THE STORY OF THE LAMB BURGER & THE CAKE CLUB PART II

          We were having so much fun with the other bloggers, we didn't realize that what was supposed to be a Brunch experience at Cake Club had spilled over to lunch time. We were enjoying the ambiance so much, that time definitely flew by. Given the time, Melanie, who handles the Public Relations of Cake Club and Diamond Hotel, asked if we wanted to sample the lunch menu. 

     All the bloggers stopped and pointed to each other saying, "Umm.. Ikaw.." followed by another saying "Ikaw bahala..". Obviously the WANT was there.. But believe it or not, Shy type din kami mga blogger.. hehe.. 

      So after some SERIOUS arm twisting, we finally relented and said "Why not?". (Actually, it went closer to something like.. "Umm.. No it's ok.. ikaw.. You.. If you want, I'm ok.. it's up to you.. OH GOD YES PLEASE!!!") 

I'M HAVING WHAT SHE'S HAVING AT KATZ'S DELICATESSEN IN NEW YORK

              As I had mentioned before, one of my goals when I left for New York, was to go eat at as many famous places as I could. Places I had seen in my favorite food shows, such as Man V. Food and No Reservations. Well It was already my third day, and I had already been to three phenomenal places that I had seen in different food shows.

         The first was Hop Kee, which I had seen in Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, while the second and third ones, Baohaus and the popular burger chain, Shake Shack, were both restaurants that I had just seen during my plane ride to New York in another Anthony Bourdain Show, "The Layover:New York". 

         Though I have a deep respect for the work of Mr. Bourdain, I wouldn't say that he is my biggest food show idol. I am actually a huge fan of the man that inspired me to start this Blog.. Man V. Food's Adam Richman. After watching one episode of Man V. Food, I felt an epiphany.. A surreal moment of clarity that made me realize, despite my lack of knowledge on food, and legendary pickiness, being a food blogger was my destiny.

        So even before leaving for New York, I re-watched the New York Episode of Man V. Food. After that my mission was clear.. 

        If there is one place every foodie must go to when they're in New York.. It's the iconic Katz's Delicatessen.. The home of the best sandwich I have ever eaten in my entire life. 

QUICK PICK: INDULGENCE BY IRENE

       Although i'm sure it's clear as day, judging from the history of my blog entries, I'll be the first to admit that I'm more of a "Main Course" kind of guy. It has come to the point that the dessert section of the menu is often neglected. I take a glance at it, and pick out something I want. But in the end, I often use that stomach space (and budget) for another entree. 

      But one dessert item that I do have a soft spot for, is Cheesecake. 

      Awhile back, I got the opportunity of tasting one of the best cheesecakes I've ever had in my entire life. I have tasted a lot of cheesecakes in my life, but this intrigued me because I had never tried a Quezo De Bola Cheesecake before.

       And so begins my love affair with "Indulgence by Irene", The best Cheese cake you've never heard of.. By I have a feeling that's all going to change, very soon. 

BANAPPLE... ONCE MORE, WITH FEELING

      During the early years of my blog, I posted my visit to Banapple. Though I enjoyed the food, its one of the entries whose photography I am not proud of, simply because it was taken during our pre-blog, pre-DSLR days, with Rina using her trusty iPhone 3. Just like Italianni's, Flapjacks, Ma Maison, and The Stock Market Cafe, I marked Banapple as one of the places that I needed to return to and take better pictures. 

     Banapple is one of my places on Earth, and their food deserved a second entry.

NO HOLDS BARRED AT RAMEN BAR!

             I really only got into the Ramen game a couple of years ago, when my friend Paolo Dy brought me to the controversial Ramen Mecca, Ukokkei. Prior to that, I never really appreciated Ramen. To me, I couldn't tell it apart from Noodle soup. It turns out, I was missing out on a pretty amazing dish for so long.

       During a visit to Robinsons Magnolia, I noticed that Ramen Bar had opened a new branch there. I had seen Ramen Bar in Eastwood, but never got a chance to try it. One weekend when Rina, Baby Rain and I found ourselves in Quezon City, we decided to go give it a try.

