71 GRAMERCY: RISING ABOVE THE REST

   This marks my first collaboration with Eugene Constantino, the food blogger more famously known as "Hefty Foodie", whom I feel is perhaps one of.. if not THE BEST Food Photographer out there today. The "collaboration" is actually a result of my DSLR conking out on me, and Eugene selflessly volunteering to provide me pictures for my blog. Thanks so much buddy! You saved my ass!

       I'm not much of a drinker, and I don't like going out at night. I've said time and time again that it usually takes a promise of great food or an epic movie. I was graciously invited to join my fellow bloggers at 71 Gramercy to see the metro's hottest night spot, and I politely declined. Yes, I know people are lining up to get in, and here I am, offered to get a tour of the place, and I say no. 

    The thing is, running the show as the General Manager is the stunning Chef Cecille Chang of Silk Road fame (In my opinion, the best Thai Restaurant in the metro). And if you have met Chef Cecille before, you know that this is a woman that you do not say no to. 

    A couple of days before the event, I got a call from Chef. In her sweet voice, she asked me, "Hi Richie! Are you busy? Can you talk?". "Of course Chef, how may I help you?", I replied. All of a sudden, the sugar coated tone was lost, and she responded with a fiery, "Why aren't you joining us for dinner at 71 Gramercy? I want you and Rina there! It's not the same without you!". 

   Let me just say, when someone like Chef Cecille wants you to go to her restaurant, YOU GO TO HER RESTAURANT. The mere fact that she bothered to call meant a lot to me, so I promptly cancelled my plans for that day, and decided I'd be going to 71 Gramercy. 

    And I'm glad I did. I was expecting it to be a night of drinking, which is why I wasn't really too keen on going in the first place. But then I soon discovered that we would be tasting the menu that 71 Gramercy's Executive Chef, Carlo Miguel has prepared. 

HOUSE OF WAGYU: A NEW SAGA BEGINS

         It was in late 2014 that I had what was perhaps the greatest steak dinners I've ever had in my lifetime. I've always been more of a quality over quantity guy, so it wasn't so much about the number of steaks that what was placed in front of me, but the incredible level of tenderness and flavor that I had never experienced before in all my years of being a lover of all things steak. Nonetheless, imagine an evening, having four different cuts of mouth-watering, High grade Wagyu Steaks sizzling in stone slabs right in front of you? It's hard to imagine a steak dinner getting any better than that! 

     Or so I thought.  

      Just when I thought I would never find higher quality of meat than I did that magical evening, House of Wagyu once again raises the bar when it comes to steak dining in the Philippines, by introducing to our shores The A5 Prime Grade 11 Wagyu from the Saga Prefecture in Japan.

AN ANNIVERSARY TO REMEMBER AT CRU STEAKHOUSE

       All the good things I have going on in my life is the result of falling in love with my wife, Rina. Let's enumerate: As you may have noticed, I have a daughter that is not just beautiful, but incredibly sharp and well mannered.. Something I attribute to Rina's role as a mother. My relationship with my family is better than ever because of her being the calming voice of reason that I never had in my life before. 

   And lastly, I don't know if I've said this enough, but without Rina, there is no Pickiest Eater Blog. It was her fondness for food photography, this blog would never have gotten started. Not to mention, I can't take pictures for crap, so yeah, the brains behind this operation is really Rina.. I'm just the "Pretty Face". 

     Fine, maybe just "The Face". 

    I'm professing my love for my wife right now because we were set to celebrate our 7th year anniversary last January 6, but it never came to fruition because I got stuck in line trying to renew my license. I had planned on taking her out for a nice steak dinner at a posh place, but because I arrived a little bit later than I should have at the LTO Satellite office, we ended up having a meal at SM Pasig Center. Not the most romantic place to take your wife for your 7th year anniversary, I know, but the circumstances couldn't be helped. 

   But the funny part is, it didn't matter to Rina.. AT ALL. She kept insisting that it doesn't matter where we eat.. She was fine with it, as long as we were together. But that's precisely why I fell in love with her.. How she manages to find contentment and appreciation in everything in life.. Even with the most mundane things. One time, for a present, I asked what she preferred: a P4,000 Gift certificate to Mango or P4,000 Gift certificate to Zara. She answered, "Two thousand pesos cash for St. Francis Square". 

   But I wanted to show her how much I appreciate the way she takes care of Rain and I. True, we eat out all the time for the blog, but this time I wanted to take her out to a romantic dinner, not because we need content for "The Pickiest Eater", but because we simply wanted to celebrate our union together, and the blessings that have come our way. 

     Rina let me do the choosing for the restaurant, but had said that she wanted steak, which as a testament of how she and were truly destined for one another, was exactly what I wanted as well. I had earlier researched some places where we could go enjoy a nice steak dinner, and one of the names the cropped up was Cru Steakhouse in Marriott Hotel. After the whole license debacle, Rina and I decided to postpone our date, while keeping Cru on the list of possible candidates.  

      A week later, my friends from Marriott Manila invited me to get a taste of the world renowned Marriott experience. Apart from the overnight stay in a beautiful Executive Room, we were given a special surprise..

     A romantic Three Course Steak Dinner for two at Cru Steakhouse.. The Perfect way to celebrate our anniversary!