In the many times I have gone to Eastwood Mall, I never once went past the mall entrance of the ground floor which is marked by one of fave restaurants, Momo. So when I was invited to dinner with friends in a place called "Old Vine Grille" (at the ground floor outer area of the mall), I couldn't picture where it was located exactly. After following the instructions from a couple of SMS messages, I arrived at the restaurant at last.
From outside, the Old Vine Grille evokes of a mix of Old World-New World feel -- the exterior is made of tall glass panels with the lighted restaurant sign resting on a bed of red bricks while the inside glows from the golden yellow walls adorned with modern and antique-looking paintings. Overhead, the ceiling is open and only partially covered by green wooden trellis, decorated with grape vines and pumpkin-shaped lamps.
Old Vine Grille is such a cozy place to wine, dine and chat with family and friends. It even has a function room that seats a group of 12 if you want your gathering to be private. The staff are friendly, attentive and are well versed with the ingredients and description of the fusion of continental cuisine offered in the menu.
For starters, we ordered fruit shakes and when the drinks arrived, we couldn't help but take photos of the colorful concoctions served in cute glasses with fresh fruit accents. Mine was the watermelon shake and it was so refreshing and naturally sweet.
For appetizers, the restaurant personnel recommended we first try the Pan-fried Foie Gras Salad. The rich looking salad was also rich tasting -- the foie gras was well cooked but juicy and the flavor was enhanced by the delish raspberry honey sauce and the still crunchy apple ragout.
Next we ordered the special Tessie Tomas Salad. Yes, you read it right, the salad was named after one of Philippines' great actresses, Ms. Tessie Tomas. We were told that Tessie Tomas, who frequented Le Souffle, requested a special salad mix from the chef who happened to be her good friend. So the chef put together a combination of roasted prawns, marinated salmon, and roasted shitake mushrooms with mesclun salad in a creamy Balsamic dressing and tada! the Tessie Tomas Salad was created. The greens were fresh and crispy; the dressing is flavorful as it is but was more more delectable by the roasted prawns and marinated salmon. I also love the generous serving of Parmesan flakes on top.
Since we were a big group, we decided that each one would order individually a dish that can be shared to everyone so that we can try several dishes in one night. And because the guys outnumbered the girls in the group, we ended up having several meat dishes and most of them steaks. I tried being a pesco-vegetarian for the past 3 years and it was only this year that I got back to eating meat (note: sparingly) so I was sort of apprehensive yet excited at the same time to try what my companions ordered.
The Steak and Escargot is quite a unique combination that I haven't encountered before. The US top blade steak seasoned with Cajun spices is well done and the escargot (snails) bourguignon is tender and the flavor evokes that of the sea. The dish is well complemented with the au jus (natural juice of the steak) and potatoes.
The Steak and Shrimp has a sweet and tangy barbecue flavor, making the blackened steak top blade and barbecue shrimp so lip-smackingly good. The baked potato wedges are simply diving.
The Steak Tagalog is one soothing comfort food. The pan-seared US beef slices in soy-calamansi and onion sauce truly captures the Filipino beef steak flavor, only more refined. Served with potatoes and aubergine (eggplants) on the side.
The Baby Back Ribs American Favorite Barbecue is super tender that the meat easily glides from the bone. The delicious sweet hickory sauce is heavenly and it added zest to the potatoes and baked beans.
For the more sophisticated diner, the Lamb Shank Pinot Noir is a must-try. I am not a fan of lamb but I love wine so this dish is interesting for me. The meat has that "melt-in-your-mouth" texture and has that strong wine flavor to it since the lamb was marinated in red wine, grilled and then braised. It is served with yummy mashed potatoes on the side, with roasted shallots and garlic for added flavor.
The Baked Cream Dory is obviously a healthier option to the steaks but the dish did not leave us feeling short-changed because of the unique savory taste it gave, probably from the mushroom duxelles in tomato garlic coulis. The baked cream dory was perfectly paired with well-seasoned al dente angel hair pasta.
Another pasta dish is the Old Vine Pasta and given its name, it is one of the restaurants house specialties. Simply put, it is fetuccine tossed in mild spicy vegetable pangritata (pasta topping using breadcrumbs, in lieu of parmesan cheese) with prawns. The dish has strong galicky tomato flavor with just the right acidity.
Rice eaters can rejoice because they can try the best tasting fried rice in town, apart from Yang Chow. The Beef Salpicao Fried Rice is super tasty, well-cooked without making the rice dry. Good enough as a meal itself since the dish includes a generous serving of salpicao beef chunks.
The Stir Fried Seafood Paella is another rice-based dish to look forward to. Like the salpicao fried rice, the rice is not cooked dry and the seafood ingredients are fresh as the dish does not emit a "fishy" aroma.
With the long list of food you have read by now, you'd think that we'd be full already and pass up on dessert. Admittedly, some of us don't have enough room left in our tummy for some sweet treats but we wouldn't want to regret not try at least 3 desserts that we can share among us.
The Belgian Chocolate Fondue is a fun way to share the guilt of eating dessert with family and friends. The melted belgian chocolate sauce is sweet and smooth and the thickness is just right to coat the marshmallow and assorted fruits that come with it.
For some local flavors, we ordered the Ube Cheesecake Brulee and the Banana-Langka Crepe Samurai. The Ube Cheesecake Brulee is a hands down winner as it disappeared rather quickly from its serving dish. Heaven on a plate, the ube cheesecake has that sweet-salty combination flavor, coupled with super smooth texture. Not to be outshined was the Banana-Langka Crepe Samurai which looked like a creme brulee on a round dish. One bite and you will notice the strong sweet langka flavor, made more intense by the caramel sauce. These two desserts were a sweet surprise because of the authentic Pinoy flavors prepared and presented as world-class temptations.
While winding down from the sumptous dinner, we took the liberty to ask the staff some information on Old Vine Grille. We were told that the Old Vine Grille has two branches already -- this one in Eastwood opened in February 2009 while the other one in Venice Piazza opened in November 2009. Old Vine Grille is a steakhouse that takes pride in their best-sellers called the Larry & Mau Steak and Barbecue creations, concocted by the owners -- Larry Cortez and executive chef Mauro Arjona, Jr. -- based on combinations they both enjoy and which they felt will also be enjoyed by others. Both Eastwood and Venice Piazza branches operate from 11 am to 11 pm on Mondays thru Thursdays; 11 am to 12 mn on Fridays and Saturdays; and 10 am to 11 pm on Sundays.
I wanted to share this dining experience with my family so I'm going back soon to try their other offerings. Of course, I am ordering the unforgettable Tessie Tomas Salad and the Ube Cheesecake Brulee on my next visit but I won't be sharing them, my companions would have to order their own. :)
