Outback Steakhouse: Valentine's Date

February 14, 2013. Thursday.

Note: Sorry for the crappy phonecam pics. Kim forgot to bring the batteries of her camera, and we were left to use my phone.

A week prior to Valentine's Day, I was calling up different restaurants to reserve a table for us. It was our first time celebrating the day since we didn't celebrate last year, so I had restaurants that had sure- fire good meals on my list. Since it was already close to the day itself, I must have gone through half a dozen places before finally getting a table at Outback Steakhouse. It wasn't what we originally had in mind since we wanted to try new places, but good food is still good food. And we know Outback serves great food!

We were a little early for our reservation time, but luckily they already had a table ready. The waitress at the door ushered as to our seats. The places was packed inside! And the line outside door was about a dozen people deep. Once seated, we took our time in ordering since we wanted to order differently from last time.

After ordering, the manager came to our table and gave us some free stuff! It was for those who reserved a table at least 2 days in advance. We got a gift certificate for Lunch Specials for two, a gift card for a full order of Kookaburra Wings, and a framed photo of ourselves. After she left, someone took our picture which they gave to us in an Outback - Valentine's themed frame after about half an hour. All in all, that was about 1,500php worth of freebies.

An Outback Steakhouse meal starts off with the complimentary Dark Honey Wheat Bread.

As we have mentioned before, this is the best complimentary bread we have ever tasted. It was really great as it was already, but Kim found out that you can actually ask for a chocolate dip for it. Kim dipped the bread in butter and enjoyed it that way, while I spread some churned butter on mine before dipping it. The sweetness of the chocolate provided a contrast to the slight saltiness of the churned butter.

For starters, we got half an order of Kookaburra Wings.

We already ordered this before, but we really love wings and we couldn't decide on what appetizer to order. Even though we asked the server that we wanted our wings to be spicy, it still pales comparison compared to other wings joints when it comes to that spice factor. But other than that, this is a great starter to any meal. The wings were crispy and had that right sourness to it.

Kim ordered the Angus Prime Rib with a side of Rice Pilaf and Loaded Baked Potato.

The Angus Prime Rib is a 10 oz. cut of USDA Angus Beef. It is served with au jus, which is the beef's own juice from cooking. So don't mistake it for BBQ sauce as it is far from it. It is watery and tastes just like the beef you are served. It enhances the flavor of the steak, and keeps it moist when it takes you awhile to eat. As with any steak from Outback, you get to choose 2 sides for it. Kim chose Rice Pilaf and a Loaded Baked Potato.

I ordered the Chicken and Ribs Combo.

Since I always order steak when I'm in Outback, I decided to deviate from the usual and order the Chicken and Ribs Combo. In hindsight I probably shouldn't have, because what's wrong in ordering steak when you're in a steakhouse? Tsktsk. The plate I was served wasn't bad, in fact it was good. And it was a really hefty meal for it's price. There was about half a rack of ribs, and 3 pieces of grilled chicken breasts all covered in that great BBQ sauce. But that was the problem, they tasted too much alike because they were cooked in the same suace! The ribs were really tender, and readily fell off the bone, and the chicken breast was juicy and flavorful. But the same taste really got to me, that I only managed to finish half of the ribs and half the chicken breasts. Plus I was really envious of the smell of Kim's steak from across me. This combo came with mashed potatoes and vegetables.

Outback has never failed to provide us with great food and great service. The wait staff are always attentive to details, and the food is always of good quality. We waited a little more than usual for our food on this date, but that's okay since it was really packed and you could see that ordered were really going table after table. The ambiance in Outback doesn't really change even when it's packed or not, it's a place where you can have good conversation even when there's audible background music playing. All in all, a great Valentine's date for us thanks to Outback.

Outback Steakhouse
35 E. Rodriguez JR Ave.,
Libis, Quezon City
(02) 634 - 3801

Other Outback entries:
Back in Outback! Claiming Our Valentine's Freebies  
Outback Steakhouse 

Nolita: Revisited with Friends

February 8, 2013. Friday.

Special Note: KiMiguel are joined by Migs' Chicks-n-Wings groupmates, Brent and JT. They picked up the group's new impulse bike hobby after folding bikes -- fixed gear bikes.

Thinking there wouldn't be any traffic since it wasn't a payday Friday, we decided to get our fixed gear bikes on this day. We were so wrong. It was one of the worst traffic jams  in C5 I have experienced in a while. After a grueling hour and a half battle with traffic just from Tiendesitas to Comembo, we were really exhausted. Wanting a good meal after paying for our bikes, we trooped to BHS Central to introduce our friends to our favorite burger and pizza joint, Nolita.

 

Since it was already past 7PM, Nolita was really packed inside and out. We just lucked into a table as a group just stood up just as we entered the restaurant. We ordered the following.

