was having his own little epiphany beside me, singing praises about the tenderness of the grilled spare ribs with the sweet bbq glaze serving as perfect complement – but I could hardly hear him. I was in Inasal heaven.



I was seriously contemplating whether or not I would make a go for the chicken bones, making “papak” whatever flesh was still hanging on it when dessert came.

While the Vanilla Ice Cream with Dulce Gatas was good, it was nothing compared to Christian’s showstopper of a leche flan pick. I know – leche flan almost sounds boring, right? This one was thick and sticky with the consistency and chewiness of a cassava cake. Oh lordy – it was wonderful. We improvised and spooned vanilla ice cream on top and were beside ourselves in joy. The poor Dulce Gatas was promptly ignored like the prom wallflower.



The bill was also a delight. To begin with the Chicken Inasal cost 109 pesos. I spend more on a mediocre lunch in our office building caf with definitely not even a tenth of the satisfaction. The La Paz Bachoy (which can be split by two people) is 120 pesos. And the leche flan cost 60 pesos. I almost wanted to give the waiter a kiss.

Antonio’s Grill makes the drive to Tagaytay worth it. It might just be the fabulous Saturday lunch you’ve been meaning to take.

Next feature will be Buon Giorno, noted food stylist Linda Floro’s first restaurant offering.