Chuck's Deli

January 2, 2013. Wednesday.

For our first date for 2013, we ate in Chuck's Deli in Eastwood. Coincidentally, we also had our first date in 2012 in Chuck's Deli.

Chuck's Deli serves freshly made sandwiches that range from the healthy vegetarian variety to the meat packed variety. When I say healthy there's an asterisk to it because the serving here is really heavy, so it really is a misconception that having sandwiches is just a light meal. Aside from sandwiches, the menu also has its fair share of salads, soups, shakes and sides (aptly called sidekicks).

Chuck's is located at the ground floor of Eastwood Mall, right in between Wagyu Stone Grill and The Old Vine. Almost all restaurants in this area of Eastwood is a little more upscale. It's not necessarily fine dining but you won't find any fastfood chains here either. So despite Chuck's Deli serving "just sandwiches," they are on the higher end of the price spectrum.

We ordered the following:

A bowl of Truffled Cream of Mushroom to share.

Truffled Cream of Mushroom. 195php.

It was a little unappetizing to look at first because it looked like a bowl of Bird's Nest gone bad because of the darker color. But we soon found out that it really tasted good, and the dark color was due to the Truffle oil it had. We loved how creamy (duh) and rich the soup was, and the truffle adds a little sweetness to it. Now I'm really wondering why doesn't everyone put Truffles (or at least Truffle flavor) in their Cream of Mushroom soup? Technically Truffle is also a mushroom, right?

Angus Sliders with a side of potato chips for Kim.

Angus Slider. 295php.

These cute, almost bite- sized sandwiches has US Angus Beef patties, lettuce, tomato, Chuck's sauce and mayo- mustard. They might be cute and small, but they certainly are huge and packed in flavor. And the patties are from the same cut as the ones used in Chuck's own Half Pounder, so they really are thicker than your average patty.

And a half Slabwich of French Kiss with side of onion rings for me.

Half Slabwich of French Kiss. 220php.

Let me start by saying that I really didn't expect the half sandwich, or Slabwich as they call it, to be really big. It is literally a slab! Based on their description, a half slab would be about 5- 6 inches long and weighs at about 3/4 lbs. But I'm guessing this one weighed more than that, and aside from being about half a foot long the slab was about 2 inches wide. A French Kiss Slabwich consists of corned lengua, sauerkraut and a horseradish spread. Lengua is beef tongue, and it is one of the fattiest beef parts. Since this was corned, it was really tender and really seasoned well. Sauerkraut is pickled cabbage, and it really adds a nice sour taste to the lengua which was a little onion-y. The horseradish spread was supposed to complement and provide a nice garlic flavor to the sandwich but I really didn't taste the garlic in it at all. In fact, I had to ask for garlic sauce just to have a different taste in my sandwich. Despite that, this one was a well prepared sandwich that was really filling for a whole meal. I couldn't imagine how big a full slabwich is, and how I would finish it.

If you're looking for a good meal but don't want the eat a conventional plate of rice and a viand, Chuck's Deli's sandwiches can surely satisfy you. With the great variety in their sandwiches, without a doubt there is something for everyone. The prices might not be cheap just because you're thinking it's just sandwiches, but these are nicely prepared with fresh meats and ingredients.

Chuck's Deli
G/F Eastwood Mall, Eastwood City,
Libis, Quezon City
http://www.chucksdeli.com.ph/
https://www.facebook.com/chucksdeli

Sandwicheese!

August 30, 2012. Thursday.

In the last few years, Katipunan has developed into foodie heaven. And I'm talking about Katipunan extending all the way to White Plains, not just the part in front of Ateneo and Miriam. Sandwicheese is one of those food places that now occupy the busy stretch of Katips right after Qurino Memorial Hospital. We wanted to deviate from our normal Eastwood/ Bonifacio High Street food choices, so we went to Sandwicheese last Thursday. It is also from the people that put up Bannapple. It located right next to the original and smaller Bannapple. If you like and love your sandwich and cheese, then this place is definitely right up your alley.

The place has this homey deli vibe going for it. We loved the quirkiness of the design of the small space. It had checkerboard tiles, cute little ceiling fans, bread decors on the wall, and half of the place is under a big sunroof! The sunroof made sure that the place was very well lit, but I'm thinking that on hot sunny days that could also be an issue.

I ordered the Chili Frankfurter Sandwicheese.

Chili Frankfurter Sandwicheese. 150php.

The moment it was served in front of us, I knew it was good! The bun and frank was overflowing with a combination of garlic cream cheese, parmesan, mozarella and chili!  You know how to gauge if you got good cooked hotdogs/franks? There should be a certain snap when you bite off it. And this one snapped! I was surprised that the cornmeal bun they served their sandwiches in held really well from all the cheese and oil.

Kim got the Cheesy Roast Beef.

Cheesy Roast Beef. 160php.

This one was almost the same as my order, except it had pimiento cream cheese and roast beef instead of garlic cream cheese and frankfurter. Kim found the roast beef was seasoned well and tender. It was also juicy enough that you had this pool of oil, cheese, caramelized onions inside the serving box.

We got Chili and Cheese Nachos to share.

Chili and Cheese Nachos. 90php.

The nachos tasted like.. nachos. I don't ever think you can make bad nachos. It's so basic. It's always a good partner to any snack.

We also got a couple of Bannaple Home Made Brewed Iced Tea. 60php each

Iced Tea. 60php each.

Kim found the Iced Tea to be too sweet for her taste even after diluting it with water. I found it just right. Weird, 'cause I'm the one who doesn't like sweets. Different preferences, I guess.

Overall, it was a pretty great dining experience for both of us. We happily traded bites of our sandwiches with each other, and we were satisfied with both our orders. For heavy rice eaters like us, we found the sandwich and nachos combo was pretty filling enough. I thought I needed to get two sandwiches just to get my fill, but I was wrong big time. Good thing, Kim stopped me from ordering two sandwiches for myself. It might be a little pricey just for some sandwiches, but take into account that these are freshly made sandwiches from top notch ingredients. If you want to get a heavy snack, Sandwicheese and its affordable menu is your stop.

Sandwicheese!
225 Katipunan Ave.,
1109 Quezon City, Philippines
https://www.facebook.com/Sandwicheese
sandwicheese@bannapplekitchen.com