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.... :-)