Food & Cocktails

My dad was a bit concerned with my excursion to the hospital (Sick Sense, November 6 entry), so he advised me to go malling last weekend. I went malling, alright...and more.

Saturday, 12 noon

A guy friend and I had a Burgoo lunch. I'm a regular visitor of the restaurant, and although they serve a variety of sumptuous dishes, I have only tried the pizza and pasta recipes. We had garden fresh pizza (his choice) and baked macaroni (mine), both in regular sizes. Despite their being regular, the servings were hefty so both dishes were meant for sharing. In fact, all of their dishes are meant for sharing. That's how goodish the servings are.

Anyway, the food. What I really love about Burgoo pizzas are their very tasty dough. I notice that some people don't eat the end crust of the pizza, and I don't blame them for wasting away food. Some pizzas merely rely on their toppings for tastiness that the end crusts aren't given much attention. Not so with Burgoo. Whenever I eat pizza at this restaurant, I cut the end crust and save it for later. This part of the pizza is so delicious, you can eat it solo. The garden fresh pizza kind of reminded me of Shakey's veggie version; only the former's vegetables aren't that baked into the bread, so you can still taste their freshness. Although there are toppings you cannot make me eat - green peas, mushroom and black olives - I did enjoy the pizza. True to its name, the cheesy baked macaroni was really cheesy; there were bits of baked cheese oozing out from the pasta's holes. It was tasty too, although I could do with a little more salt.

My latest visit to Burgoo did not change my impression of the place. I frequent the branch located at SM North's The Block. The crew are still exceptionally friendly and the service still superb. What's unique about Burgoo is the doodling while waiting for the orders. The table is covered with white paper and the customers are given crayons to doodle with. One question though: Are the pieces of paper recyclable? After Burgoo, we checked out Beowulf. Although I didn't get to watch it in 3-D, it's the nastiest performance capture film. Ever.

8 in the evening

I met my closest friends at Mr. Kabab's for dinner. I'm not a fan of Meditteranean food, but for this restaurant, I'm making an exception. It's located along Quezon Avenue corner West Avenue, and was first introduced by an old friend, who, knowing my propensity to shun new dishes, insisted I try the restaurant's Keema. I fell in love with it. Whenever I visit the place, I always order Keema, a dish made of ground beef and spices. So it came as no surprise when I ordered Keema for dinner that night. My cousin loves their chicken recipes; she got one for herself. Their fruit shakes are the best...brings to mind that song by Kelis.

When you visit the place though, I suggest you take the cab because of the scarcity of parking spaces. The restaurant is packed on a gimik night too, so if you're an impatient person, this isn't the place for you. A word to the wise: Wait a bit more because it's worth it. Seriously.

10 in the evening

After dinner, my friends wanted to have a few drinks. I was a bit tired, so I wanted to bail out because 'a few drinks', in my friends' lingo, meant 'drinks until the wee hours of the morning'. I was right. We retired from the place at around 3. The place was Pacific Islander, located along Timog Avenue. I'm not into bar-hopping so I have no idea how the rates of cocktails go, but after looking at the menu, my friends declared the prices to be reasonably cheap. Their word is the law. The drinks may be cheap but they were delicious; the place is decent even, none of those rowdy people. The atmosphere is just right for a bar: Not too dark, not too bright. I had fun, I have to admit. I plan to bring my cousins there on my second visit.

I must mention a certain incident about Pacific Islander regarding its valet service. 10 minutes after we ordered, my friend realized that she didn't have her cellphone with her. Racking her brains, she remembered she left it on the passenger's seat of my car. True enough, there it was lying where she remembered it would be. I have to commend the guy who serviced my car; unfortunately, we didn't get his name. Such honest service deserves only the highest praise.

Sunday, 3 in the afternoon

Another guy friend and I went to Trinoma for an afternoon of pizza. Yes, pizza. This time, I opted for Yellow Cab, one of my favorite pizza establishments. If you're in a large company, this is the place to go because of their huge, and I mean huge, pizzas. It's not just the size though; this establishment can boast of yummy pizzas with generous toppings. My favorite from their range of flavors is the New York Classic - it's pepperoni heaven!

I wonder where I'll go next weekend?