For somebody who loves pressure, it is no surprise that the affable Tonyboy Escalante continuously whips up heavenly kitchen magic at his restaurant Antonio’s. He has been dealing with pressure with pleasure for five years now.
“I cannot work without putting pressure on myself,” he says. But with Tonyboy around, the difficult demands of kitchen work become easy for the on-hand chef. Since being lackadaisical in his kitchen kingdom is a form of self-betrayal, Tonyboy keeps himself all fired up to make sure he meets the demands of his customers. The result is a hundred-percent customer satisfaction. Many times, it is more than that. For how can you quantify the heavenly feeling you get when dining at Antonio’s?
My search for my own gastronomic nirvana at Tonyboy’s foodie paradise began with the steak tartare. It’s a mound of ground and appetizing certified US beef tenderloin sprinkled with parsley sprout and accompanied by five toasts. It’s anchovy-salted so the steak tartare pleasantly opens up the palate. Admittedly, there’s a hint of paradisiacal sophistication that this appetizer leaves in the taste buds.
The seafood platter is another appetizer worthy of praise. Lathered with cream saffron and sprinkled with tomato concasse, a delightful and delicious union of prawns, squids, scallops and mussels is created. The freshness of the ingredients is evident in each bite.
The duck confit on mesclun salad is definitely a conversation piece. A beautiful landscape of lollo rosa, arugula, romaine, misuna, among other greens, is lavishly sprinkled with a concoction of lemon, truffle, and honey vinegar. The strips of duck, perfectly seasoned at that, are generously scattered in this garden of salad.
If it is more revelation that you want from the menu of Antonio’s, the cream of over-roasted tomato and capsicum is ready for the challenge. The foamy soup, despite its simple look and even simpler presentation, is definitely hearty and filling. While enjoying the soup, you unearth a piece of seafood dumpling. One dumpling is enough to savor even more the essences of tomatoes and bell peppers.
Customary to the art of fine dining, a serving of sherbet is a much-needed break when your gustatory membrane is going haywire with the salivating assault it gets from the scrumptious starters. So, to prepare your taste buds for the main fare, be ready for a goblet of guava sorbet which is lusciously refreshing. It’s like eating the real fruit minus the skin. It’s worthy to note, too, that the chattering of colorful birds atop the mabolo trees in Antonio’s and the splashing of the hungry kois in the pond help in creating a parochial mood as you savor little scoops of the yummy guava sorbet. That, in itself, is a piece of heaven.
A bigger piece of heaven, on the other hand, is about to unfold as you order your main entrees from Antonio’s ever-efficient and attentive staff. The honey-glazed lamb loin gratinated with goat cheese is so heavenly. For an excitable diner like me, I am not ashamed to say I scraped my plate clean, unmindful, too, that I was biting on the bone, as if it was my only remaining connection to that heavenly feeling after wolfing down the tasty lamb loin.
I must admit I only let go of that heaven when the char-grilled and foil-wrapped sirloin with olive oil, cardamom, rosemary, thyme, and garlic was served. I reached the seventh heaven of gastronomy that day with this entrée, which, according to Tonyboy, has inspired by his recent visit to Tel-Aviv. As the 600-gram char-grilled sirloin (the menu says it’s good for two but methinks it’s good for four) was cut, a serving of tomato risotto was paired with it. It was mouthwatering. No, it was more than that.
From there on, everything laid down on my table transported me to nirvana: panna cotta with fruit coulis, poached pear on vanilla mascarpone, and profiteroles with chocolate sauce and caramel sauce.
Heaven, indeed, is a place on earth. Antonio’s proves just that.
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Antonio’s is located in Bgy. Neogan in Tagaytay City. For more information, call 0917-8992866, 046-4130975 or 046-4131054.