GRAMERCY TAVERN

4. 8 out of 5 stars

The last time I went to New York six months ago, my best friend took me to Velseka (a Polish/Ukranian diner) and Bonchon (a Korean restaurant similar to North Park in Manila, having the best double-fried chicken wings on earth), while my cousin took me to Matsuri (a Japanese restaurant by acclaimed chef Tadashi Ono), finally dining and partying in Buddakan ( a flashy Chinese restaurant/bar owned by Stephen Starr, who also owns Morimoto; NY trivia: this is the place where Carrie Bradshaw threw her wedding rehearsal dinner).

This was all fun to the palate, but left me wondering that I've tasted all kinds of cuisines but American in a US State. So for the second time around NY for '09, I begged my foodie best friend B to take me to an restaurant that served excellent American food. Without even thinking, she mentioned Gramercy Tavern, although it was a struggle not to try the famous Burger at DB Bistro Moderne, where Daniel Boulud conceptualized a sirloin burger with a filling of boned short ribs braised in red wine, foie gras, and preserved black truffle, served on gruyere and gold flecks.

Gramery Tavern can be described in three words --- homey meets luxury. Expect the graciousness of an elegant American home in the private dining area accompanied with a causal area parked at the bar.

Never too avant garde, never too loud; rather, it draws its strength from gastronomic ideas that are tried and tested, and the freshest of seasonal ingredients that are luxurious but uncomplicated. And one can expect the best from Gramercy, making its mark for more than 15 years, housing the likes of distinguished chefs such as former executive chef Tom Collichio and its current one, Mark Anthony (who has also worked under Boulud).

We got the Four Story Hill Chicken Soup ($ 12/22) and Barley and Butternut Squash Risotto ($ 12/22) for our First Course, and the Chicken ($ 19) and Halibut ($ 22) for our Entrees. Even before we ordered, the waiter took it upon himself to converse with us about the menu, the specials and our orders It is this kind of service that is expectedly excellent, working seamlessly like a well-oiled machine. Although sadly, the starter bread was slightly tough and cold.

The chicken soup was the odd man out, its chicken and ricotta dumpling / ravioli absorbing the bland taste of the broth. Not even the unique taste of salsify upped the flavor level. This was salvaged by the risotto, whose texture was a contrast or rich creaminess from the barley grains that remained al dente. Not only was the delicious squash cubed within the risotto, the risotto was also encircled by its puree. The shiitake was not too strong for the dish; rather, it provided a slightly smoky taste that had a similar note as the barley grains. It was topped off with seasonal miniature vegetables of zucchini, radish and carrot --- an over-all winner.

Four Story Hill Chicken Soup ($ 12/22)

Barley and Butternut Squash Risotto ($ 12/22)

The chicken was roasted to perfection, fanned out in a medley of butternut squash, carrots and brussel sprouts. It intense jus served as the base of the plate. The halibut was more simple in its presentation --- literally just a slab of fillet on top of a red cabbage slaw. Around it was a thick drizzle of hazelnut yogurt sauce. The fish was perfectly seared on both ends, retaining its succulent juice inside. The sauce was a great accompaniment to the fish, refreshing and cooling to the taste.

Chicken ($ 19)

Halibut ($ 22)

complimentary dessert

We capped off the scrumptious meal with a complimentary array of truffles, macaroons and chocolate tarts. After eating in this famed restaurant, I must concur with Frank Bruni's closing statement in his review:

"But like a solid marriage rather than a heady love affair, it has stood the test of time, righting itself when it starts to go wrong, knowing that what’s at stake are a great many warm memories, some yet to be made."

Menu. Click to magnify.

Gramercy Tavern

42 E. 20th St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 477-0777

Mon-Thu 12pm-2pm, 5:30pm-10pm
Fri 12pm-2pm, 5:30pm-11pm
Sat 5:30pm-11pm
Sun 5:30pm-10pm

Momofuku Noodle Bar

5 out of 5

** Didn't have time to write a complete article on this, so I just consolidated some articles (NY Times, NY Metro Dining, etc) that wrote good articles on it already, which also reflect how I felt when eating here.

