margarita Archives - Between Bites - Bites of Food, Travel and Lifestyle

Arriba! Chihuahua Mexican Grill and Margarita Bar

September 1, 2011 by Janey

Last August 11, 2011, I was still feeling quite tired from the 16-hour flight (which doesn’t include layover hours) I took the day before returning to Manila. But no matter how tired the body is, the mind tummy is stronger. That is why that very evening, I saw myself with Spanky and fellow foodies at the newest Mexican spot to hit the metro.

I’ve wanted to visit Chihuahua since it opened but barely found the time. Mexican food is one of my top favorites that Bubba and I were willing to travel all the way to Pampanga to taste good Mexican cuisine. I love the bright colors and the bright flavors that different tacos and burritos bring. Chihuahua definitely did not disappoint.

Photo Credit: Richard of www.TalesfromtheTummy.com

Chihuahua is situated right across A. Venue along Makati Avenue and has started to create more noise for the area especially during its themed nights like Chips and Dale night and their Salsa nights. Right at the helm of the party scene and Tex-Mex restaurant vibe are the couple Ines Cabarrus and Elian Habayeb of music and wine radio.

Restaurant is quite spacious for moving and bumping hips. Walls are adorned with Mexican icons like Ricardo Montalban, which got me laughing hysterically because I finally saw his photo. I have baptized my friend Richard of www.TalesfromtheTummy.com “Ricardo” a few months back and I’m trying to get everyone to call him that. Sexaaay eh?

On the Table

Chihuarita PHP 195

While waiting for the others, we sipped a glass or two of Chihuarita –this is Chihuahua’s version of margarita. It tastes so light and so good –just a lemony hint that’s not too acidic and right amount of sugar. It gets you in a bubbly mood because the alcohol creeps in slow and soft but hits you right up. I also love that the salt on the rim of the cups are spiced up for that extra kick. Purrr-fect!

Nacho Grande PHP 245

This starter gets the conversation going and going like an Energizer battery. This was clearly a favorite on the table with a bowl of crunchy yellow chips cascaded with tasty chili beans, gooey guacamole, salsa of tomato and onion, jalapeno, 2 kinds of cheese and generous sour cream. You shouldn’t miss ordering this when you’re at Chihuahua.

Chihuahua’s simple menu is on their red boards and it’s only 4 steps. Step 1 is choosing between pork, steak, chicken or vegetarian. Step 2 is whether you’ll have your choice in a taco, burrito, burrito bowl or salad. You can be done by Stage 2 but if you’re an eater like me, Step 3 will never be ignored.

This is where you choose accompaniments or appetizers for your meal. 5 choices are provided that includes Mexican rice, Chili, Nacho Grande, Chips and Queso, and Tortilla Soup. Step 4 is the drinks which are actually a collection of imported beers, sodas and even an imported mineral water. [Read more…]

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EL’s Birthday at Bugsy’s

June 25, 2009 by Janey

Pat obediently following my instructions to reserve a table for 6, indoors and couch area secured us a table at Bugsy’s Tuesday night. My friend Eric is experiencing Murphy’s Law since the start of the month and the biggest blow was about his work –news that broke only last week. On top of that, he lost a mobile phone, nicked his Mazda and is currently nursing a forlorn heart.

EL celebrates his birthday every 23^rd of June. What a way to welcome a birthday right?

But like what they say, it’s hard to put a good man down.

EL still celebrated his birthday in tasteful fashion with friends over drinks and good food.

Bubba and I were first to arrive but we were an hour early so we were off to Big Bert’s for a carwash. We came back to Bugsy’s and found Pat on our reserved table. Of course, as Eric’s spokesperson, he briefed us with Eric’s mishap in the recent week.

On the Table

Buffalo Tenders (2) PHP 175

Imagine your favorite Buffalo wings with all the tangy spicy goodness without the bones! No more working out tediously to get the meat out. In every piece there’s a flake of crispy skin that makes it all the more addicting. I can eat this all day. Pat is not found of spicy dishes but he loved this obvious when he wiped out one plate.

The Family PHP 265

I ordered Warren’s Dip and Chips but it wasn’t available so I tried their appetizer sampler, The Family. The Family was composed of potato wedges, mozzarella sticks (that I didn’t get to try. *shooting a mean look to Bubba*) and buffalo tenders.

French Fries PHP 150 (?)

Deep Fried Burger Melt PHP 165

Burger meat, cheese in deep fried spring roll

Uncle Moe’s Beef Kebab Plate (2) PHP 130

I had to have my rice and I was craving for beef kebab. Bugsy’s was nice enough to let us bring in the food from their neighbor and serve it on a plate. You help your neighbor and you increase both your foot traffic –always good for business.

Margarita PHP 130

I love my margarita. I find it funny that they served it on a Martini glass.

