THE CHEESE STEAK SHOP: THE NEW STUFF!

             Not content with being known as one of the best places to get some of the best classic Cheese Steaks in town, the Cheese Steak Shop has whipped up some new items to their menu that'll keep your mouth watering! 

    But what could they have done to provide something new to the straight forward melted cheese steak sandwich? 

     I zoomed to Cheese Steak Shop's Amorosolo Branch in Makati to find out!    

SECOND STOP AT THE CHEESESTEAK SHOP

         A few months ago, I was absolutely heartbroken when I found out that The Cheese Steak Shop would be closing the doors of their branch along Arnaiz Avenue - The same street wherein I work. Although it still was quite a bit of a walk to get there, the mere thought of being unable to visit their restaurant for some of their mouthwatering Cheese Steaks nearly brought tears to my eyes. I had heard that they would be moving to a new branch at The Fort.

        The Cheese Steak Shop would be my "Go-to" place whenever I need I need a quick solution to a client dropping by, and we need a no frills, yet impressive meal for them to dine on while they're in our office. You wouldn't think a simple sandwich would be so well received, but then again, their Cheese Steak isn't just a "simple sandwich".

       Last year, when I heard they were moving, I decided to make the walk to the Cheese Steak Shop to say one last goodbye. With a heavy heart, I ordered my Bacon Cheese Steak (Default), and let out a deep sigh. I couldn't take it any more, so I as I was standing at the counter, I couldn't help but share my feelings with the cashier. 

      I said, "I can't believe you guys are moving to The Fort! It's so far away from my office! I really don't want you guys to leave!" Jokingly, I even offered, "Let me talk to your boss! I'll convince her to let you guys stay!". 

     She smiled and said, "Actually Sir, we're just moving to another branch in Amorsolo Avenue. When you get to the stoplight of Amorsolo and Arnaiz, just turn right. Go a few meters down, and you're there!". 

     All of a sudden it hit me. The new location is actually nearer to my office then this branch was. 

     So naturally my next response was, "Can I help you pack?"

THE MOUTH OF THE SOUTH: SODERNO AT MOLITO

In case you're new to my Blog, I just wanted to let you know that as of today (January 26, 2012), The first ever Pickiest Eater In The World Contest Giveaway is underway, and you can find out the details on how to join by clicking out the post HERE. Get a chance to win Gift Certificates for P5,000.00 worth of services from CATHY VALENCIA SKIN AND BODY CENTER! Guys, if you need pogi points with your girls, this could be your chance! (Unless you wanna use it yourself of course.. Umm.. We're not here to judge)

                Though my long awaited trip to P.F. Chang's would have been the main event to a normal man, but not to me. P.F. Chang's was only Phase 1 of my plan for that Saturday. The second phase got set into motion later that evening, when we made our way to Soderno at Molito in Alabang. 

           Though I've been to Soderno's siblings, Mercato Centrale and Distrito numerous times, this would be the very first time I would be visiting the Southern incarnation.

FIRST STOP AT THE CHEESE STEAK SHOP!

        Earlier this year, the company I work for moved offices.. From the relatively quiet C. Palanca Street in in Legaspi Village, Makati. We are now located along the bustling Arnaiz Avenue. I enjoyed working (and for a time, living) in C. Palanca street, because everything you needed was walking distance. Need to go the grocery? Go to Rustan's want to catch a movie? Go to Greenbelt. Need a place to eat? Well, apart from the obvious restaurants at Greenbelt, there were a few gems scattered around the area, such as Bob's, Plantation, and even Gustavus. 

     Arnaiz Avenue has an eclectic choice of restaurants to choose from, but they are just a bit more expensive than C. Palanca's offerings (Palanca has a Mang Inasal). I've been to a few, but I realized I haven't featured any just yet. On a day that I was ticked off at my cellular network provider for screwing me over (They have since rectified the situation), my friend, Rain offered to go with me grab a bite to eat so I could cool my head (Ahh, the healing powers of food). As we strolled along down Arnaiz Avenue, I continued to bitch about my situation with my cellular network. All of a sudden Rain stopped in her tracks to say that  she remembered that she had just seen a place called "The Cheese Steak Shop" newly opened just down the road from my office. 

     And just like that, everything was right again in the world. 

FRISCO FUSION AT HYPHY'S!