Spinach and Artichoke pizza.

Spinach and Artichoke Pizza. 210php.

Brent, still on a vegan diet, ordered their Spinach and Artichoke pizza. So despite this being a pizza and burger joint, vegetarians are more than welcome to enjoy themselves here.

Angus All Beef Cheeseburger.

Angus All Beef Cheeseburger. 320php. Mozzarella and Cheddar respectively.

Both JT and I had their Cheeseburger. I had cheddar on mine, while he had mozarella. JT commented that it was a little too salty for his taste. I agree, but that still doesn't change the fact that this is one of my most favorite burgers in the metro. It has always been a little saltier than most burgers ever since we first tried it summer of last year, and the taste hasn't changed. It doesn't bother me though, since I really like it.

Shrimp Carbonara Pizza.

Shrimp Carbonara Pizza. 290php.

Kim had been waiting for the opportunity to taste this, but it always wasn't available whenever we dined here. Fortunately, it was available on this day. It was a little let- down from what Kim expected. It had that carbonara sauce going on top of it, but it was really almost non- existent in taste. It wasn't bad at all, but it really just fell short of all the build up going into it.

Bowl Of Chili.

Bowl of Chili. 240php.

We also ordered a Bowl of Chili. Locally, we might know such dish better as chili con carne. In the US, this is most commonly known as just chili and is a staple of Tex-Mex cooking. We usually eat this as a topping to our sandwiches or as a side to our meals, but this can also be a meal on its own. Nolita's version had a lot of beans, which was really the only little thing I didn't like with it. It was creamy, hot, spicy and really good for a hungry tummy.

So that's it for our 3rd entry covering Nolita. We probably won't blog about Nolita again in a while eventhough we will still frequent it, as we think it is obvious that you know our love for it :)

NolitaUG/F Bonifacio High Street Central,
7th Ave Cor. 29th St.,
Fort Bonifactio, Taguig City
https://www.facebook.com/NOLITA.PIZZA

Past Nolita entries:
Nolita (North of Little Italy)
Nolita (North of Little Italy) Again!

Cafe Xocolat

January 31, 2013. Thursday.

 

Cafe Xocolat is a little restaurant located on a sidestreet in the Katipunan area. It's a chocolate themed cafe that provides traditional chocolate drinks and desserts, and creative chocolate infused meals. The place has a warm and homey vibe, well in part because it is an old home converted into a restaurant! It has managed to mostly retain parts of the house, which really exudes an 80's family home vibe. The inside is well lit with colorful artsy stuff adorning the walls. The al fresco on the other hand, is a little dim with soothing music setting the ambiance.

 

The menu is mostly made up of chocolate drinks, cakes and pastries. But there are also a few pasta dishes, sandwiches and rice meals on it. Some of them are actually chocolate infused and inspired.

We ordered the following dishes:

French Toast.

French Toast. 175php.

We ordered this to share as our appetizer. It tasted good but it was nothing like any French Toast I have ever had in my life. The bread is dipped in cacao batter instead of the normal egg-based batter. But even with that, this tasted more like brownies than bread. It came with country style sausages that were really cold.

Gamberetti Pasta.

Gamberetti Pasta.

This was my order. This is a pesto pasta with sauteed garlic shrimps. Although the taste of the pesto was a litte too mild for my taste, I really liked this. The shrimps had a nice garlic flavor that enhanced the taste of the pasta.

Xocolat Chicken Pasta.

Xocolat Chicken Pasta.

Kim wanted to try some of their chocolate infused dishes and ordered this. This is a creamy pasta with chicken strips rubbed in cacao topped off with chocolate shavings. The dish was really fragrant when it was served, you could really smell the chocolate wafting from it. The chicken strips were really tender, but the cacao rub didn't provide any different taste to it. The chocolate shavings though gave a nice, slight bitter taste to the creaminess of the pasta.

Churros Con Xocolat.

Churros Con Xocolat. 95php.

The real reason why we dined here was because Kim wanted some churros. Unfortunately she was disappointed with the churros. This has got to be the hardest churros we have ever tried! The sticks were so thin that there were no soft middle left at all. It was just rock hard from outside to the inside. The plate presentation was the only saving grace of this dish.

Dalandan Honey.

Dalandan Honey. 95php.

I wanted something refreshing so I ordered a Dalandan Honey from their fruit shakes. I loved how it had maintained a little sourness from the dalandan. The honey provided a a nice sweet taste to the ice cold drink that was served in a nice jar.

Overall, Cafe Xocolat is a nice, laid back place to hang out and have quiet conversation in. It provides some good quality food for a good price. Our one main qualm with this was the service was really slow. Our food made its way to our table a good 25- 30mins after we have ordered it. So if you are in a hurry, this might not be a good place for you. But if you have time to kill and have some good stories to share, the ambiance here is perfect.

