Dayrit's: Standing the test of time

Not a lot of restaurants have managed to stay afloat through the decades and Dayrit's Burger and Roast Beef House is one of the fortunate few that have survived to this day. Owned by casino owner-turned-restaurateur Wilfredo "Freddie" Dayrit Sr., this homey, deli-type eatery first opened in the early '70s on Taft Ave. near De La Salle University. Branches subsequently opened in Magallanes, Greenhills, Buendia Ave., Manila (near UST), Alabang, and Timog Ave. and Kalayaan Ave. in Quezon City. At present, however, only two have remained - Timog Ave. and Magallanes. 

But even if Dayrit's has been around for around four decades, it was only today that I had the chance to try this foodie place out. It was a sunny afternoon and I was on leave from work for a medical appointment. After my schedule, my daughter and I were scouring Tomas Morato on foot, with the aim to look out for a new (to us, at least. Hehe.) restaurant. And Dayrit's caught my attention among the rows of restaurants on that stretch of foodie haven, mainly because it sounded familiar. Inside, I instantly felt at home, thanks to the simple, laid-back interiors with a nostalgic feel. For our afternoon snacks, my daughter and I shared:

Cheeseburger, P140.

With ketchup and mustard, yummy!

Pasta Americana, P150.

Buttered bread, lightly toasted.

Calamansi Juice, P45.

Special Iced Tea, P50.

The menu.

Old-style furniture, old-world feeling.

Crewman finds his texting sanctuary beside the ice cream freezer. Haha!

The first thing that impressed us when our food was served was how huge the cheeseburger was. It's good for sharing, and rightfully, came sliced in half. Tasted good, too, especially when we slathered it with ketchup and mustard. The Pasta Americana was actually carbonara, and we liked it as well - saucy and creamy. It came with a halved slice of slightly (or not?) toasted buttered wheat bread. What we downed these with were good too - calamansi juice for me, which I think was freshly squeezed and iced tea for my daughter, who liked that it was house blend or brewed, not the powdered type. 

So, did we like Dayrit's? Yes, but not so much for the price. There's a lot of burger joints nowadays that offer lesser-priced hamburgers with even thicker patties. Forgive me but I'm thinkin' about BBB. Hehehe. Still, kudos to Dayrit's for having survived the tough restaurant competition during these past few years.

Yuletide eats

What added to your waistline during the holidays? With all the Christmas parties and New Year revelry we attended and did, I'm pretty sure everyone was stuffed and gluttonous. My family spent Christmas in our hometown in Quezon so I was fortunate to just lay back and wait for Mom to finish cooking before I get to taste what she prepared. Haha! My mother, who is now 84 years old, makes really mean morcon, I tell you. She does this special beef dish only once a year, served as "queen" of our Media Noche spread, which makes it much anticipated. For this year, however, Mom made morcon in time for Christmas because we wouldn't be welcoming the New Year with them in Quezon but in Manila. As always, it was very delicious, even better that those I've tasted in some restaurants. I have yet to learn making morcon from mother, though, and I hope to do that this year. Anyway, aside from morcon, Mom also fried some chicken marinated in soy sauce and calamansi, while my brother-in-law cooked kare-kare and pancit bijon. My two daughters, on the other hand, prepared carbonara which was perfect! I'm so proud of my kids. Their carbonara was heavenly even though it was their first time preparing this pasta dish! As for me, I did the eating. Haha!  

Mom's mouthwatering morcon.

Fried soy chicken somewhat burned on the surface. Haha! Still good, though.

Delicious kare-kare by bro-in-law.

Mom's yellow rice (rice mixed with corn).

My kids' carbonara. T'was the first time they cooked this but it was perfect!

My bro-in-law makes really mean pancit bijon.

To welcome the New Year back in Manila, I prepared spaghetti and tacos while my daughters made the desserts - refrigerator cake using broas (ladyfinger), and coffee jelly. We had barbecue too but I just bought it from Andok's. I was a little bit sad because I wanted to prepare a special Media Noche spread but failed to do so because I still had to report to work on December 31 and also January 1 and thus had little time to cook. And to top this, my househelp went on vacation to her boyfriend's place in Rizal on December 30th and returned only in the afternoon of January 1. Needless to say, she was of no use at the time I needed her most. Sigh...Oh well, better luck next New Year. Hehe!

My spaghetti.

Pork barbecue from Andok's.

Tacos.

My taco. Notice the large-cut cabbage strips. Hubby cut them. Hehe..

Garlic toast by my eldest daughter.

Refrigerator cake also by my eldest daughter.

My second child's coffee jelly.

For dinner on New Year's Day, my family plus two nephews ate at Mang Inasal. It wasn't a very good idea, though, because at a little past 8 p.m., they had no more soup, no chili (very important to me and my nephew JC) and no more dessert! Aaargh! But since I came from work and we had no more time to go the mall after hearing the 7-8 p.m. mass, we settled for Mang Inasal which is the only restaurant apart from Jollibee that is near our place. Still, it was a happy occasion for the family, especially since my two nephews, the sons of my sister who passed away on this date (January 2) 11 years ago, only get to stay with us for a few days during summer and Christmas.

At Mang Inasal, Pork Sisig.

Chicken Pecho.

Dinuguan at Puto.