San fernando Archives - Between Bites - Bites of Food, Travel and Lifestyle

January 23, 2009 by Janey

People, friends and strangers alike, always tend to ask me this one difficult question, “What is your favorite food?” This is a question I am yet to answer myself since I do not have a single answer. It will definitely be a multiple answer like combine or complex sentences we learn in primary school. My answer would come in different shapes and sizes –even different cultural heritage. Their follow-up is always, “what type of cuisine,” I still find some difficulty answering this because I love food in general. I’m passionate about food –I’m passionate about eating. But when they keep nudging for an answer, my heart calls me to say, Mexican.

Mexican. Mexican. Mexican. I love Mexican because their food is as multihued as their culture –vibrant and colorful. They’d smile as they hear me say this. Finally there’s something to garble on. Sometimes I hesitate to answer because the next question I know I wouldn’t have a definite. “What is the best Mexican restaurant?” TOUGH. Whenever I need a Mexican fix, I get it from Mexicali, Tia Maria’s, et al. But I can’t utter a name that does not bring out the fervor I have for Mexican food… not until I encountered Zapata’s.

Emiliano Zapata as a president of village council, he campaigned for village lands confiscated by Hacendados. His slogan was “Tierray Libertad,” which probably meant free land advocating that lands should not be foreign-owned.

Good reviews about Zapata’s are abound and that’s one of the reasons why it was on top of mind when we were in Pampanga for a food trip. We tried Everybody’s Café (San Fernando) for lunch and traveled to Angeles Pampanga to have dinner at this Mexican restaurant. From San Fernando, it took us 1 hour to get to Zapata since we got a little bit lost. At around 8pm, we reach the place.

As you enter the heavy mahogany-type wooden door, you would see the fully stocked bar on the left and the main dining area on the right. The 50-seater capacity has two dining rooms separated by a green abaca (?) woven partition garlanded with little sombreros, garlic bulbs, guitar and chilies. The color scheme of green and red reveals its Mexican heritage from the chairs to the Caramba sauces, placemat, sombrero display, and chilies. The wall is also bedecked with lizards, sombreros, sun, corn, and onion bulbs. Looking south, black outline conscripts the boxed floor.

Details are evident in the design of this space. The swinging entrance door operates by weights. Another swinging door leads to the kitchen. Bricks outline the bottom of the walls. Framed photos of Emiliano Zapata decorate the walls and counter tops. The bar has a display of Mexican drinks, mostly variety of tequila and there’s a lone parrot with Corona. Washrooms are tagged as Señorita/Damas and Señor/Caballero. Corona Extra Nightlight gives a Saloon vibe. Plastic cacti livens the area while a Mexico flag by the ceiling and vintage cash register seal the deal.

Perusing the menu, we’re glad to see that price was affordable. We placed our food order and satisfied to see that following the ambience, the presentation and taste were also as appetizing.

On the Table

Tortilla Soup PHP 80

Delicious combination of chicken broth, vegetables, spices ladled over tortilla strips. It was the ideal soup to warm our appetites. The warm broth silenced my hunger pangs while its flat taste slow-tuned the burst of flavors we’re about to sample.

Quesadilla PHP 130

Lightly grilled flour tortillas filled with imported cheese, onions and jalapenos. For Bubba, it was the Quesadilla that started the pact. It had the right proportion of cheese, onion and jalapeno to enjoy every bite.

Chili Con Carne PHP 95

Originally a Texan dish, which has become a “Border favorite,” served with diced onions and shredded cheese. The tortilla was served on an enclosed shallow clay pot container. It had more beans than the beef but it was delish nevertheless. I think Chili con Carne is better with tortilla than cornbread.

Fajitas PHP 290

Grilled strips of marinated beef brought sizzling to your plate with Mexican refried rice and grilled peppers. Served with tortillas, salsa, and sour cream. Their sizzling plate was served on a larger than usual wood plank that saves my hand/arm from getting scalded. The beef was well marinated and grilled to perfection –it was really soft and juicy. The fun part was filling our tortilla sheets with beef, refried rice, grilled peppers, sour cream, salsa the way we individually liked it.

Strawberry Margarita PHP 150

Beer PHP

I told Bubba that he’d heighten his adoration for Mexican food with a cold bottle of beer. Beer complements the cuisine.

The medley of different flavors represents Mexico’s lively multicolored chow culture.

Zapata’s irrevocably gave me a definite answer to Q3. After several years in the business, Zapata’s still has a comfortable and pleasing ambience. The servers are professional, knowledgeable and courteous… and the food, clearly outstanding.