No Steak in a Steak House

Mood: All about Wenty Miller
Music of the Moment: More Wenty Miller ;-)


I met an old friend for lunch today. We ate at Consuelo's Steak House. This particular restaurant is one of the oldest in the city. It currently occupies an old house, presumably made during the turn of the past century.

It was a buffet style, all-you-can-eat kind of meal. That's how Consuelo bounced back from the lull several years ago, turning from a fine dining, high end resto to a per head charging, everybody's-welcome place . But back then it was P150 per head for dinner, with a fabulous 15 course meal, including roast beef and cowboy steak. There was also a lunch deal worth P99, but it was for a single cowboy steak and unlimited pasta and side dishes. The drinks were not included, so one had to shell out another P25 for a canned pop.

It was all worth it though. The steak was great and the atmosphere was fine. But as the years went by, I saw Consuelo's buffet price fluctuate. It became P150, inclusive of softdrinks, then 150, with bottomless iced tea/ orange juice (both sucked!) Then about 3 years ago, it decreased to P135, then P115, and now it's P99.

The buffet spread, as I expected (with the price at P99, how can I not?) no longer included steak. They also added inihaw na baboy (grilled pork) and pancit. Yes, I'm not kidding. The steak house is now serving pancit.

Anyways, the charge was cheap, but I would have gladly paid more for a better tasting menu.

The spaghetti smelled like smoke. It didn't even have cheese. The grilled beef was tough and the sauce didn't have a taste whatsoever. And don't get me started on the dessert.

I don't wanna go on more with my negative litany, so instead I'm just gonna share my recipe for Spanish Omelet, which I had for breakfast today. Hopefully you will like it more than I did my today's lunch.

SPANISH OMELET

you will need:

1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
about 3-4 pieces bacon, sliced
2 pieces chorizo bilbao, sliced (optional)
3 tomatoes, seeded and sliced
1 small bell pepper, cubed ( preferably green, but red would do.)
2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper to taste
4 eggs, beaten

Heat the oil. Cook the garlic until brown then add the onions. When onions are transparent, add the tomatoes, bacon (and/or chorizo) and finally bell peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until tender. Set aside.

Melt the butter, then cook the beaten eggs. Tilt the pan from side to side, allowing the eggs to spread out. When set, pour the veggie-bacon mixture on the center. Fold both sides of the egg towards the middle to overlap with each other.

Serve with fried rice.

Enjoy.... :-)

Pitso or Paa?

Mood: quite fine
Music of the Moment: Barely Breathing


The student body council had a meeting tonight at a place called Dear Manok. It's a semi open-air restaurant with grilled/barbequed chicken as the specialty. It's a popular destination for all kinds of people. Almost everyone I know has had a taste of their chicken at one time or the other. When I was still working in the bank, we would call and ask for delivery even though they didn't offer such service. Fortunately for us, the owner was a client and hence we always managed to sweet talk the restaurant manager into having a staff bring over our orders.

Dear Manok came into the scene at almost the same time as another restaurant (Jo's Manokan) that specializes in Chicken Barbeque. It was at the time when all sorts of food businesses were popping everywhere. But whereas most of the restaurants which opened at that period had folded up, Dear Manok is one of the few which are still in operation now.

I've been to the restaurant only a handful of times. This night was probably just the 4th time. I'm not really a fan of open air and "bare hands" eating kind of places. I also don't like the fact that they don't have an outstanding menu. Other than the Chicken Barbeque solo meal and the Chicken Skin, the other courses or short orders aren't particularly impressive.

Tonight my friends and I had the usual Chicken. Then we ordered Calamares, Chicken Skin and Buko Juice, which was basically just an individual buko opened at the top and inserted with a straw.

I would have to say it was an ok meal. Not great. Just ok.

I don't see myself going there again. That is, if I would have to pay. But if it's for free, like tonight, well, I might reconsider. If only for the Buko juice, which was the best part of my dinner.


Here's my version of/ recipe for - the Chicken Barbeque:

3 chicken breasts
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons calamansi extract

Mix everything in a bowl.
Set aside a portion of the marinade for basting.
Marinate the chicken for at least an hour.
Insert the skewers on the chicken.
Grill over hot coals.

It would be better if you baste the chicken with the marinade each time you turn it.

This particular Pinoy food is of course best served with rice and atchara. And a really cold drink.

Just like the way I like it.

Stir, Saute, Sear

Finally, a food blog!!!!