Spasso is the foodie frontier

MANILA, Philippines - It’s like this: some Italian spices got together with some Italian herbs and decided to throw a party on your tongue. Well, that’s the impression I get as I dip my claws into Spasso’s Citterio Special with its mélange of flavors.

Spasso, after all, is the first Italian tapas place in the country.

“We serve modern Italian dishes — that’s what makes us different from other restaurants,” informs chef Jeremiah Go, adding that at Spasso they present interpretations of Italian cuisine. No copying from the dusty cookbooks was involved. “We just made our own versions — but using fresh Italian ingredients.”

Geni Psinakis, one of the owners of Spasso, explains, “Our focus is on tapas, or piccolini — small plates. This is what we’re known for. We have some of the more traditional entrees as well.”  

Tapas, which are meant to be full meals, are the prime reasons you go to Spasso. Hot tapas, cold tapas, and fried tapas, uh, top the list

Melting, brown, delicious: Spasso’s Citterio Special is a medley of prosciutto, salami, pancetta and Parmesan. According to chef Jeremiah Go, when you eat it, try to get a sense of the texture and flavor of the meats. The salami is so tender it virtually melts in your mouth. Photos by JOEY MENDOZA

— from marinated artichoke heart to fried smelt.

Chef Jeremiah corrects a misconception. “When people think of tapas, they think of — number one, Spain, and number two, bar chow or pica-pica. Here, the idea is to order several plates, share them with friends and take time to talk and finish a good bottle of wine. Inaabot kami sa Spasso ng 1 or 2 a.m. sa dinner. You get full naman just by ordering (several plates of) tapas. You get to taste a lot of different

The yellowness of the Ligurian Pasta comes from a simple saffron sauce, but the amalgam of flavors is indescribable.

dishes as well.”

“One of our bestsellers is the wagyu beef tartar bruschetta,” Psinakis points out as one of the not-so traditional Italian fare they serve to the delight of diners from multifarious backgrounds.   

“Italian food is very healthy, very light, hindi siya nakaka-umay,” says chef Jeremiah. “(We) use a lot of fresh seafood, olive oil and olives, (and you can) drink a lot of wine with the food.” Boutique wines are available at Spasso; these are wines distributed by small wineries in the States via a mailing list (never found in the nearest grocers), the quality — of course — is astounding.

His culinary philosophy is to make the dishes as simple as possible, but concentrate on the ingredients. “Every Italian restaurant has salami. Ang laban na lang ay sa quality.”

And a lot of what chef Jeremiah uses in the kitchen is air-freighted — not just purchased in the butcher shops or grocery stores. 

The proof is at the end of the fork. Citterio Special is another bestseller with its medley of prosciutto, salami, pancetta and Parmesan. Three more favorites are the risotto Parmesan fritti, the Meatball Diablo, and the foie gras caramelized peach bruschetta. In the realm of pasta, Psinakis and chef Jeremiah agree on the tagliatelle salsa tartufo with prosciutto, which is a enticing platter of mushroom and truffle cream-flavored pasta.

“The dishes have twists,” says Psinakis.

The chef says what makes Spasso different is the quality of their ingredients. Take the grilled baby octopus, for example. It’s so fresh, all that needs to be done is to “marinate it, grill it and pour a simple Italian dressing.”

Psinakis adds that it’s classic Mediterranean. “I order the baby octopus whenever I’m here, as well as the wagyu. No matter how much I stay away from it (laughs). And I’m actually not a big meat eater. A recent favorite is the tuna (caponata) crostini. I grew up with a passion for food. I never imagined I would end up in the restaurant industry. But I grew up in a house where we always eat family-style, we’d go out and try new restaurants. I never imagined I’d be part of an Italian restaurant (in Manila), but good food is good food. Good service, as well.”

Psinakis and chef Jeremiah have been working together since the start of 2000. They went on food trips to Greece several times when they were preparing for the opening of another restaurant. Spasso opened in January last year. The word spasso means “fun.”

Psinakis says, “So, needless to say, we want everyone who walks into our restaurant not just to enjoy the food but to have a good time. We have bands that play here from Wednesday to Saturday — M.Y.M.P., an acoustic alternative group called Keystone, Acoustic Indulgence which has a wide repertoire, Saturday is jazz night with Dianne Elise. Monday we have stand-up comedy.”

Spasso marketing director Edwin Sy says, “Sunday is family day, so we decided to have a tie-up with an N.G.O. called WE International Philippines who helps less fortunate kids in Smoky Mountain.” 

Psinakis has been part of WE for about a year-and-half. “We’re planning on donating a significant portion of the proceeds from every Sunday brunch that will go to WE’s existing programs geared toward children — educational programs, feeding programs for malnourished kids.”

Citi Life at Spasso

Spasso offers 10 percent discount for Citibank cardholders. The weekend special offer is 30 percent discount for two weekends (from the time this article comes out in The STAR).

“The program we have with Spasso is part of Citibank Dining Privileges program wherein we have tie-ups with a wide range of restaurants in Metro Manila,” says Ramon del Rosario, Citibank cards business group vice president. “We want to give our cardholders the best dining deals that are available. It’s very unique, since we don’t just do the average dining discounts or special freebies.”

Del Rosario adds that if their cardholder discovers that another credit card offers something better than their Citibank credit card in any place that carries the Citibank Dining Privileges sign, Citibank will pay for the difference. He stresses, “(For example,) in Spasso, if another credit card offers more than our 10 percent discount, you just need to report it to us and we will reimburse the balance.”

 On top of this Del Rosario explains, “If you spend P1,500, cardholders can use their charge slip to redeem free movies or even get P200 off on their bills in Shell, Mercury, Rustan’s and all of the SSI (Stores Specialists Inc.) stores also.”

Imagine: you go to a restaurant and spend P1,500 on a meal, not only are you going to get the best dining deal around, you could get discounts in the aforementioned establishments.

So, after holding a culinary party in your mouth at Spasso’s, you could get free access to, say, the latest Christopher Nolan or Terry Gilliam and have a banquet in your brain. 

As for the dishes still simmering in the stoves of the future, chef Jeremiah wants to keep mum, but still gives diners a heads up.

Citibank cards business group VP Ramon del Rosario; one of the owners of Spasso, Geni Psinakis; and chef Jeremiah Go

“Have you ever tasted pizza with a citrus fruit (component)? It’s my own take on the modern pizza, but there will still be the basic ingredients.”

What did the dour critic in Ratatouille say? The new needs friends. In this case, we can’t wait to sink our teeth into the new.

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Spasso is at The Luxe Residences, 4th Ave. corner 28th St., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. For information, call 556-0070.

Citibank Dining Privileges is a borderless program that offers the best guaranteed deals in the Asia-Pacific Region, with over 5,000 dining locations in more than four countries (Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand), regardless where your Citibank card is issued.

As an example, Citibank cardholders from the Philippines get the same preferential treatment when they travel to Singapore as well as in all the other participating countries in the region — in the same way that a Citibank cardholder from Indonesia can come to the Philippines and enjoy the same privileges. Citibank Dining Privileges promises the best dining deals in over 1,000 dining locations.

For information, call Citi phone 995-9999.