This week, we decided to check out the stretch of new eating hubs along Loakan Road and chanced upon Fatboy’s Grill House.
We admit to being skeptical about entering the old residence turned into a restaurant on the first dry day of the week because there seemed to be no directions and movement around at midday.
We hesitated thinking that it could be an evening spot because of the long tables in the garden under a roof at the end of the driveway. As we were about to turn and leave, the door opened, and we were welcomed by a young man.
We opted to eat inside and get a glimpse of the interior in anticipation of the rain. The interior was that of circa 60s architecture of homes made with wood and raised from the ground. The windows and grills typical of the American period gave the inside an antiquated ambience that seemed to mismatch the menu that was of grills and pastas. But we decided to try out the barkadabundle for two in the menu.
The barkada menu included four chicken wings with potato wedges, a 10-inch pizza, lasagna rolls, and two glasses of iced tea all for P755.
Curiosity regarding their porterhouse steak and tuna salad had to be quenched, we ordered these to compare with the other joints.
Chicken wings were delightful. These were crispy and honey glaze flavored on the outside and well marinated and juicy on the inside. Like other chicken wing restos, one gets a choice of the flavor which include garlic parmesan, hickory barbecue, teriyaki, and salted egg. There are spicy editions too.
This was delicious as it was, without any dip. Accompanied by potato wedges, these two were perfectly matched. The fresh potatoes make a whole lot of difference in their natural sweetness and starchiness. The mayonnaise was a good dipping sauce, but not really necessary, perhaps tangy catsup could be better.
The Supreme Pizza was loaded in it’s 10-inch crust. The crust was puffy and soft like bread. It seemed like olive oil was used to baste the crust and the ground beef or meat was sauteed in onions and tomato sauce then poured over it. The pepperoni was arranged around this with the bell pepper strips. Then this was sprinkled generously with mozzarella cheese and bacon then baked. On the sweet side, Pinoys will delight in this version of the pizza.
The lasagna rolls were from a noodle sheet filled with ground meat sauce and cheese. This was rolled and cut into two, then layered with mozzarella, ricotta cheese, and sprinkled with parmesan then baked. Cheese lovers will enjoy this gooey edition of the flat noodle sheets and meat.
This trio are what make up the barkada bundle that is enough to fill two persons for lunch or dinner.
I had to test the porterhouse steak on the menu. This item tends to determine how well the restaurant knows its meat and how this is treated as medium well by the chef. I was happy with the tenderness of the meat slice served on a sizzling plate. The fries and steamed beans were on the side or bottom. This came with a cup of rice and gravy.
The tuna salad was a bed of lettuce and tomatoes with chunks of tuna. The mayonnaise kind of dressing lavishly garnished the greens and tomatoes which was generously topped with parmesan. This would be enough to satisfy one person on a diet.
In all, Fatboy’s Grill House has an elaborate menu of food that goes well with the long list of alcoholic beverages and the music that it also promotes. The young crowd that it may attract in the evenings would be well pleased to sit and talk in the garden in the dry season.
– Nonnette C. Bennett
