T.G.I. Friday's

I have been comparing my least favorite restaurant, Burgoo, with T.G.I. Friday's for some time now, so I thought I'd make a review of Friday's as well just to be fair and transparent. I've dined in T.G.I. Friday's MOA a couple of times already and in both occasions, I loved their pork chops, so I wanted to try them out again just to confirm whether they're really better than Burgoo's.

T.G.I. Friday's is a really popular food establishment, so I and my food buddy decided to go here at lunchtime on a weekday, so the place wouldn't be so packed.

However, while the place was so private then, I just didn't like the fact that it was so dark inside when we stepped in.

They only had a few lights on, so I requested that we be seated near the window. That was a mistake, I realized, as the waiter sat us in the smoking area where a couple of dine-in  customers were smoking. What a way to ruin my appetite!

Lemonade (P 105.00)

Strawberry Surprise (P 165.00)

      

Anyway, we ordered some drinks first, and they were okay. They're cool and refreshing, but I just thought that they're a bit overpriced. Next time, I'd probably just have a glass of water.

Friday's Ballpark Nachos (P 375.00)

Up next is the Ballpark Nachos. The "small" size had a pretty sufficient portion. I loved how crispy the nachos were. The salsa was also pretty good. It was, overall, a good value. Unfortunately, because I took some time taking photos of this dish, it got a bit cold and the nachos became quite soggy after a while. Lesson learned: eat the nachos right away and keep the camera in the bag!

Pacific Grilled Pork Chop (P 395)

Friday's Pacific Grilled Pork Chop is my favorite food stuff in T.G.I. Friday's as it's consistently tender and flavorful each time. I also love the corn on the cob and pineapple wedge that come with it so, generally, this one's a must-order whenever I dine in this restaurant. However, the pork chops this time were a bit chewy. The fat layer's still very nice and sinful, but the meat wasn't as tender as I expected. Maybe I was expecting too much from it, but I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed.

Bacon Cheeseburger (P 415.00)

The cheeseburger, on the other hand, was pretty good. My friend ordered this one, but I had to taste a portion of it as I was dissatisfied with my chops.I loved how the patty's thick, juicy, and tasty. I also had a couple of fries here and there, and they're hot and delicious. My only comment about this dish is that the bacon strips were not that crisp. It's not really the best burger I have tasted, but it's very satisfactory. 

We didn't have dessert anymore as we had to jump to Starbucks for some coffee after, plus I thought that the experience was not really that satisfactory. I would still put T.G.I. Friday's on top of Burgoo because of its excellent track record, but I guess they need to be consistent with their food. Otherwise, they might end up losing some loyal customers.

FINAL SCORES

Ambiance - 4/5

Food - 3/5

Service - 4/5

Value - 3/5

TOTAL - 3.5/5

T.G.I. Friday's (TGIF)

(02) 556-4456
SM Mall of Asia, North Wing Entertainment Mall

Seaside Drive, Manila Bay Reclamation Area, Pasay

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Johnny Rockets

I wrote this blog post on paper while waiting to be served in one of the worst restaurants I’ve ever eaten in in my life (whose name I would not divulge to protect its identity). The service in that restaurant was just too slow that I was already able to complete a draft of this entry before my appetizer was served.

This incident reminded me of how great and professional the service in Johnny Rockets was and how this bistro had impressed me in this department. But, before we get to that part, I’d like to first talk about the overall look of this restaurant.

AMBIANCE AND ENVIRONMENT

Johnny Rockets is one of those restaurants which I think is overdecorated, but in a good way. There are plenty of different things that can be seen inside the restaurant, which are really interesting.

For one, there’s this cool Johnny Rockets jukebox.

Then, there’s this mini jukebox accent on our table.

It also has this classic black and white floor and there are countless photographs and posters of American advertisements on the wall.

One last observation is that literally everything, from glasses to condiment containers, has a Johnny Rockets tag.

There’s just one minor thing that I didn’t like about this restaurant - their air conditioner. I know that a lot of people complain about poor ventilation in restaurants and many Filipinos love to eat in places that are frigidly cold but the temperature here is just way too cold in some parts. My friend who was then suffering from colds was not even able to enjoy her food because she felt too sick to even take a bite off of her hamburger. 

Nonetheless, the dancing waiters more than made up for this minor shortcoming. I know they’re not synchronized at all, but they’re fun to watch all the same.

FOOD AND DRINKS

Now, let’s head on to the food. For this meal, we ordered two different burger meals. One is the Route 66 and the other one is the Bacon Cheddar Single. They both come with unlimited fries and, yes, we did have our plate of fries refilled plenty of times! I’d get back to the fries later but, for now, let’s just talk about the burgers first.

Route 66 (P 465)

The Route 66 is one of Johnny Rockets’ premium burgers, containing Swiss cheese, grilled mushrooms, grilled onions, and mayo.

This was my friend’s order but I had our sandwiches cut in half so we can taste both burgers.Sharing a burger’s not really conventional, but we really had to do it. How can I be able to blog about this if I haven’t tasted this one, right? Anyway, I did have half (or more than half) of this burger and I realized that this one’s actually good.

The patty was grilled to perfection and it was tender and really very juicy. I think it had a tinge of Italian spice but I’m not too sure what herb in particular. The bun was soft and really tasty and the cheese and dressing blended perfectly well in this sandwich.

I did like this burger, but I wouldn’t recommend this to those who are not very comfortable eating burgers with a lot of herbs as the patty tastes a bit different.

Bacon Cheddar Single (P 395.00)

According to the menu, the Bacon Cheddar Single is composed of thick bacon, cheddar cheese, fresh lettuce, ripe tomato, onion slice, and “Bacon Cheddar Single” special sauce. 

Overall, I liked this burger. I don’t know what’s so special about the dressing but the bacon in the burger was crispy and toasted and the veggies were fresh. The patty of this burger is different from that of the Route 66, but I prefer this one over the other because this is simpler.

By the way, their burgers go well with mustard.

Unlimited Fries

Now, here’s what I’ve been discussing a while ago - the fries. Both the burgers came with unlimited fries and they were really crispy and freshly-cooked. We definitely lost count of the number of servings of fries we’ve had for the night.

And check the ketchup out. They’re cute.

Bottomless Iced Tea (P 110.00)

I actually had a glass of bottomless iced tea but I wasn’t able to have this refilled much. I only had around four refills (LOL). The iced tea was, of course, ordinary.

SERVICE AND OVERALL SATISFACTION

Now, here we are finally. Let’s talk about the happy service here. Our server that day was Tracie and we were pretty much pleased with her service overall. She served us water without asking for it, offered to refill our fries plate every now and then, helped us out with all our requests, and replaced my iced tea glass with a new one instead of just simply refilling it.

The service was just wonderful. Their waiters were also very courteous and polite and they seem to have smiles fixed on their faces all the time. They’re really adorable.They even told us to fill out a survey form about our experience in their restaurant, which shows that they’re really interested to improve their service for the satisfaction of their customers.  I’d dine here anytime for their great service. 

VALUE FOR MONEY

Well, I’d say that I was pretty satisfied with the food and the service here so I do not have any regrets at all eating in this restaurant. Although the burgers we had were a bit expensive, I think eating here was still well worth the money we had to shell out. 

FINAL SCORES:

Ambiance - 4/5

Food - 4/5

Service - 5/5

Value - 4/5 

TOTAL - 4.25

Johnny Rockets, Eastwood Mall
(02) 470-2117
G/F Eastwood Mall, E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave.,
Bagumbayan, Libis, Quezon City

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