Beef famous

So what’s your favorite food memory?For Paul Izon Reyes, he would have to go back to the ’80s. He was a student back then at the International School in Makati, and he distinctly remembers eating and hanging out constantly at a place called Rufo’s.

“It opened in 1984, and as a student, I would always be there. It served the best tapa ever, and everyone ate there. The fact that it was open 24 hours easily made it a crowd favorite. You would find students frequenting Rufo’s because it’s right across from I.S. Soon after, you would see foreigners and celebrities dropping in,” he relates.

Fast-forward to the present and Reyes now owns the three branches (and growing) of the well-liked restaurant. More popularly known nowadays as Rufo’s Famous Tapa, Reyes says the restaurant’s history is fondly cherished by foodies everywhere.

“A group of enterprising friends started this place 24 years ago. They named it after their boss just for fun. It became a quick hit among office workers. They would come to Rufo’s to eat and drink. Soon the young I.S. students would find themselves going there,” he says. “Later on, even kids from other schools would go to Rufo’s and enjoy the tapa. This was also the time when “combo” bands were all the rage, so after their gigs, the famished band members would head straight to Rufo’s late at night because it’s open 24 hours.”

Of course, everybody ordered the house specialty, any time of day. Even now, people make special visits for Rufo’s Famous Tapa, with the most tender sliced Batangas beef, fried rice and fried egg. They say it has that extra something that puts the beef head and shoulders above the rest.

“Our tapa is generously drizzled with sauce, which we call the Famous Sauce. The sauce is what makes Rufo’s stand out. It is a very Filipino thing. Through the years, the restaurant has been getting kudos left and right from word of mouth and blogs, even citing the Famous Sauce as something that brings back fond memories. One of the best compliments was ‘Sauce pa lang, ulam na!’ so we promptly had that line registered and used it in our flyers and menus,” he laughs. “It’s true! A lot of times, people will ask for extra sauce and extra rice. Before you know it, they’re mixing the rice and the Famous Sauce! The combination has turned into a full meal.”

Regulars are glad that some items from the original menu continue to be served. Aside from the Famous Tapa, perennial favorites include the liempo, choice-cut pork belly cooked in a special marinade and comes with a sweet sauce; pork chops, deep-friend prime-cut pork made flavorful by special spices; and the tocino, Pampanga sweet pork in generous chunks.

Nowadays, diners are also looking forward to Rufo’s boneless bangus, a succulent serving of deep-fried milkfish; the sizzling sisig, a favorite of regulars who enjoy it with beer and rice, and available in classic and spicy versions; and mushroom adobo, Rufo’s take on the vegetarian adobo using authentic Chinese button mushrooms. The menu itself reads like a must-order of classic Pinoy meals: longaniza, chicken barbecue, pork barbecue, crispy danggit, embotido, corned beef à la Rufo’s, chicken wings, and tokwa’t baboy.

“We are proud of our affordability. Consider our T-Bone steak at P120. I don’t know where you are going to find such a quality steak at that price,” he quips. “Even our liempo at P89 is a huge serving, a size with a price you wouldn’t find anywhere else. There was one time I chanced upon a group of call center agents ordering one sisig and five cups of rice.”

It also does not surprise him that his Makati branch, which is still in front of the old I.S. along Kalayaan Avenue, welcomes kids of parents who used to frequent Rufo’s back in the day. He is pleased that a new generation of diners is becoming familiar with the place, citing the rising call center market as an exciting factor in the equation.

“Rufo’s makes sense to them as well because it is open 24 hours, seven days a week. That market excites me so much so that we are opening a new store in Worldwide Center, a new call center building in Mandaluyong. It will be our biggest branch so far. We pretty much get the same mix of old and new diners in our Pasig and Libis branches,” he states. “We plan to open in more cities real soon.”

Reyes, who sits as president of Rufo’s Famous Franchise Corporation, says the thrust of the establishment is to serve as many people as possible through best-loved Filipino dishes. Fact is, when he acquired the business in 2003, he had envisioned serving the kind of food he himself would like to eat in a place that is open all the time.

And yes, he never gets tired of the Famous Tapa. Even with the beefed-up menu, he chuckles, admitting that “I also order the other items — with the Famous Sauce on the side!”

Rufo’s Famous Tapa branches are located at 2F Intrepid Plaza, E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave., Libis, Quezon City (near Citibank Eastwood); Lot 9 Block 5 San Miguel Ave., San Antonio, Ortigas Center, Pasig City (near UA&P); and 4736 Kalayaan Ave. cor. Salamanca St., Poblacion, Makati City (in front of the old International School).