Yoji and the Foodies

It was bound to happen  — ordering Spaghetti Bolognese at TOSH (The Old Spaghetti House – SM Center Las Pinas)

The first 2 visits, we completely ignored the pasta (read: the specialty). The third time proved to be the best because we really enjoyed the pasta!

Pesto-Sun Dried Tomato Spaghetti with Chicken

Spaghetti Bolognese

The garlic bread is as awesome as the pasta. I think we found a nice place to hangout on a regular basis (or until we couldn’t stand the sight of spaghetti any more).

Chef d’Angelo is considered as an Italian fastfood joint. The Glorietta branch was the first I’ve visited and I still remember the long lines and the long wait. Since I’ve been living under a huge rock, I am not certain where they moved the food place after the bombing a few years back.

I’ve had a few hours of freedom from slavery so I was able to drop by Chef d’Angelo SM Southmall branch. There was no line (read: no customer), so I almost walked away, but since I was in a hurry, I decided to stay. Part of me wants to order pasta but the bigger part of  me was begging to try the burger. Well I thought, what the heck, let’s try some Chef d’Angelo burgers. I also ordered Salisbury Steak for my dad.

Packaging-wise, I give it a 5. Come on, they can do better than a flimsy plastic bag with logo.

The food? Wowzer, look at the onion! There’ll be no kissing after this.

For 140 pesos, it’s a little on the expensive side but it is filling. I ate half at 6pm and the other half at 10pm. That’s like 2 meals…not bad. The taste? It’s very ordinary. It reminds me of the burgers served at the office cafeteria. Let’s just say it’s a big letdown for a food joint that has been getting accolades from foodies. Note to self: stick to pasta.

Burger King’s Whopper Jr. is still my burger of choice.

Persuading  my dad to eat at Almon Marina is like forcing a child to go to the dentist. There was too much struggle. But after assuring him that rice is available, he relented. We rarely get along when it comes to food but we have agreed to make a compromise, depending on the level of craving we have for certain food  — the one who craves more gets to choose the place. This also means that  the “craver” gets to pay for lunch (or dinner). It’s a little complicated but it resolves the conflict.

Almon Marina offers a long list of sandwich and pasta combinations enough to drive a customer away on account of “can’t friggin’ make up my mind”. I seriously suggest reading through the menu posted outside and come up with a decision right there and then. It will save you from the standard dagger looks from the manager/cashier who is a total man-bitch.

I was too hungry to try out exquisite food combination so I decided to order the one they were blatantly advertising on the tarpaulin — open-faced roast chicken. My dad went for the 1/4 chicken with rice and mashed potato, which garnered a 3.5-star rating. Not bad from a dad who hates anything fancy.

The breast chicken was moist, tender, juicy and generously topped with gravy. The bread on which the chicken rests is a little too crunchy for my taste, but it served its purpose well. The vegetables were overcooked and can pass up as baby food. The mashed potato was a little bland but the gravy managed to add a little saltiness to the ensemble. The price is commensurate to the level of my satisfaction, so it’s really not very expensive.

I will certainly come back to try their more exotic offerings…I heard the European sausages were good.