The biggest star to emerge from the casual-dining scene is David Chang, named 2007 chef of the year by GQ and Bon Appetit for running Manhattan's Momofuku empire, consisting of three tiny restaurants right near one another that often play Led Zeppelin loud and have posters of John McEnroe on the wall. "So much in the late '90s and this decade was about service and serving mediocre food. I would rather be in an uncomfortable environment serving delicious food," says Chang. "I remember working at a restaurant, and they told us these statistics that the thing diners care about most was service and second was décor and third was food. And that made me mad. I said, 'Screw it.' That was the motto. Screw everything else — just worry about the food."

Chang compares the trend toward smaller, casual-dining restaurants to what happened to retail clothing 10 years ago, when department stores got destroyed by boutiques. "You're going to find funkier little restaurants that aren't for everyone, just like clothing stores aren't for everyone," he says. "Look at the jeans stores. There are 25 different stores that just sell jeans." His menu reflects his background as a Korean-American chef who came up through the seasonally obsessed kitchen at Craft doing his take on Japanese noodles plus, it seems, whatever else he feels like cooking. Thus, the “Momo" ($16) or Momofuku ramen was born—a large bowl of ramen noodles laden with impossibly tender Berkshire pork belly and shredded pork shoulder, showered with market vegetables, topped with a lightly poached egg. Its broth was very rich and dark, as it was simmered with roasted pork bones, shiitake mushrooms and bacon. By a mile, this is the specialty of the house. Cecile, my NY banker friend, was quick to order this for us, telling me how much she loved this restaurant that she would order this when she needed some comfort food.

“Momo" ($16)

But before we gobbled the ramen, we started it with Hanger Steak ($22), which has nugget potatoes, kimchi and butter. It was perfectly cooked, very moist and pink on the inside, the marinade of kimchi giving it a unique flavor. Unfortunately, the serving was also small for sharing alone, so we also grabbed another appetizer before our ramens.

Hanger Steak ($22)

Since Cecile chose, it had to be the equally famous pork buns ($9): A sock-puppet of steamed bread filled with thick-sliced pork belly dressed with hoisin sauce, cucumber, and scallion. Hot sauce optional. It is phenomenal.

Pork Buns ($9)

Anything that gives more people easier access to David Chang’s steamed pork buns is a humanitarian advance. So if that were all that had been accomplished by Momofuku Noodle Bar’s recent move into a larger space — there are 65 seats, up from 27 — it would be enough. But that isn’t all. With squat stools at communal tables in addition to tall stools at counters, the new Noodle offers a little more comfort. It’s set up like its more lauded sister, Momofuku Ssam Bar, though it has a paler hue and a perkier spirit, playing the blonde to Ssam’s brunette.

The menu has expanded, especially in a section titled “Cold,” where you find dishes including hamachi with blood orange ($16) and smoked duck with cinnamon ($14). Kitchen equipment has also been upgraded.

And there’s now soft-serve ice cream ($4), from a machine at center stage. It stands as an emblem of the polymorphous, mischievous Momofuku spirit, whereby East, West, high and low matter less than what strikes Mr. Chang’s fancy, like a cold braid of pistachio and cannoli flavors in a cone.

If the florid praise that has flowed Mr. Chang’s way is starting to grate on you, here’s your palliative: there are numerous miscues at the expanded Noodle, which competes with Ssam and now Momofuku Ko for Mr. Chang’s attention. Kevin Pemoulie, a partner in Noodle, runs the kitchen day to day.

The grilled octopus ($13) was rubbery. Duck confit rested on eggs that were billed as “soft scrambled” ($24) but that registered as an unappealing porridge. Although the noodles in the ramen dishes ($9 to $15) had a terrific mouth feel, the broth on occasion lacked spirit. And none of this struck me as any bargain in the context of a first-come-first-served operation that remains cramped.

But service was expert, and so, in the end, was most of the kitchen’s output: hefty, succulent prawns ($18) on buttery grits enriched by a poached egg and pork stock; a new dish of deep-fried chicken ($21 for a half, $40 for a whole) that’s not encased in batter, so it has an un-oily crunch; those famously plump smoked chicken wings with garlic and pickled chili ($11).
Steamed chicken buns ($9 for two) were better than ever, the pulled dark meat crisped on a new high-heat griddle. Will they challenge the hegemony of the pork buns? I think not. But that’s only because there’s nary a sandwich in this city that could.

menu. click to magnify.













