The Frazzled Cook: The Pancake à la Mode Takes the Cake

 The Frazzled Cook’s décor recalls a charming country cottage furnished with flea market finds. It is certainly a pleasure to dine in.

However, you’ll have to be selective about your food choices because they have a few ungainly dishes, including the paella negra, which had overdone rice and lacked the full flavor of squid ink, and the pork chop, which was a bit tough.

The sizzling squid was flavorful. The squid was cooked perfectly, and the vinaigrette and pickled mangoes provided an interesting flavor element.

The scampi pizza could satisfy a craving if you’re not looking for the smoky, wood-fired variety. It is akin to 3M Pizza, albeit more generous with its toppings of tomatoes, bell peppers and kesong puti.

The barbecued short ribs were good but still short of fantastic.

The best option for mains or pasta is the truffle pasta with Portobello mushrooms and white sauce, an almost no-fail combination, if I may say so.

The absolute standout was the pancake a la mode, which was once described by Chuvaness as the best pancake in the world.

I don’t know if I will bestow it such singular honor but I have to agree that the pancake was pretty darn special. It was crisp around the edges, more dense than fluffy, and buttery as all things evil should be. After sharing one, we ordered two more. And we’re coming back for more.

While the pancake a la mode is, hands-down, the best bet for dessert, their other desserts are also good, like the chocolate mousse that Julia ordered and the crepe cake I got to try with my dear friend Yamine during our long-overdue reunion a month ago. 

Our meal ended on an interesting note when I ordered Alamid coffee. The waiter asked me if I preferred mild or strong. I opted for the former.

I was surprised when a contraption that looked like it was smuggled out of a science lab arrived at our table. It turned out to be a siphon coffee maker, which is ideal for making a delicate cup. Click on the video above to see how my coffee was brewed using this coffee siphoning method.

Dinner with my dear Yamine. This was our first visit to The Frazzled Cook. 

Weekend lunch with my foodie family

The Frazzled Cook
78 Scout Gandia,
Brgy. Laging Handa, Quezon City
Phone (632) 374-6879

Apartment 1B: Gourmet Comfort Food

If you’ve been following my blog or Instagram account, you’ll know that comfort cooking is the quickest to my heart. Trendy, cutting edge cooking has its place but they tend to come and go. Feel-good foods are forever.

One restaurant whose menu epitomizes home cooking is Apartment 1B, which earned its repute nine years ago as a neighborhood joint offering “gourmet comfort food” in Salcedo Village, Makati. It has since opened another branch in One Rockwell.

Its exhaustive menu is filled with much-loved standards such as meatloaf, beef pie, macaroni and cheese, and grilled cheese and tomato sandwich.



Judd keeps going back for the narcotizing embrace of its mushroom-gravy-laden meatloaf while I like hopping from one classic to another, like the roasted chicken and the three-cheese lasagna.



I always shied away from the osso bucco because I thought it was overly expensive at P1500. I finally succumbed and found it to be one of the best I’ve ever tried (the best so far being the version I tasted last year at Dante’s in Florence). The fork-tender, delectable parcel of Australian veal shank sprinkled with gremolata was sitting on a bed of saffron risotto rimmed by a pool of rich, luscious sauce. I could do without the risotto but the osso bucco was a triumph for meat.



For dessert, I often opt for the spongy cakes over cheesecake but the waiter assured me that the white Toblerone cheesecake is one of their best cakes. Delivering delightful bits of white Toblerone chocolate with every bite, it was a showstopper.

Dean & DeLuca: Fine New-York-style Pizzas and Pastries

Dean & DeLuca’s Rockwell branch is making New York proud, thanks to the beautifully blistered crust of their pizzas and their uber-moist cakes and pastries.

Dean & DeLuca is a prominent gourmet food chain dedicated to all things delicious. While the Rockwell branch offers a selection of bottled specialty items on sale, it really is more a restaurant.



The smoke and heat of Dean & DeLuca’s wood-fired brick oven work their magic in their pies, giving the thin crust a chewiness and char that go so well with the oozing mozzarella and acidic tomatoes. Their Margherita Parma is spruced up with Parma ham, a mound of arugula leaves drizzled with sweet balsamic vinegar, and finally topped with shavings of Parmigiano. It was lip smacking.

I’ve also tried the braised US Angus beef short ribs during a previous visit, which grew more delicious with every bite. I wanted to order it again but I had to force myself to try other items in their menu.

I thought they made a good attempt with their grilled cheese sandwich, which had a sweet note from the apple chutney. However, I’ve had better (hello, Wildflour).



What I thought was a miss was the gratinated baked oysters, which didn’t taste fresh.



Dean & DeLuca must have a pastry whisperer in the kitchen because their desserts were top-notch. The banana quinoa bread is perfect with coffee for breakfast. I loved the buttery sheets of their flaky kouign-amann. Their carrot cake was enticingly moist and nutty.

I do hope Dean & DeLuca brings in their full range of gourmet food items and make it easier for us to do our own deli dining at home. I also hope they would improve their spotty service. Their waitstaff were well-trained and attentive but the ones manning the takeout counter weren't fully acquainted with what was on their menu. I'm sure they could do better.

Grace Park: Farm-To-Table Comfort Cooking

I am at the risk of looking like a Margarita Fores groupie but I simply need to write about Grace Park, her farm-to-table restaurant at One Rockwell that scores points for its food as well as its rough-hewn organic-industrial-eclectic interiors.

Gaita is one of the country’s most recognized locavores who rely on area purveyors for the ingredients that go into their food.

For me, I rely on Gaita for flavors that hit my comfort spot.



Take this three-cheese meatballs spaghettini. Those who like meatballs as I do would know that good meatballs are hard to find beyond the confines of our own home. My version is crusted with garlic, and toasted on the outside, moist in the inside. Gaita’s is the Italian version, soft and moist all over and with just the right amount of fennel. I really should try other items on her menu but this is the one I always end up going back for, again and again.

This recent visit, I got to try Grace Park’s rendition of the classic grilled cheese sandwich. Slathered with butter, the sourdough bread offered a satisfying crunch. Each bite provided an interplay of sharp gooeyness and tiny daggers of tanginess from the mix of cheddar, Asiago and Fontina. A tiny canister of honey is served on the side if you need something sweet to dip into, but you won’t need it. I would, however, have loved an accompaniment of thick roasted-tomato soup for perfect rainy weather grub.

Manila Hotel's Cowrie Grill: A Fine Dining Classic At A New Location

I love dining at old, familiar places almost as much as discovering new ones. When I’m in the mood for a quiet dinner, Cowrie Grill in Greenhills is one of the places that immediately come to my mind. It’s near enough my place of work and I always get attentive yet unobtrusive service.

I usually go there with company and, when I do, I like to split a New York cut steak with someone.

The steak is served with a choice of mashed potatoes or baked potato, and three sauces—béarnaise, peppercorn, and mushroom. But they always season the steak to my liking that I usually don’t feel the need for any other flavor.



I’ve dined there alone once when I needed to continue working past my regular hours. I picked a seat in one of the private dining alcoves and was left in the company of my own thoughts for two blissful hours.

I had a serving of baked oyster Rockefeller with a glass of Chardonnay, and then a bowl of penne con salmone affumicato e panna. Thanks to the alcohol, bivalves, carbohydrates and solitude, I went home very relaxed.

I returned to Cowrie Grill today with my foodie family. We ordered the usual, plus a Caesar salad, which was prepared tableside. You could tell a good restaurant by how well they do something that is so simple.

Cowrie Grill is known for their tableside preparations, which are always fun to watch, especially with the youngsters in our family who love to learn how their food is made.