Arctic Vodka (2)

Bottles and Bottles of Beer PHP 50

There is so much to love about Bugsy’s. The wait staff is really gracious, speedy and efficient. You wouldn’t mind hanging out with them on a Friday night. The food is nothing but delish particularly the mouth-watering appetizers! Price on the drink list is reasonable. There are no frills –just straightforward scrumptious dishes, reasonable price and quality service that always please. It seems to be the homiest hangout spot to enjoy beer drinking with friends, colleagues or sport groups.

Fred and Madz followed afterwards. It’s been more than 5 years since I last seen Fred. He still looks pretty much the same except that in this dinner he brought with him MUSCLES. Every time we look at him, he flexes them muscles. When he asks for beer from the wait staff, he flexes them muscles. When he laughs, them muscles flex.

"Pat, I know you enjoy our company... but what's with the BIG smile?"

Of course, Pat (as Eric’s VOLUNTARY spokesperson) had to share AGAIN with the latecomers Eric’s misfortunes. After much sympathy to EL, we know that our presence there is not to sulk with him but to remind him the comfort of having friends around at times like this. We remind him that as long as there is tomorrow, there is always another day of possibilities.

So we exchanged stories one after the other. Eric and Pat reminisced about the time there was a swimming get-together at Fay’s house. My girlfriends (Gina, King and Fay) and Fay’s other girl group were there while I was MIA since my parents didn’t allow me to stay out late during college days. Then-chubby Fred didn’t bring any swimming attire. He had to wear Fay’s badminton shorts that were sheer. We all doubled over laughing. They both demonstrated how Fred swam that evening like he was playing shark. Most of the time, he was sitting in one corner playing with Fay’s nephew trying to be unmindful of the beautiful girls that surround him. It was so hilarious. Fred evens the score when he tells us about the time Eric was so wasted and the Eng boys bathe him. He was so smashed that he didn’t know they were playing with his “cockpit where he keeps his gun”.

At this point, Fred was still flexing his muscles as he tells the story. The other tables were also getting as distracted as we were.

Bubba saw some Xavier friends while Chai walked up to me and surprised me.

We ordered another round of Buffalo Tenders. It was everybody’s first time there except for Bubba and I. They really liked the food and that makes me cheery. The humor and energy were nothing short of an upbeat tempo. The drinks continue to flow. We literally laughed our hearts out –it’s been quite a while since my abdomen had this heavy workout.

Little miss bo beep with the Engineering boys

Oh, Fred looks so much like Jake Cuenca when he laughs. With bigger muscles. Madz had to take another shot of Arctic Vodka to reluctantly agree. At this instant, Eric reminds me that it’s his birthday not Fred’s.

Effortlessly, the dynamics in the group bring so much energy to the table conversation.

Bubba and I excused us to go to Barcino and get Eric a cake. Good thing that Bugsy’s had a birthday candle on hand when we asked for one. To Eric’s embarrassment, we sang the Happy Birthday song.

It was a workweek and we had to call it a night. Pat was still raring to continue elsewhere. Eric and Fred were on board but Madz, Bubba and I had to beg off. Pat was convincing Madz to go when Eric unintentionally knocked the bottle that drenched Pat’s pants. I think Pat’s pants absorbed all spill because the red couch he was sitting on was spotless. That was our queue to get the bill. We were supposed to treat Eric and split the bill but Pat was insistent on letting Eric pay –how ironically funny.

On the way out, I snatched Fred’s jacket as soon as he stood up. He stares at the chair for a few seconds and then looks under the table. He looks at me and said, “Did you see my jacket?” He looks bewildered and shy, “I think I lost my jacket…” with his voice trailing off. I rapidly hand off the jacket to Madz from my back. I asked him, “did you bring a jacket?” He responds, “Yea, remember you were teasing me that I took it off to show off my muscles when I got in?” “Really,” I respond biting my lip to keep from laughing. He had this super worried look on his face that Bubba, Eric, Madz and I tried the darndest to stifle our laughter. Madz and Pat went out ahead while we wait for Fred to look for his jacket. He couldn’t resist and timidly asked the waiter if they saw a jacket. That’s the time I had to tell him and point outside to Madz.

We had such a commanding happy night that it took us another hour to say goodbye. It was already midnight.

Spotted: Zanjoe Marudo, Epi Quizon, Drew Arellano, Jake Cuenca (oh, that was Fred, my mistake)

Bugsy’s

Unit C-105 City Golf Plaza

Julia Vargas Avenue, Pasig City, MM

(632) 489-4985

Bugsy’s Album

EL’s Birthday Album

Related Post

Bugsy’s

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Jalapeño

June 1, 2009 by Janey

Every now and then one stumbles upon a restaurant that is a great value, very casual, very unpretentious and very Mexican. That is what happened to Bubba and me last Friday. For our Friday night dinner date, he brought me to a Mexican restaurant called Jalapeño in Ortigas Home Depot.