171 First Avenue
in between 10th and 11th street
New York, NYC

noodle bar hours of operation

sun - thurs:
12pm - 11pm

fri - sat:
12pm - 12am

S'MAC

4.5 out of 5 stars

I just saw the folders of restos I would want to write on, and it's still so numerous :o At the risk of delaying some work, I decided to write on my New York line-up since it would be harder going back to these places unlike the ones in Manila.

I'll start the line-up right with this cute little place called S'MAC. It's a quaint place in the East Village that serves nothing but....you guessed it, macaroni and cheese. It's been featured in several shows and magazines for being a restaurant with such a specific niche. Nothing intimidating about it when you enter, at all. The interiors are small but sunny, literally, since the furniture is all in yellow, except for the red brick wall to one side and the red trimmings on the wall. The decoration is modern, yet kitschy to the point of being cute. Wired chandeliers, inverted cone lamps, those kinds of things.

It's called S'MAC cos it's owned by Sarita Ekya. Her recommendations are posted along with the rest of the menu on the counter, and you place your orders here like in fast food joints or a canteen. Actually, her recommendations make all of the menu, but there's another section where you can build your own mac and cheese and you just tell them what toppings to place. The great part is, they have take and bake, where you can order then bake and eat your S'MAC later at home, as well as delivery. They're also considerate enough to provide you a choice of regular, multi-grain or gluten-free elbow macaroni, with or without breadcrumbs on top.

My friends and I got a nosh (being the smallest serving, then major much, mongo and partay! the last one serving aroun 8-12 people) of Buffalo Chicken, Parisienne and Cheeseburger Mac and Cheese. You know it's American sizes because when it came to us, our noshes still looked huge, and we regretted getting three servings because we were still up for brunch (which became a 3 pm brunch, the line was that long) at Prune later.

All three of them looked the same, the sauce slightly differing in hues of yellow. But once you bite into it, it's a world of difference! The Cheeseburger ($5.75) is for the hearty meat eater. As described, it's "ground beef done to perfection with onions, garlic and a hint of ketchup and mustard. Don't forget the best part - a combination of American and Cheddar cheeses." It honestly tasted like a cheeseburger, and I liked it out of the three because of it's mild but beefy taste, and is likeable to most palates.

The Buffalo Chicken (&6.75) is basically "cheddar & American cheeses with boneless chicken pieces and buffalo wing sauce. We’ll even top it off with crumbled blue cheese if you’d like!" This had the most zing and spice, and I had to reach for my soda several times because my mouth tingled after (but in a good way, of course :) The taste of this mac and cheese actually grows on you as you get accustomed to its bold, chili-barbecue flavor.

Lastly, the Parisienne ($6.75) is written as "mac-n-Cheese for the "upper crust". Creamy brie, roasted figs, roasted shiitake mushrooms & fresh rosemary. It's addictive!" I liked this the least, though my friends love it. I guess I'm not used to my mac and cheese, which is usually savory, being somewhat sweet due to the figs and brie. I love brie, but alone or baked by itself in philo. The shiitake was a brilliant addition, though, and I could really taste the flavor of the rosemary permeate the entire dish.

From top to bottom: Parisienne, Buffalo Chicken, Cheeseburger

Even if we said that the servings were big (considering that we're still going to eat less than an hour later), we gobbled everything down it was that good. Creative concept, fairly quick service and easy on the pockets...It's a great hole-in-the-wall that is truly unique to NY.

Click on the MENU to magnify.










Manhattan's East Village
345 East 12th Street
between 1st and 2nd
212-358-7912
212-358-7917

Monday- Thursday and Sunday: 11 am - 11 pm
Friday - Saurday: 11 am - 1 am

Delivery is available for free, on orders of $15.00 or more, from Houston Street in the south to 23rd Street in the north, and from Broadway in the west to Avenue D in the east.

There is no minimum for delivery if you live on 12th street between 2nd avenue and avenue A, or on 1st avenue between 11th and 13th streets. Otherwise the minimum order is $15.00 with no exceptions.

