Plaid and simple

Now that the major eating frenzy brought on by Christmas, New Year and Valentine’s Day is over, it’s time to look for some healthy fare that will give our bodies a break from all those cholesterol-laden food and blood sugar-raising sweets we stuffed ourselves with in the last three months. With the swimsuit season almost at hand, eating something light and healthy, but tasty nonetheless, is the immediate goal.

Well, you need not look further for the answer is just tucked somewhere in Ortigas Center, where a low-key sandwich company has been drawing a steadily increasing loyal following.

Forget about boring chicken and tuna sandwiches. Plaid Sandwich Bar has found a way to make a square snack as hip as it can be. Though the concept was inspired by the popularity of sandwich bars in London, this sandwich place won’t have you ending up giving everyone a stiff upper lip.

Plaid is a friendly place, an oasis of calm and quiet amid a business center populated by busy, always-in-a-hurry bunch of professionals. The huge light bulbs hanging from its ceiling inspire creativity, further fueled by the healthy gourmet fare.

Regulars have developed a routine upon entering the sandwich bar. They go straight to the chiller and choose from among a variety of sandwiches and salads or, for something hot, turn to the counter to see what’s boiling in the soup container. For something more filling, they check out the pasta selection. They also survey the choices of drinks, which range from bottled juices to soymilk drinks, as well as the desserts nearby. After paying, they go to their seats and wait for their food to be served. Following the store’s mission of "value-priced, high-quality, healthy and tasty food… fast!" clients are only too pleased to learn that their food really does come quick.

Among the more popular choices are the line of gourmet sandwiches, which include classic favorites such as Roast Beef Redux, Crabby Wabby, For Salmon Special, the Plaid Clubhouse, BLT, presented with surprising twists. These hearty treats, like the rest of the items on the menu, are made fresh daily from natural ingredients sans the artificial preservatives and MSG. The freshly baked bread has no sugar, salt, butter, and bromate, but doesn’t come out tasting like a flat tire, thanks to chef Emi Mendoza’s creativity.

Many sand-wiches are mayo-free, such as the For Salmon Special, which consists of salmon flakes seasoned with fresh dill, mozzarella, lettuce, and tomato on whole wheat bread; or the Vegetarian Diet, portobello mushrooms, white button mushrooms, eggplant, zucchini, mozzarella, herb oil, lettuce, and tomato on multi-grain bread. To wake up tired taste buds, the Light Indulgence selection offers The Zing – red and white onions with tomato, herb oil mayo, and cheddar cheese on wheat bread – which is a must-try.

A growing fan base of Pinoy fare swears by Plaid’s Filipino sandwiches such as Casa Longga (a very lean, homemade longganiza hamonada, salted egg, mozzarella, cheese, mayo, lettuce, and tomato on focaccia bread), and Adobo Extraordinaire (chicken adobo flakes, mozzarella, lettuce, mayo, and tomato on focaccia bread). A best seller, which will make you look at milkfish with a new sense of awareness and will take you beyond the usual tinapa or daing na bangus breakfast fare, is mayo-free The Big Bang(us). This boneless bangus steak is given a sosyal image when paired with fresh white cheese, asparagus, onion, and tomato on multi-grain bread.

For the athletic types who want to get their daily dose of protein-rich food, Plaid’s Hi-Protein Choices are worth trying out. There is the Meat Lover’s Meltdown, which has pure beef salami, ham, cheddar cheese, Italian seasoning, mayo, cucumber, and tomato on focaccia bread. Those with big appetites are challenged to finish off the Monster Sandwich (chicken, sweet ham, longganiza with mushroom, asparagus, cucumber, lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese, and chili mayo on whole wheat bread) in a few big bites.

Curiously enough, says Plaid CEO Esther Santos, foreigners are more keen to try the Filipino fare, while locals would rather have the sandwiches’ western counterparts. East meets west? You bet, a marriage made in palate heaven that bridges culinary differences and preferences.

Salad buffs also have lots to choose from, ranging from the lightweight The Greens (lettuce, quail eggs, and carrots with balsamic vinaigrette) to All Hail Caesar’s! (shredded chicken, lettuce, Parmesan cheese, and croutons with classic Caesar dressing), to chicken walnut salad (chicken, lettuce, fresh white cheese, and walnuts with special cranberry dressing). The cranberry dressing, according to Ester, is a favorite among clients who would even put it on their sandwiches.

Carbo loading is given a healthy twist as well. Highly recommended for their spicy kick are the sardines in spaghetti, as well as the Heart-Friendly Capers, which have whole-peeled tomatoes, capers, black olives cooked in canola oil and topped on whole wheat spaghetti. If that ain’t healthy, we don’t know what is.

Perhaps, we’re not aware of it, but there’s a soup culture pervading among us and Plaid has filling offerings of pure cream of vegetable soups such as roasted garlic pumpkin, real tomato, mushroom, sweet potato, to name a few.

Clients may make their own sandwiches, by the way, as long as the sandwich bar has the necessary ingredients.

"Some would order our regular fare but would request us to take away some ingredients, or replace some with other ingredients. It’s no problem. We respect individual choices and preferences," says Esther, who also notes that foreign clients don’t want their sandwiches grilled and thus, prefer to get the sandwiches from the open chiller, because they know that these are freshly made. While foreigners like cold sandwiches, locals prefer hot/grilled ones, based on the Plaid staff’s observation.

For light eaters, the sandwich bar’s meal duets – half servings of sandwich and salad or pasta – are popular choices. For morning perk-up treats, Plaid has two choices – omelette, bacon and eggs; and longganiza, bangus with bread or garlic rice. They recently introduced their Asian treats including Plaid Thai, a pasta dish given an oriental twist, as well as their version of spring rolls, among others.

If sandwich addicts are in party mode, Plaid offers platters, as well as catering packages meant to give you a taste of what the sandwich bar is all about… and it’s definitely more than just sandwiches.

While sandwiches and other items are usually sold out by the end of the day, whatever is left, if any, is offered at 30 percent off from 5:30 p.m. onwards. Otherwise, all unsold sandwiches are given to Unang Hakbang Foundation, an NGO that helps street children.

Meanwhile, a certain percentage of the sales of their Sandwich of the Month – dubbed as Kid-Friendly Sandwiches – also go to the kids. All these, and their creative culinary experiments have earned Plaid the Innovative Sandwich Bar Award of the Year by the National Consumer Affairs Foundation for two years in a row.

A sandwich is a sandwich is a sandwich. But not at Plaid where the sandwich has been elevated into a new level sans the usual pretensions. It’s just real food, plain and simple.

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Plaid Sandwich Bar is located at the ground floor, Orient Square Bldg., Ruby Road, Ortigas Center (behind El Pueblo). For delivery and other information, call 687-5558 or fax 687-5002.