Jalapeño serves authentic Mexican cuisine in a uniquely decorated setting. The quaint yellow walled duplex, dimly lit, sets the mood for a vibrant and exciting restaurant. The bar is set right outside by the wooden door. The liquid soap in the wash area is contained in a Jose Cuervo tequila bottle. Details though few add to the Mexican flair. The wooden chairs however are solidly stiff that make hours long of sitting on it tough.

Pictures are not up to the standard quality I want them to be because of the low lights and my faulty point and shoot.

On the Table

Grilled Tomato and Cheese Quesadilla PHP 125

5-inch tortilla, tomato, cheese, sour cream and onion. Our order was simple, 1 Pepper Steak Fajitas and 1 Jalapeño Cheese Enchilada. The grilled tomato and cheese quesadilla was served on our table and I checked twice with the server if this was enchilada because it sure looked like a quesadilla to me. The answer was yes. I looked skeptical but was given the same answer. Plain enchilada use the same ingredients as quesadilla, difference is enchilada is layers of tortilla and cheese baked. I shrugged and thought to myself that this might be their version of enchilada.

We started to dig on the dish. Bubba and I gave each other approving looks because the dish was yummy! It tasted like it was made from scratch, fresh and hot! The flavor was simple but very tasty. Put a small amount of salsa on top for an added zing. Goodness that melts on your mouth.

We were being served the pepper steak burrito right after. I shook my head and said that we ordered Pepper Steak Fajitas.

10 minutes into our meal, the order taker approaches our table with the Pepper Steak Burrito again saying that I ordered it. He claims that he repeated the order and said Pepper Steak BURRITO. I insisted that I said Fajitas because I remember repeating the order twice. With all the noise from the radio blasting outside and the ruckus of the drinking group on the second level (plus the fact that I didn’t want to ruin our dinner), I gave him the benefit of the doubt that we misunderstood each other. I said okay to the burrito since I didn’t want it to be paid under his tab. But I made a point for him to know that I did repeat the order twice for his understanding. We also told him to add the fajitas to our order because it was really what we wanted to eat.

Pepper Steak Burrito PHP 175

8-inch tortilla, beef tenderloin, Mexican rice, refried beans, onions, cheese, salsa, sour cream. I didn’t touch this because it didn’t really look appetizing at all. Bubba only finished half of it saying that it lacked in taste.

Paella Balls from Hermanos

We love the paella balls from Hermanos so Bubba ordered the dish from the next-door neighbor.

Pepper Steak Fajitas PHP 285

Beef Tenderloin strips, onions, cheese, bell pepper, sour cream, Mexican salsa, Mexican rice, guacamole and 3 pcs tortilla. The beef is moist, tender and flavorful, accompanied by Mexican rice and green bell peppers/onions served on a sizzling dish. It is almost as good as Zapata’s minus the flavorful peppery spice that Zapata’s has on its beef. Nevertheless, this dish was also a real winner with generous helping of sour cream, Mexican salsa, Mexican rice and guacamole on the side.

Bubba and I always enjoy ordering Fajitas because it allows us to touch our food and it’s so much fun to create your own burrito. You can always add more of the ingredients or sauces you want.

Another server approaches us with another dish. This time the dish he was holding looked like enchilada. He then explains that we were served the wrong dish and my suspicion that our first dish was quesadilla was right on the money. He said that the quesadilla will be on the house and apologizes briefly for the confusion.

I guess I did say the orders right after all. The staff was really the one baffled with the dishes. We shouldn’t be paying for the Pepper Steak burrito that we never wanted in the first place. Sigh, oh well. I’m so glad that the fajitas and quesadilla were lip-smacking good that it really saved the evening!

Jalapeño Cheese Enchilada PHP 175

2 layers of cheese, jalapeno and sauces.

Lemon Iced Tea PHP 60

Had the right citrus flavor without being too sour. A very invigorating drink right after all the intense Mexican flavors playing on the palate.

Jalapeño Classic Margarita PHP 130

Margarita can sometimes be sour and bitter at the same time but this one isn’t. It wasn’t too strong and good enough to loosen you up without the hard-hitting headache.

This is a great place to go to have an authentic Mexican dinner. Delicious food, relaxed atmosphere at a reasonable price. If you don’t have the time to drive all the way to Pampanga, I think this is the next best thing to the best Mexican feast in town.

Jalapeño

Ortigas Home Depot (Right beside Hermano’s)

Doña Julia Vargas Avenue cor. Meralco Avenue,

Pasig City.

Jalapeño Album

Related Post

Zapata’s

Agave Mexican Cantina

Hermanos

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Margarita King Night

December 2, 2008 by Janey

Image source Spot.ph

Margarita is one of my favorite drinks to order when I do decide to “drink.” I’m excited that the usual lackluster Margarita will be brought to new heights. I’m going to learn more later, YAY!