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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Big Better Burgers

I do not know much about this shop apart from the fact that I’ve heard that it’s a local burger shop. I was piqued by the decor of the restaurant as it looks very red inside so I invited my sister to try out the food they’re serving here.

    
AMBIANCE AND ENVIRONMENT

For a restaurant, I felt that the space was too small but the cleanliness of the store made up for this shortcoming. The interior, I should say, is quite modern with a lot of areas painted in red and though it’s far from fancy, it was at least decent and cozy.

The lights flooding through the walls give the place a bar-like appearance and I guess this kind of lighting would look good at night. Too bad, we went there on a very hot afternoon. 

There were pictures of their menu items posted on the wall and at the time we went there, they were playing Guy Sebastian’s live performance of “Angels Brought Me Here”. I felt the need to say that as I think the choice of music they are playing in the restaurant was very good (at least for me).

FOOD AND DRINKS

Overall, the food was fairly satisfactory. At first, I ordered a BBB 1/3 pounder and my sister had the Mushroom Loco which, at that time, comes with free iced tea and chips as they have this “Freebie Storm” promo for some premium burgers. Then, because we were still hungry, we ordered some fries and dips and a plate of pesto.

BBB One-Third Pounder with Cheese (P 125.00)

This burger is slightly bigger than McDonald’s Quarter Pounder (Duh! That’s why it’s called one-third pounder, silly). What’s really good is that it comes in a fairly affordable price but it definitely is more delicious than any of the fast-food burgers I’ve tasted.

The meat was definitely the best part of the burger. It was juicy and it has a distinct flavor that is quite close to Burger King’s burgers but is a lot better by miles. The vegetables were also fresh and the dressing they used was just right for the burger. Plus, the bread was so soft, I wanted to buy a whole pack of buns!

Mushroom Loco (P 152.00)

Because of the “Freebie Storm” promo, some premium burgers such as the Mushroom Loco come with a serving of chips and a small glass of iced tea.

What I’ve noticed is that there was no slice of cheese in the burger and it was instead substituted by what they call “quezoloco”, which, to me, is like a processed cheese spread. Nevertheless, it was so good, I wanted to come back to the store again the next day just to grab another one of these. It was so delicious.

The chips tasted like potato ridges but it’s a hotter and fresher version of it. I didn’t expect much from it anyway as it comes for free. I just felt though that the chips tasted a little too salty for me.

Iced Tea (P 35.00)

I’ve always thought that the affordability of the food in a certain restaurant is always directly proportional to the price of their iced tea. Hence, I think the price range of the food here in Big Better Burgers is probably average since the Iced Tea costs P 35.00 as opposed to other restaurants, which are charging P 60.00 for a glass. The iced tea though was very ordinary.

Skin On Fries (P 50.00)

These fries weren’t cheap. Although this side dish looked much like the potato wedges from Burgoo with the skin on and everything, this one’s more expensive by a peso. For the price, I think Burgoo’s wedges are a lot better than this one. What’s good though is that it was served so fresh and hot, it burned my tongue.

Dips (P 20.00)

You can buy dips for your fries for P 20 each and I and my sister chose to have their salsa and the quezoloco (obviously because we enjoyed the quezoloco on the Mushroom Loco burger).

However, the salsa was a disappointment. It was so bland and generic and if it gets combined with the quezoloco, I think it would taste much like cheese pimiento. I have tasted better salsa from other restaurants like Bigby’s in Megamall. I almost didn’t touch this one.

I guess the quezoloco is better when it’s mixed with the burger and not served as a dip for the fries. This one’s too salty for me and cheez whiz was a lot better imho. I didn’t enjoy this much but it tasted better than the salsa.

BBB Meatballs in Pesto Sauce Pasta (P 99.00)

This is a very affordable pesto dish with two meatballs (same as the ones they use in their burgers). It was good and all but I felt as if the pasta was too dry. They could’ve added some more sauce or olive oil to make the dish more appetizing. Nonetheless, the meatballs saved this entire dish.

SERVICE AND OVERALL SATISFACTION

I was pretty satisfied with the service we received from Big Better Burgers. I didn’t have to line up to order as they took the order ala carte (which is far from my expectations). However, I thought that the food got served a little slower than expected.

What’s really funny is that one of the waiters was so clumsy, he accidentally spilled the chips onto the table. I had to take a photo of that! Anyway, after that event, he cleaned the table up quickly and replaced the chips with new ones so I did not really complain about it. Overall, I was still pretty happy with the service.

VALUE FOR MONEY

I guess the price of the food was really reasonable. The only expensive food here is the fries but other than that, I guess it’s even cheaper to eat here than in Wendy’s considering the size and flavor of the burgers here. 

My sister and I had to only shell out around P 500 for everything we ordered, which is a lot cheaper than eating in Burgoo’s.

FINAL SCORES

Ambiance - 3/5

Food - 4/5

Service - 3/5

Value - 5/5

TOTAL - 3.75/5


Big Better Burgers 
(02) 709-3021
SM Cubao, Araneta Center, Cubao
Quezon City, Metro Manila


UPDATE: This branch is already closed. =(

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Burgoo: It’s always a family treat!