UPDATES

Chelsea 3.75 Cuillere 3.5

I already wrote on Chelsea and Cuillere...but I've eaten there several times again, that I just couldn't resist whipping out my camera and taking pictures of the other dishes that I've ordered. I won't describe the restos any further (just check the links provided above), but I will give some comments on the dishes. So far, Cuilliere will have to remain at 3.5 stars, while Chelsea will go up from 3 stars to 3.75 stars. The latter restaurant has gotten accustomed to its dishes, and is able to execute them well consistently. They have also expanded their menu to include separate sections for pizzas, pastas, cheeses, sandwiches and meats (ribs, chops & steaks). On the other hand, Cuillere has stayed the same. At least it hasn't gotten worse, either.

On CHELSEA:

The Chelsea 100% Pure Angus Beef Burger
P350.00
Beer battered Onion Rings/ BBQ Sauce/ Ginger-Lemon Mayonaise

It was a really good burger!!! The beer-battered onion rings topped the burger, and they were generous to include another side of thick-cut wedge fries. The meat was rich, and juicy and looked so appetizing with both sauces, jumbo tomato slice and onion rings. Orkun ordered this, and though I always chastised him for ordering dishes that are too "safe" (as a foreigner, he never tried venturing out into the more exotic dishes), these are one of the few "safe" dishes I didn't mind him ordering. I even finished off his fries, dipping it it in the yummy tangy mayo. The prie isn't so bad either for its size.

Pan Roasted Gourmet Sausages

P495.00

Bacon Soaked Sauerkraut/ Mashed Potatoes/ Creamy Peppercorn Sauce

This is Pao's (mika's boyfriend's) favorite dish, and I felt bad he ordered it with all of us there. Being the nice guy that he is, he shared it openly with all of us. Being the "walang-hiya" (shameless) people that we were, we just chomped down the pieces of meat down happily. This is also a great dish! There were 4 different kinds of sausage. I'd love to tell you what they were, but this pic's real old, my apologies. How can you go wrong with sausages and cream? It even had spices such as chopped parsley, different-colored peppercorns and salsa in it. The sausages also came from their very own deli, so you know that the quality is fresh. And the sauerkraut? Yes, fried in bacon drippings. Again, how can you go wrong?

Slow Cooked Norwegian Salmon

P350.00

Salsa Verde/ Classic Mashed Potatoes/ Toasted Pinenuts

Mika ordered this for herself, and this is one of the dishes that has stayed on the menu even with their menu overhaul/expansion. This is what I said about it before:

My other friend, Moe, had the Slow Cooked Norwegian Salmon (350 PhP). It was served on a dark Japanese-inspired plate, with salsa verde, roasted tomato rice cake, toasted pine nuts and blanched asparagus spears. The steamed fish looked kind of bland, and Moe said it was just okay. He agreed with my comment on it looking like it tasted “healthy” (Oh no! Spa food :S) . The salsa verde reminded me of pesto, because that was what was usually paired with pine nuts, though I never got to taste his dish because I was too full. I’ll just assume that he liked this dish enough to not leave a crumb on the plate. But still, Chelsea reminds me of a cooking school where they have all the freshest resources at their disposal, but then the complicated cooking techniques were somehow a bit off, as if we’ve got the end result of the culinary students, and not the chefs.

This time, the salmon tasted better! It still tasted healthy, but looked more appetizing. They kept the salsa verde as a siding, and were more generous with the portions. It's not in the picture, but the vegetables were slowly roasted and taste even great by itself (and reminded me of a ratatouille). The salmon's blandness (because it was steamed) was spiced up with a pesto-based sauce, toasted pinenuts and a circular drizzle of balsamic vinegar reduction and olive oil. It tasted good on its own, but when you combine it with the salsa verde, it felt like it was brought to life. And the price hasn't changed after two years!

Jalapeño Cheddar and Emmenthal Cheese Fondue
P395.00
Crispy Tortillas / Bread/ Potatoes/ Market Vegetables

Myta ordered this for the group. She says it's one of her faves, as well. It certainly isn't the famed fondue of Old Swiss Inn spiked with kirsch, but it's actually a pretty good variant of the fondue. It had more items to dip with, with me loving the marbled potatoes and cherry tomatoes. The jalapeno cheddar gave the fondue a little kick, and for 395, it's way cheaper that Old Swiss's 700 a piece Waatlander.