       I was surfing the net, minding my own business when I..umm..  "accidentally" ended up on the group buying site known as "Deal Grocer" (I'm really not an addict). As I mentioned from my previous Group Buying post, this was the same site that used a portion of my blog in their review of "Mochiko" (That statement is totally irrelevant to this post, but i just thought i'd mention it). I had never heard of the restaurant "Hyphy's" before (hell, I wasn't even sure how to pronounce it), but the name Bruce Lim did ring a bell with me (And not just because it sounded like Bruce Lee, either).

    The deal was "Pay P350 for P500 worth of food", so I thought it was worth a shot. Besides, I hadn't been to "The Veranda" in Robinson's Galleria yet, so I thought it would be nice to be able to drop by there for the first time in almost two years. 

    Hyphy's boasts of San Francisco inspired comfort food with a Filipino twist to it. Honestly though, at the moment, apart from "Rice-a-Roni" and Clam Chowder, I can't think of any other food that is associated with San Francisco, so i figured our trip to Hyphy's would be an interesting experience. 

FEELING PHILY'S DINER!

Challenge accepted!

        Among my immediate family members, only my sister Raquel checks out my blog with any form of regularity. My Sister Rosemarie and my brother Ryan, do not at all. However, one time, Ryan DID stumble unto my blog when he asked me if I had eaten in Kogi Bulgogi before. He took a look at a few posts and his only comment was, i'm too "mainstream". 

      Yeah, to be honest, that's not something I can really contest. But what can I do? You hear about a place, then you wanna go check it out. It's not my fault if it's usually located in a mall or something. 

     So when Groupon Philippines had a promo for "Phily's Diner", a place I had never heard of before, I thought it would be a good opportunity to uncover another hidden gem. 

A QUICK STOP AT ELBERT'S CHEESE STEAK

Is it fair that she's four months along the way, and I STILL look more pregnant than she does? 

          I was minding my own business, whilst surfing the net, when Rina's friend, Zee begins raving on facebook about a deal she got from the group buying site "Twangoo,com", for the famous Elbert's Cheese Steak Sandwiches. I've actually tried this already before, but that was around two or so years ago, so I was more than willing to get my Cheese Steak on once again.  


        The awesome Twangoo Deal I got gave me P600 bucks worth of food for only P300, so not only was I planning to pig out, but I was planning to pig out as a happy man that just saved P300 bucks (or so I thought).

THE BORACAY CHRONICLES: THE LAST NIGHT AT STEAKHOUSE BORACAY

I'm dead sexy

   
       For our last night in Boracay, I wanted to take Rina to a romantic candle light dinner.. preferably a quiet place where we could enjoy each other's company during our final hours at the beautiful island. Apparently when you're in Boracay, the ultimate party hot spot in the country, finding a "quiet place" isn't exactly the easiest thing to do. Fortunately, during our walks around Station 2, (when we weren't getting besieged by offers to go Parasailing, Jet-skiing or Reef Walking), we passed by Steakhouse Boracay quite a few times and took it into serious consideration. The last night when we were looking for a quiet place to go to, Steakhouse Boracay proved to be the closest to what we were looking for. (Not counting the guy down at the beach who rocked the Magic Sing about how he never knew it would go so far, when she left him on that boulevard, the ambiance was perfect for the romantic dinner I was hoping for.)

LET'S SEE SOME HOOTERS!!

 My very own Hooters girl.. I need to get her one of them shirts.. 

                      I went to Hooters in Baltimore during my 1998 summer vacation with my cousins Raffy and Paolo. Being the kind of guy that.. umm.. how do you say it.. is constantly being accused of being fascinated by certain "assets" of a woman, my trip to Hooters was pretty much tantamount to a trip to Disneyland. Think about it.. Burgers and Boobs? What's not to love?

                 
                You see, that's the whole selling point of Hooters. You can get grilled burgers anywhere. But how often do you get a really hot girl in skimpy orange shorts and a tight tank top that emphasizes her huge rack to serve it to you? I'm not sure if it's because of the time that has gone by that has blurred my memory, but i don't remember what I ordered and if I enjoyed my food during our trip there in '98. All i remember was that our waitress sat down with us to chat while we ate - and gawd dang she was hot.

                   With that build up alone, you can understand why I was very disappointed with my experience here in Hooters Manila.