Cafe Xocolat
Casa Xocolat, 172 B Gonzales St.,
Loyola Heights, Quezon City
http://xocolat.com.ph/

Zark's Burgers

January 27, 2012. Sunday.

Special Note: For this blog entry, KiMiguel are joined by Migs' friends Brent, Joseph, Jeti, Francis, Alex, Felix and Hannah. No in- depth reviews will be given to all orders as everyone had a "putok- batok" moment, rendering any chance at a coherent thought process lost.

Being a huge burger fan and carnivore, I've always wanted to eat at Zark's ever since I first saw images of its big- ass burgers back in 2011. As a QC kid, making the trek to Taft seemed too arduous just for a burger. But the stars aligned and the heavens opened (haha!), and I found myself in Taft on a lazy Sunday! I just had to try this little burger joint that has gained a following over the past couple of years.

Zark's started out as a little hole in the wall that has since then grown into a full blown eatery after news of its greasy and diet- busting menu gained steam on social media sites. Before we get to the food, let's talk about the place first. I'm not sure as to the school allegiance of the owner, but the walls are adorned with images of past and present DLSU men's basketball stars. It makes sense since it is located in a building called Archer's Nook and is smack dab in the middle of Archer land. It doesn't have the best interiors (biased!) nor the comfiest seats, but that doesn't matter since you came here to get your carnivore on, right?

On to our orders, starting from the smallest to the biggest and greasiest.

Zark's Ultimate Burger.

Zark's Ultimate Burger. 130php.

The Zark's Ultimate Burger consists of a single quarter pound patty on some fresh veggies, topped with mushrooms, bacon and a heaping cheese sauce. Yes, you read that right, cheese sauce! It is served with a side of thick hand- cut fries and a glass of iced tea. I know it's not an original concept since other burger chains have their own variations of the bacon mushroom melt. But do you know any place that prices their melt this low? I didn't think so. Just for the price alone, this trumps all other bacon mushroom melts out there.

Jackhammer.

Jackhammer. 180php.

Ever head of a Juicy Lucy? This is Zark's version of that beloved Minnesotan favorite and Discovery TLC feature. It's basically a half pound cheeseburger.. with the mozzarella and cheddar inside the patty! You probably have experienced a regular cheesburger served hot of the grill, with the cheese slice melted on top of the patty. Yum, looks delicious.. but then the cheese starts to form and thicken on you. A Juicy Lucy/ Jackhammer makes sure that doesn't happen, or at least tries to prolong the inevitable. This was Kim's order, and she enjoyed that the cheese was oozing from the core of the patty. Again, this is served with a side of fries and a glass of iced tea.

Deep Fried Burger.

Deep Fried Burger. 185php for half pound patty.

All great burgers are grilled, or at the very least fried on a flat stove. But never deep fried. Disregard any conventional thinking and rational thought, Zark's deep fries a whole burger -- bun and all! I'm not sure as to how they make this, but I'm thinking they first assemble the mushroom cheeseburger the traditional way then lose their minds and dip the whole thing in batter and deep fry it! I didn't get to try this, but this looked like the greasiest thing I have ever seen! Deep Fried I have my eyes set on you!

Jawbreaker.

Jawbreaker. 250php.

This, for me, is the pièce de résistance of the whole Zark's menu. There might be a bigger and greasier Tombstone compared to this, but the Jawbreaker has Spam, bacon and cheese! How would you not want that?!? Oh, and did I mention it has three, count 'em three! Three patties in it! Okay, let me calm myself down, and enumerate what is in this burger. First you have three patties fried into greasy perfection, then there's Spam and bacon on top, then there's also cheese in between the patties! Before I forget, it sits on a bed of fresh lettuce, but then again you don't care about that.

I attacked this barehanded, no utensils style as all self respecting burger aficionados should. At one point in my grueling battle with it, my nose was getting greasy from making contact with Spam, bacon and patty! The Jawbreaker is also prone to the patty slip -- y'know the scenario with all big burgers that the patty tends to slip from the bun and you don't notice at first, but then you are left with more patty than bun. Yup, that happened to me but it's all good. At one point, I was missing the whole top bun and still had a portion of Spam, bacon and all three patties in my hand! This is just pure burger heaven. Hands down, value for money- wise nothing can top this. Well, maybe an egg topped Jawbreaker. Hmmm. And if you are brave (for your health) and crazy enough, finish this bad boy in 5 minutes and it's free! Plus you get your name and picture on their wall.

Despite it being a little far out of our comfort zone, we'll surely be back try more of the grease- filled menu!

Zark's Burgers

2nd Floor Archer's Nook Bldg, Taft
In front of DLSU Taft
0923 7372517
(02) 392 1211
http://www.zarksburgers.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zarks-Burgers/125052717215?fref=ts