Chelsea Market and Cafe
Serendra Piazza Ground Level McKinley Parkway, Fort Bonifacio
Taguig City, Metro Manila
909-7011
Su, M, T, W, Th, F, Sa: 9:00 am - 10:00 pm


On CUILLERE:

Chorizo Arrabiata
P295.00
Angel hair pasta in chorizo arrabiata sauce

Anya made me taste this and its simplicity is what made it delicious. I also love the fresh shaved parmesan on top. I wish though that there were more chorizo than tomato chunks.

Here are the pictures of what my other friends ordered. Sorry I didn't get to check it on the menu, but one is lamb on skewers, while the other one is a stuffed chicken leg. I won't comment on these because I didn't get to taste them.

What I did order, though was the Filet de Bœuf, Sauce Fromage Bleu (Tenderloin Steak with Blue Cheese Sauce, P545 - not in the picture). I ordered this because this is what my cousin got the last time I blogged about it, and I was raving about it. This time I won't rave about it so much anymore. It was good, but not spectacular. The meat was hard to cut through, and the artichoke pieces were missing with the spinach siding. The steak lacked that robust flavor associated with quality cuts of meat, and the blue cheese dressing was actually a way to mask what it lacked. Though I did like the rice pilaf that I chose as a side (it's either that or mashed potatoes).

Cuillere
Serendra Bonifacio High Street
The Fort Taguig City, Metro Manila
(02) 856-3325

MALCOLM'S PLACE

2.75 out of 5 stars

A piece of wagyu by any other name...... doesn't taste the same. This I've learned in Malcolm's Place, a two-storey corner cafe specializing in different wagyu cooking methods.

Take the intro any way you want, good or bad. It could swing both ways. Good because I've never tasted wagyu in so many different varieties. Bad because in some ways, the wagyu just tastes like....regular beef.

When you enter the place, it feels very airy with their floor-to-ceiling glass walls and exposed kitchen with glass dividers. When you eat upstairs on the second, it's less roomy, but more cozy with colorful cushioned seats and small booth areas. The ambience is very laid-back, and you can really let your hair down.

It's a welcome treat that they offer you fried wonton skins to nibble on while ordering from the menu. You dip it in this mayo-calamansi sauce that was a little too sour for me. But hey, it's free, who's complaining?

Being the "trying-to-be-healthy" people that we are, we started with the Kani Krunch (165 PhP) and the Napa Time (160 PhP). The first is made of greens, jicama, mangoes, kani and the same fried wonton skins (that were served as freebies) on oriental dressing. Jicama is english for "singkamas," and even if it's somewhat bland, it absorbs all the dressing, and is a good complement to the salad. Even the wonton skins gave the Kani Krunch it's Krunch, but the dressing somehow tasted off, like it was a little too sour, or it had too much balsamic vinegar. It would have been better if they used the bright, citrusy accents of a Yuzu dressing and perhaps exchanged the wontons for avocado or fish roe.

The Napa Time was, I think, a better salad. It was composed of mixed greens with candied walnuts, grapes, goat cheese and drizzled with raspberry vinaigrette. Goat cheese has a bland but rich taste, so it matched the sweetness of the caramelized walnuts and grapes. And they were very generous with the fruits and cheese, too, which is always a bonus. The salad was tossed perfectly with the dressing just coating the salad instead of drowning it.

The Wagyu Salpicao tasted great. It was seasoned thoroughly and had a well-rounded meaty flavor characteristic of wagyu. However, it wasn't as tender and melt-in-your-mouth like butter as I expected it to be, what with its high marbling content. It wasn't even just chewy, which is brought about by the finer-marbling of Pinoy wagyu (yes, friends, we have our very own wagyu cattle in CDO cross-bred from Australia). It was tough, hard to slice through and had ligament portions. Maybe we can attribute it toughness to other factors like the way the meat was stored, or how it was cooked, but certainly something wasn't entirely right in the process. Don't get me wrong, though. It tasted delicious because it was so flavorful. It just wasn't tender enough to bring in all that hype about wagyu. Being the eater that I am, though, I inhaled this dish in a matter of minutes.