VISITING CHEF TATUNG AT ACACIA ESTATES

       I'll be the first person to admit that my palate is strongly influenced by the Western Hemisphere. I'm a guy that looks for Burgers and pizza over Caldereta and Mechado. I lived in the United States when I was around three years old, and moved back here to the Philippines when I was six, and I still remember the first thing I ate when I got back here was, Believe it or not.. Spam. 

       That's because I took a look at all these strange looking meats drenched in sauces, all with different colors and thinking to myself, "What a strange country I'm living in". 

       My Yaya then made me try the wonder that is Liempo, which I instantly loved. From there, she slowly broke me in to more exotic local dishes, which not coincidentally, were predominantly meat based.  

      Through the years, my appreciation for the food of my homeland has grown exponentially, but I still wouldn't consider myself a huge fan of Filipino Cuisine.

      One lunch at Chef Tatung's changed all that. 

AMONG FRIENDS AT STELLA IN BONIFACIO HIGH STREET CENTRAL

         I really love the restaurants located at Bonifacio High Street Central. I've tried 'Cue, Village Tavern, The Mango Tree Bistro, and The Cake Club, and all have been nothing short of outstanding. One restaurant there that had escaped my taste buds, was Stella Wood Fired Bistro. Stella, and its adjoining bar, "Rocket Room", is a part of the the Rain Tree Group, which conceptualized some excellent restaurants, such as Chelsea Market, Momo Cafe, and a personal favorite, Mr.Jones. 

      Rina's High School friend Steph asked if we could meet up so she could introduce us to her boyfriend, Carlo, who happens to be a Filipino Chef that has been gaining recognition in Australia (good on ya bro!). 

      When they asked me where I wanted to suggest to go. Although my initial reaction was to take them to one of the restaurants I had been to before, Rina suggested that it would be a great opportunity to finally try out Stella. 

ALL THE WAY TO MIDWAY GRILL, LA UNION!

              

          In early October, after a long, yet uneventful day at work, I came home to my wife in tears. You can imagine the panic I felt when I saw her crying, and not knowing the cause of her sadness. (In case you were wondering, its because I was worried something terrible had happened to a loved one.. NOT because I was worried I got caught doing something =P) 

    My first instinct was to look for Baby Rain. I breathed a sigh of relief to find my little munchkin happily playing in her crib. I asked Rina what happened, and she showed me the greeting card in her hand. 

    It was a greeting card for Baby Rain. In fact, it was her first Birthday card EVER. And it was from Rina's 80 year old Grandmother that lives all by herself in La Union, who has never met her Great Granddaughter yet. Rina is very close to her "Lalo", as she calls her, and had been hankering for us to visit her for quite sometime, but we could never make the schedules work. 

   Seeing her in tears told me that this was one trip that we could no longer put off. Besides, Rain was old enough to handle long road trips. So we planned it with Rina's sister, Chaikka, and her boyfriend, "Beautiful Eyes" Don, to go visit La Union (which is Spanish for.. umm.. "The Union") during the All Saint's Day Long weekend. 

    Once the plan was set, I asked readers on The Pickiest Eater Facebook Page for their suggestions on where to eat for my very first post from San Fernando, La Union. 

     The most popular answer was "Midway Grill". 

THE SHAKE SHACK SHAKEDOWN

            Something I knew I wanted to go for during our trip to New York, was some kick ass American burgers. Even when we were still in Manila, AmbassadOREO Jennifer and I were discussing the places we wanted to eat at. The first thing she yelled out was "Shake Shack!". 

        Knowing that Shake Shack is one of famous restauranteur Danny Meyer's restaurants, there was no way in hell I was going to say no to that. Admittedly, I was torn between Shack Shake or the popular "Five Guys" Burger.. But once again, the great Anthony Bourdain once again made his presence felt, and turned the tide towards Shake Shack. During our flight to New York, I watched the New York Episode of "Anthony Bourdain: The Layover", and Shake Shack was one of the burger places he visited. 

        That's all I needed to know.