Late bloomer

The beauty of having grown-up kids is that once they finish school and start earning, they can treat mom to a nice meal. The downside, of course, is that it means mom is already old. Haha! Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed dinner one recent Saturday without having to pay for it myself, thanks to my eldest child. It was at Sbarro in Trinoma Mall. I know it's quite strange, even somewhat funny, but it was my first time at this Italian restaurant, even though it's been in existence in the Philippines for 20 years! I don't quite know, it just didn't appeal to me before. Truth to tell, it was Figaro that we wanted to have dinner at, but sadly, we were informed by the guard that their Trinoma store had closed last year. So second choice it was for Sbarro. However, our dinner there proved to be satisfying that I realized I was missing out on something all these years. You could say I'm a late bloomer for Sbarro but hey, better late than never. 
Anyway, my daughter and I had: 

Roasted Chicken with Spaghetti and Garlic Roll, P169.

Baked Ziti, half order, P96.

Hawaiin New York Style Pizza, P110./slice

Cheesecake, P76.

Raspberry Iced Tea, P41. and Soda, P28. 

While I didn't like the spaghetti (I'm a true-blue Filipino, I like sweet spaghetti. Haha!) and the Cheesecake very much, I loved the Baked Ziti, pizza, roasted chicken and even the garlic roll (quite oily but delish!) . My only complaint about the chicken was that it was too small a serving. One more thing I liked was that you could go for half an order of pasta here so that even if you have company, you can try different kinds of pasta and not be forced to share a full order. Sadly, however, there's no coffee here. (Why???) But I'll definitely be back to Sbarro for the yummy food that's reasonably priced. Happy weekend, everyone!

Bonus food!

What is "bonus food"? As far as my friend Leslie and I are concerned, it's what we traditionally eat whenever we receive a bonus at work, about twice a year (sometimes more ). We started this "tradition" eight years ago when we became friends upon my entry to the company. And there's only one restaurant we traditionally go to for our ceremonial lunch or afternoon meal (I can't say snacks because we have a heavy, hearty meal each time. ). It's A Veneto Pizzeria Ristorante, which has a branch that is walking distance from our office in Quezon City. All these years, we've had the same things on our plates - pizza and pasta. Not that A Veneto serves only these, no, they also have hot and cold hero sandwiches, chicken, mussels, calzone, salads,  and desserts. If my memory serves me right, we've been having the same pizza and pasta variety, too - Plain Nut-Pesto which we share and a slice of New York-style pizza for me and Vegetarian for my friend. 

I've dined at A Veneto in the company of other friends and also some of my kids and tried other food there but the pesto pasta and New York pizza are my absolute favorites. What I really like about A Veneto is that they don't scrimp on ingredients to give their patrons great-tasting food. This, however, once served as a downside for me. I was with my other co-worker/friend Chie and we shared an order of A Veneto's Oil and Garlic with Shrimps Pasta. One thing that solicited "wow" from me was the abundance of shrimps with which our pasta came. Talk about shrimp galore! Hours after indulging, however, there I was with a headache caused by an elevated blood pressure! I've shied away from
Oil and Garlic with Shrimps Pasta from then on. 
Now let's talk about my favorites - first, the Pesto Pasta. At A Veneto, it's soo delicious you'll forget it's healthy too! Lots of basil - which I love for its flavor and load of Vitamins A and C, calcium, iron and magnesium - and olive oil, which is one of the healthiest oils on earth, so every strand of noodle is moist and savory. As for the New York Pizza, it's got lots of ham, pepperoni, beef, onions and bell pepper. Whew! Describing these makes me crave! Darn!
Anyway, on our latest gastronomic outing at A Veneto earlier this week, my friend and I had dessert, too (why hadn't we for years?) aside from Plain Nut-Pesto and pizza - Blueberry Cheesecake which we shared. We both loved that a serving of it was quite big and could be contently shared by two persons. It was yummy, with the just the right sweetness to end a perfect meal. One thing, though. I didn't like that it was served on a disposable tub. Methinks they should have put in on a shallow ceramic bowl for better presentation. By the way, my perennial favorite drink at A Veneto is lemonade and I had it again this time. On other times, I had a cup of brewed coffee. 
Aside from the food, ambiance and service at A Veneto are good, too. Need I say A Veneto is one of my favorite restaurants? Till the next bonus!

New York Pizza, P100 per slice/P580, 16"; P420, 14"; P260, 10"

Vegetarian Pizza, P100 per slice/P580, 16"; P420, 14"; P260, 10"

Plain Nut-Pesto Pasta, P200, good for sharing.

My plate.

Blueberry Cheesecake, P90. It's big enough for sharing!

My half of the Blueberry Cheesecake.

Lemonade, P65.