The Wagyu Burger Steak was alright. I wasn't really sure whether this was a burger steak or a wagyu stroganoff anymore since it's been awhile since I ate here writing about it now, but I do remember the salpicao tasting a lot better than this dish in terms of seasoning. Anyway, both of them are not a part of the regular menu, but is only included in the insert, so I'm not sure if they still serve this up to now.

This actually isn't a great loss, because the core menu may actually be more delicious. I've been here before and have ordered the Wagyu Cheese Steak (330 PhP) a couple of times. It's strips of marinated Wagyu beef tenderloin with sauteed onions and peppers and laid on a French baguette with provolone cheese and a special sauce. It's a favorite of many customers like myself, where the cheese steak is made even better with better quality cattle. Besides, anything stuffed with cheese on it it sure to be a tasty treat. I'd recommend this order for any first-timer who plans on eating here in their foodventure.

All in all, I'm okay with Malcolm's Place. I wouldn't go out of my way to drive here, but if ever I'm stuck in the area, this is one of the places I'd consider eating in. Although there's nothing remarkable about the service and some food options, the restaurant has a good vibe to it, and the old-timer dishes pretty much stay consistent.

Oh, and free wi-fi when you eat here! That can't be beat ;)

click on menu to magnify













Malcolm's Place, Salcedo Village
108 H.V. dela Costa Street, Salcedo Village
Makati City, Metro Manila
(02)844-0000
Su, M, T, W, Th, F, Sa: 7:00 am - 11:00 pm

VERBENA

4 out of 5 stars

The only reason why I rated this 4 stars was due to pressure from Paolo when he insisted that Antonio's still tops the bar in Tagaytay. Not getting a consensus from him and other foodie friends, my lemming self shelved the star down a notch.

Chef David Pardo de Ayala is the corporate chef for the Discovery group of companies, where Verbena is located in their Tagaytay branch called Discovery Country Suites. He was born in Columbia, where he took basic cooking courses, but later specialized in CIA, NY. He then worked in NY restos like Bouley, Le Bernardin and Lespinasse, before moving to the Philippines, where he cooked for Aqua and opened the former Soleil Cafe Moderne. Being the chef who created Verbena's menu, I was excited to try this 80-seater place with Pao on our Tagaytay weekend spree.

Verbena is located right at the lobby of Discovery Country Suites, where the interiors flow into the decor of the bed and breakfast. You don't really know where the concierge area, nor the hallways of the b&b starts or ends, because the restaurant was merged into the whole lobby area. Thus, the main area of the resto is strategically fronting a fireplace, with a huge painting on its mantle. The place is elegant, decorated like a grand living room complete with the armoire and potted plants. Yet, it maintains its rustic feel, with the wooden, log cabin theme and quaint country bric-a-bracs.
Even for its rustic charm, expect five-star service. The waiter was attentive and quick to get our orders, notwithstanding the fact that we were the only customers at that time, haha (it was around 9:30 pm already, past closing). After ushering us to the balcony area (smoking section), he offered us bread and butter with a romesco dip that tasted almost like the tomato and garlic dip of Bravo!.

freebies

We were munching on our bread leisurely while we placed our orders. The menu is 2-paged short, but complete, covering appetizers, soup, salad, pasta&risotto, stews (stews, casseroles & classic broths) and main (grilled, roasted & seared). We were quick to choose from this "Contemporary Country" menu, getting an appetizer, pasta and main since it had a short description of the dish (which always helps!).

For appetizers, we had the Pan-Roasted Foie Gras (670PhP). Bernice must've rubbed off her love for it on me, cos when I see it on the menu, it leaps off the page begging to be ordered. Well, only for seared ones like this one, haha. It was cooked with pancetta, prunes and figs in a cognac sauce. And was it ever tasty! The sweetness of the fig and prunes balanced off the heavy taste of the foie gras. They were also pretty generous with the pancetta, which is a bonus. But let me go to the taste of the foie gras. It was melt-in-your-mouth goodness that I'd probably eat a lot of if it weren't so fattening. They deglazed the bits stuck to the pan with cognac, and putting it on liver intensified the taste even more. One thing I did wish for were probably more foie gras, because there was an awful lot of prunes and figs on the bottom.

