Birthday blessings come when there are many other celebrants who want to treat and eat out in unfamiliar places. I joined friends some time ago when House of Chops at Outlook Drive opened and I enjoyed the meat. I brought my foodie group of classmates to this place because I enjoyed their good meats best.
The skillet chicken and potatoes is a complete meal in itself. It includes grilled chicken baked with marble potatoes and cherry tomatoes, then garnished with rosemary, dill, and crunchy garlic (if I’m right). The sweetness of the cherry tomatoes and chewy bite-sized potatoes with a slice of the chicken in one spoonful bursts with flavors that blend well.
On its own, the juicy chicken is marinated then grilled to caramelized perfection, then baked again to make the marinating liquid flavor the meat to the bones. Children will delight in the soft juicy meat while adults will enjoy the deconstructed tomato sauce.
The mushroom rice pilaf is a part of the group meal with the beef belly with gravy. Pinoy eaters must have the carbohydrates to balance their meals. This is sauteed with caramelized onion bits and mushrooms and garnished with garlic and parsley. It does not steal the flavors from the main dishes.
The slow-roasted beef belly with gravy and mashed potatoes is always a winner. The cook just left the beef a little longer over the coals and made the top a little chewier than normal, but this didn’t rob the meat of its natural smack.
Slow roasting naturally commits to the melt in your mouth effect on the meat which was a tad missed. The gravy added tastiness and the mashed potatoes the finishing touch to the beef experience. There are some eating joints that present fluffy mashed potatoes which are best with the tender beef and gravy.
Baby back ribs with barbecue honey sauce are as sweet as the name. We enjoy the gooey effect of the honey barbecue sauce on the soft pork meat. The dash of pepper and sprinkle of dill made the meat on the ribs’ umami. This meat dish with accompanying slices of sweet corn makes a yummy pair. The five of us discovered that we could not demolish this main dish and the beef among us. There were leftovers even if we had a pair of ribs each.
The sinful nature of this lunch meal must be downed with an equally restricted soda. We contented ourselves with half a can among the four of us who are sugar watchers. The joke was that we just had our blood chem tests and will have three months to cleanse this from our systems with more water intake until the next visit to the doctor.
Flavor is always important although for us who are in our late 60s, tender and juicy are what we define as more delicious. We are not complaining yet because our dentists have made sure we can listen to ourselves eat and savor the textures of the many entries in menus.
Happy eating everyone at the House of Chops where most of the entrees are served on wood boards. Enjoy the grilled and baked meats!