Burgoo is supposedly an American restaurant though I find this extremely puzzling since, whenever  I look at Burgoo’s menu, I see a lot of food items on the list, which I do not think are American at all. For instance, since when did Pizza become an American food? I feel as if Burgoo does not have any distinguishable identity at all and just tags itself as American, even if they serve the Mexican Guacamole as a side dish. 

AMBIANCE AND ENVIRONMENT

I ate by myself when I went to Burgoo on this occasion and, yes, I have visited Burgoo plenty of times before. This is probably going to be the fourth time I've eaten in this restaurant (I never did learn). Though I might have reservations about the restaurant and some bias, especially with their food, I must say that the establishment is really clean. 

However, I believe Burgoo’s interior design is a bit confused. There are lanterns hanging on the ceiling with a printed design I can’t comprehend, there are paintings all over the place, which I think are mostly misplaced, and there are hanging lamps which look like glow lamps to me. I do not know if this design is at all American but if it is, then I believe it is safe to assume that most American bistros look like a kid’s bedroom.

If there is at least one thing interesting in this restaurant, it would probably be the fact that they use a white sheet of paper (Cartolina) as table cloth. They also provide a small jar filled with crayons and customers are allowed to doodle or scribble anything on the sheet paper while they’re waiting for their orders to be served. 

However, I believe that using a sheet of paper in place of a table cloth is really weird as I’ve never been to a restaurant that uses a roll of Cartolina to cover their tables. Nonetheless, I drew my anime self in the sheet of paper while waiting to be served. 

FOOD AND DRINKS

Overall, I thought that the food in Burgoo was really bad. I have eaten here a lot of times already and I never really learned. In fact, the first time I ate here, I literally puked. It was a traumatic experience.

Grilled Pork Chops (P 325.00)

I ordered the regular-sized Grilled Pork Chops, which according to the menu is a piece of pork chop grilled to perfection and seasoned with Italian herbs (and I thought they were American). It comes with two side dishes and because I am an obligate ricevore (an organism required to eat rice all the time), I ordered their rice pilaf and had potato wedges as well.

The pork chop was actually below average and far from the “grilled-to-perfection” quality they are claiming. Mine was overcooked and burnt on the sides, giving it a bitter flavor (although the sauce compensated for the overall taste of the dish). 

This pork chop was very tough and almost inedible. It was very dry and you can tell by the picture above that some sides were overdone. The chop was also very thin and did not allow me to savor the flavor of the meat as I needed to stuff in a lot of the pork chop  into my mouth just to get a taste of what I’m eating. Our pork chops at home are definitely leaner and meatier than this! It was at best an economized version of the grilled pork chop!

Rice Pilaf

I feel the need to say though that the rice pilaf was a wonderful change from java, yang chow, garlic, and plain rice. I felt as if this rice dish was redeeming enough and worth the return visit. If there’s a possibility for me to just order rice pilaf from Burgoo and eat nothing else, that’d be wonderful!

Potato Wedges

The potato wedges were just okay. They were fresh and were still hot when served. It’s a good starter, I guess, but eating too much of this can really make you feel nauseous (at least for me). Still, I felt that there’s nothing special about this side dish. It was at best satisfactory.

Fudge Brownie ala Mode (P 195.00)

This dessert was a nightmare! The brownie was really hard and I mean hard! I can’t even slice it with a spoon and, when I ate it, it was absolutely horrid. It was too sweet even for someone with a sweet tooth, like me. The sweetness gave me an instant headache.

I don’t know if the creamy thing on top was supposed to be ice cream, sorbet, or gelato but I felt as if it’s not too creamy and there were frozen ice crystals on it, which gave it a rough texture. The flavor was okay but the texture of the frozen topping was not in any way enjoyable because I felt like I was biting some bits of ice candy or shaved ice while eating it.

The walnuts made up for the overall appeal of this dish. However, there were only a few and I can literally count the walnuts on top. If they added a bit more of the nuts, I would’ve been a little satisfied but it wasn’t even generous! I wouldn’t recommend this dessert to anyone at all!

SERVICE AND OVERALL SATISFACTION

I think that the service in Burgoo was excellent. I didn’t even ask for a glass of water, they served it right away. The waiter who attended to me was also very attentive to my order. He got everything right the first time. The food was also served after around 20 minutes, which I find reasonable.

By the way, the name of my waiter is Jim. I remembered that because he wrote it on the Cartolina sheet and introduced himself politely before he took my order.

VALUE FOR MONEY

The food here is too expensive for the quality. It is cheaper than some other restaurants but there is definitely no value for money here. I can’t take the fact that I had to pay more than P 300 for an overdone pork chop and P 200 for the dessert, which to me is just a piece of brownie from the “Brownies” pastry stand with some substandard ice cream on top. It was simply unacceptable!

FINAL SCORES

Ambiance - 4/5

Food - 2/5

Service - 4/5

Value - 1/5

TOTAL - 2.75/5

Burgoo American Bar & Restaurant

(02) 913-6112

2/F Gateway Mall, Aurora Blvd., Araneta Center, Cubao
Quezon City, Metro Manila

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