Pan-Roasted Foie Gras (670PhP)

As for the pasta, we had Black Pepper Fettuccine (360 PhP). It was a pasta mixed with smoked bacon, roasted garlic and seared portabello mushrooms. I love this pasta because it was light (having no sauce, just st olive oil and flat-leaf parsley), yet filling. Garlic can be pretty sweet, especially if it's roasted as in the pasta. There were whole cloves of it, and biting into its sweetness with the smokiness of the portabello mushroom was a great combination. The bacon picked off the flavor of the mushroom, and thank god they used the deli-type slab of bacon and not those instant honey-cured ones. My only comment though was that there was a strong aftertaste from the mushroom that wasn't salvaged by putting something slightly acidic in the pasta, like maybe a hint of lemon.

Black Pepper Fettuccine (360 PhP)

We had Verbena's Sampler Plate (780 PhP), which is a combination of BBQ Lamb Baby Back Ribs, Grilled Norwegian Salmon with Arugula-Mushroom Salad, & U.S. Beef Short Ribs "Goulash." Of the three dishes, the one I expected to taste best was the disappointment of the three. The ribs did not have much of the sweet and spicy bbq glaze it touted to have, and it was awfully tough, as if it had been microwaved along with its polenta "fries" siding. The salmon was delicious, pan-fried in a wine sauce that complemented the vinaigrette of its arugula salad. Finally, our goulash sandwich was rich, tasting like a caldereta that was spiked with the spicy-sweet taste of caraway fruits.

Verbena's Sampler Plate (780 PhP)

This is definitely a restaurant to check out when dining in Tagaytay. The crabmeat and corn ravioli is highly recommended, and I would love to try it again on my second visit!

Thanks, Pao! Our posterity "I was here" shot.

Verbena menu. click to magnify.












Cafe Verbena
Country Suites, Discovery Tagaytay,
300 Calamba Rd. San Jose
Tagaytay City, Cavite
(046) 413-4567
Su, M, T, W, Th, F, Sa: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm

Good Burgers

Named Good Burgers because they're good for your health, these burgers never tasted so delicious and guiltless at the same time! From burgers ranging from 65 pesos to 120 pesos, they are very reasonable alternatives to the unhealthy McDonald's experience. (on average, a person will spend 150 PhP with drinks and fries)

You have several choices to choose from:

1) the bun ---> white or whole wheat bun. I often choose the whole wheat cos it doesn't taste any different from the white.

2) chicken pattie or veggie pattie ---> Wanting to be health conscious, I chose the veggie pattie. Talk about tasteless! I ordered it in two separate ocassions (a year apart) and remembered why I shouldn't get veggie pattie here to begin with. I'm telling you, stick to the CHICKEN PATTIE.....it is much better!

3) the size of the pattie ---> You choose between good, better and best, with best being the biggest pattie. I just get good and I'm already good (no pun intended!).

4) the toppings ---> I love the toppings in this place because they have the most creative combinations: Cheesy Mushroom, Salsa Mex, Garlic Barbecue, Silly Burger, Herb Delite, Persian Burger, BLT, Caesar's Burger, Bacon Mozza Melt, Margherita Burger and Three Cheese. I personally like the garlic barbecue, persian burger and the silly burger. Though the waiter will always say that the best sellers are the bacon mozza melt and the margherita, they're nothing compared to the other three.

Persian Burger
(Gia's most favorite topping)


Bacon Mozza Melt
(looks unappetizing, but just wanted to show how much mozzarella they put!)

my favorite --- Garlic Barbecue

5) drinks and add-ons ---> I guess since they're a small specialty burger joint, they don't offer much drinks except for the ones in cans and mineral water bottles. If you get take-out, and you're in greenhills or Pasig (near Libis) anyway, it wouldn't be hard to get lemonade somewhere else. Moreover, if you're into spicy food, you'd love the cayenne wedge fries as much as I do! It's not pretend spicy food....it is genuinely and deliciously hot! If you can't take the heat, there is always its regular counterpart. But don't be corny. Get cayenne.

Cayenne Wedge Fries

2 Branches:

THEY DELIVER!!!!
(and they put the burgers in aluminum foil, so it stays hot!)
Good Burgers
Greenhills Shopping Center
Level 1 Connecticut Carpark, Greenhills Shopping Center
San Juan, Metro Manila
(02) 723-4663 or 723-GOOD

Good Burgers
Pasig
(02) 671-4242 or 671-GBGB