Food Camp (Katipunan Extension)

Me, Beloved, and a friend had dinner at Food Camp. No, this is not a military-style food encampment. However, I find the name appropriate for the place which serves mostly sandwiches and hamburgers—food I would expect scouts would carry around. Our friend has been here a few times, and claims this is among the best burger he had the chance to try. Sold by that statement, and since Vikings was an impossible venture at a weekend without a reservation, we went.

Their menu is pretty unique for a sandwich place, since they focus mostly on burgers. They also appropriately name their burgers using the phonetic alphabet. Their patties are all 1/3 pound ones, and you can stack as much as you want. Beloved noticed a special burger on their menu, and ordered that: their Wagyu Burger (359 Php for two patties). Although that was also enticing, I ordered their Bravo Burger (250 Php for two patties) to be different. Our friend, who was a veteran to the place, ordered their Filicheese Steak Sandwich (115 Php) and their Charlie Burger (175 Php for one patty). For sides and drinks, we ordered their Jalapeño Sticks (79 Php), Mozarella Bomb (109 Php), and a couple of Vanilla Milkshakes (85 Php).

Almon Marina (SM North EDSA)

Me and my friends ate at Almon Marina for dinner a couple of days ago after our semi-weekly Bingo sessions. This relatively newly-opened sandwich bar replaced Seattle's Best Coffee's location in SM North EDSA's the Block. We had no idea what to expect here, but I guess it was safe to assume that this would be something similar to Oliver's Super Sandwich where sandwiches are the main specialty. However, I also assumed that they had good seafood due to the second of its name.

And indeed, both assumptions held true. Their choices had three entire boards dedicated to sandwiches, and among these sandwiches were seafood-oriented ones such as salmon, tuna, crab, et cetera. However, it wasn't entirely dominated with sandwiches, nor was it entirely dominated with seafood. They had grilled entrees as well, and because I was pretty hungry, and because the number of sandwich choices was too many to just pick one, I decided to order one of their house grilled specialties, their most expensive item on the menu, which was their Fillet Mignon for 260 Php.

Mary Grace (Trinoma)

A couple of days ago, Beloved and I finally ate at Mary Grace. I say "finally" because this quaint little cafe is located in a mall we frequent at a place we always pass by when we get in or go home. The reasons why we never got to eat here until that day were, one: we only get to pass here when we go to the place where we meet or when we're done with our business in this mall and go home, and two: when we do pass by here when hungry, the place is always full. Actually, the latter was also true when we went in. Luckily, a table just got cleared, so we took the opportunity to find out just why this place is always packed.

We had little idea what kind of food this cafe had, seeing the tables outside usually have pastas and greens. When we got to see the menu, we find out that their food basically consists of that, and sandwiches and other usual cafe food fare. As for the cost, well, it's pretty cafe-esque, comparable to food at your popular coffee places such as Starbucks (yes, they do serve food). Dominant in their menu is their pasta, so Beloved chose one that she fancies from what it's called and perhaps its description—their Leek and Saffron Cream with Fillet of Dory (230 Php). As for me, I picked one of their small selection of sandwiches—the Fili Beef and Tomatoes (205 Php). We also ordered one of their more curious salads—the Fried Kesong Puti and Calamansi Vinaigrette (199 Php). Finally, well, I guess last two, we got a pitcher of their Sangria Iced Tea (224 Php) and one of their Mary Grace Cheese Roll (42 Php), just to try it out.

'wich kraft (Magiting Street, near Maginhawa Street)

If you see the picture below, you might get spoiled, and I assume you're already spoiled because you're most likely to look at the picture if you didn't after I mentioned that. So, no, I didn't go back to Twistix, but I did find another place that serves these deep-fried potato spirals on a stick. Anyway, while going home yesterday, I passed by Magiting Street at UP Teacher's Village on the way to Maginhawa. At a somewhat hidden corner beside I Love Froyo, I saw it—a poster of the said genius of a snack. 'wich kraft, which specializes in sliders and schubligs, apparently also serves this deep-fried potato spiral thingies.

Unlike Twistix, which I assume name their product the same as their... uh... name, 'wich kraft conveniently names their deep-fried potato spirals on a stick Potatwist. I thought it was a pretty playful name, and because it's pretty affordable—50 Php for their large, I decided to try it out.

As said, their largest is at 50 Php. They do have small and medium sizes at 30 and 40 Php respectively. Similar to Twistix, they also have some flavors to choose from—cheese, barbecue, sour cream. I decided to forgo the flavorings and just have salt with mine.

Army Navy (SM North EDSA)

Yesterday, Beloved and I had lunch at Army Navy. We always pass this by at SM North EDSA's Sky Garden, and I always get teased by the sight of the three-patty three-quarter pound burger they humorously call the "Bully Boy Burger". Sadly, every time we pass by, we're either too full or are just really passing by. I did get mixed reviews here, but they all agree that the B.B.B. is big as advertised. Finally, we got the chance the other day for some reason.

Anyway, Army Navy specializes, aside from the said three-patty three-quarter pound burger, in burritos and sandwiches. Apparently, their portions are able to fill up a military personnel, hence the name. Their menu are also mostly eaten by hand, making it more appropriate. Also, the names of their menu items are mostly patriotically American and are mostly alliterations or puns, making them fun plays on words.

So, we got the said Bully Boy Burger for 235 Php. After deciding between a "starving sailor", which is what they call their sandwiches, or the burrito, we settled for the latter. We got the Steak Breakfast Burrito for 180 Php. In addition to that, we also asked for an order of their Freedom Fries for 60 Php, a large Vanilla Milkshake for 99 Php, and a large Libertea, which is what they call their iced tea, for 55 Php.

Peanut Butter Company (SM North EDSA)

Yesterday, beloved and I went to Peanut Butter Company. From the name, you can assume that it specializes in peanut butter. Basically all their menu, save a couple, has peanut butter in it. This includes their sandwiches, pastas, and burgers. Sounds gross? I made an appalled face when I first saw it. Beloved tried it once before and loved it. Since she wanted me to try out their burger, I gave in.

As I've mentioned, I did see a couple of items in their menu without peanut butter in it. The first one is their coffee, which apparently has free refills, and their Box of Chips (65 Php). I ordered that one since I just had lunch somewhere else. Beloved ordered their Peanut Butter Burger (185 Php). It boasted that it had sesame peanut butter in it. I also ordered a Wasabi Mayo Dip (35 Php) for my chips since I just know I wouldn't like peanut butter with my potatoes.

Jack's Loft (Trinoma)

Jack's Loft has been a semi-favorite hangout of beloved and me when we have a bit of money to burn and feel like drinking a lot of iced tea ever since we tried its incarnation on Trinoma. Yesterday, we ate there after a few months of not going. Although this bistro specializes in desserts and alcohol, we love their sharable sandwiches and special iced tea. We also like its location in the mall, which is at the alfresco area on the fourth floor near our tambayan arcade with the cool wind rushing in from the west balcony.

They had new stuff in their menu, and, among them, a new kind of sandwich. They're called presatta, which I imagined to be similar to their grill-pressed panini. I loved the texture of their panini, so we decided to try it out. We ordered their Wasabi Beef Melt (182 Php) and the usual Fishbowl Iced Tea (112 Php).