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Showing posts with label pizza. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pizza. Show all posts

Thursday, November 22, 2012

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.









Saturday, October 27, 2012

Calm after the storm

 Tropical storm Ofel is now out of the country, thank God, and the sun has made its presence palpable, casting a golden glow and spreading its warmth. Just yesterday and especially the other night, incessant rains sent my heart aflutter over the possibility of another flood-inside-the-house incident. But today, to my glee, it's sunny and warm again.. no, hot! And what is there better to eat than ice cream to cool down from the midday heat? And as my "son-in-law" (well, my daughter and her beau are not married yet but seriously together) had just celebrated his birthday, I had no qualms about hauling our asses off to the nearest ice cream store, the... well, Ice Cream Store. :-)  
The Ice Cream Store has several branches around Metro Manila, some of which that I've seen and visited are on Visayas Ave., near Anonas St. and in Fairview, all in Quezon City.  They sell a wide variety of cool treats such as ice drops, ice buko, pinipig crunch, ice cream sandwich and ice cream on tubs. If you want to eat in the store, you can choose from their specialty ice cream desserts. If you're hungry and want something to fill you up before indulging in ice cream, there's pizza, hotdog sandwich and siopao, too. Choices are many, don't you worry. What's astounding, however, are the prices in which they come. Very affordable! Very yummy too!

Oreo Flurry, P65.
Tiramisu, P65.


Halo-Halo, P55.

Cappuccino Blast, P50.
Chocolate Sundae, P30.
Ham and Cheese Pizza, P35.