A ladies’ night in a man’s resto
The cliché is that most women like cute, dainty surroundings. That we like beautiful floral arrangements, a stylish, charming atmosphere, and a menu that boasts of salads, pasta and fish. We will order some white wine, laugh and giggle demurely while sharing a dessert so as to indulge without overdoing it on the calorie count.
My friends and I don’t fit in this cliché. Most of my friends are strong, powerful alpha females whose busy schedules are often so packed that I can say I see some of my friends living in Hong Kong or Singapore more often than I get to see them. But when we do get together, we mean serious business. We laugh boisterously, catch up on how our careers are going, on makeups and breakups, weddings and babies, share deep secrets along with what our favorite concealer, eyeliner and lipsticks are and, of course, the occasional comically lewd gossip about some current showbiz scandal or another accompanied by the equally comically lewd exposé photos to our feigned, exaggerated air of disgust — “Eeeeewwwww…” Followed by a squeal of schoolgirl laughter. Much to my mother or grandmother’s disapproval, we are probably the table that people stare at in shock or amusement if we were having tea and cakes in a fancy hotel lobby.
To top it all off, we eat. We don’t prettily chew and chat (we save that for when we are with our men or in the company of others). Among ourselves, we relax and chomp away. We like to dig into good, hearty food and clink our glasses several times at the joy of being together, to celebrate new beginnings or any good reason, for that matter, like in honor of the best new shade of red lipstick. Add to that the fact that we are all well-traveled, genuine foodies who are used to good service, and you can imagine that we need a certain kind of place to accommodate us.
Finally last week, after being on a two-month mommy hiatus, my husband was out of town and I finally got to have some girly time. Choosing a resto is always difficult and we are quite wary of new ones because we are easily disappointed. I am also breastfeeding and my poor baby (poor me, too!) has allergic reactions to dairy, seafood and chicken. In the fashion of men we decided to go out and have a steak dinner at the recently opened Argentinian parilla La Cabrera Grillado and Bar.
To say the place was packed is an understatement. But more specifically it was full of long tables of men enjoying their hunks of beef and hearty red wine. So much so that we jokingly mentioned in our chat group that our single girlfriends should come over as fast as possible. The décor is charming and rustic with aged kitchen utensils hanging from the ceiling, assorted old mirrors and paintings, roughed-up wood and brick, a harlequin floor and bistro chairs.
There were so many people that even if it is such a large space, it felt rather intimate. Despite the lighting being too bright, it pleasantly reminded me of those tiny bistros in Paris where people rub elbows but have a good time anyways. They placed us in the farthest corner possible from the door in the upper level, which at first glance would make you think it was a lousy seat but it suited our needs perfectly. We could be as loud and giggly as we wanted.
The menu is rather straightforward and pared-down, which personally I appreciate in restaurants as they can focus more on making a few things really well. There are a few starters, apart from their empanadas and morcilla, most of which are different versions of their Provoleta or melted skillet cheese, different versions of potatoes and a small selection of salads. The mains are basically different cuts of meat grilled in their specially made open pit fired by mango wood.
We ordered the smoked cheese with grilled bell peppers, French fries with caramelized onions, a Caesar salad and an 800g Ojo de Bife or rib-eye steak. Sadly, I could only have a bite of that really wonderful melted cheese, but I would definitely come back once I can eat dairy again. The menu says it’s good for four, but if you are a hungry cheese monster like myself, it would be more likely good for two. The fries were nice and crisp and the caramelized onions a pleasant addition, but strangely they were just coldly plopped on top. They would benefit from being heated and mixed together with the fries. The salad was perfectly dressed and tossed — good, fresh lettuce and crunchy bits of bacon. The steak was huge, cooked well but lacking a teensy bit of seasoning, which was quickly rectified by a smattering of sea salt, and, to our surprise, accompanied by a flurry of mini little side dishes you could choose from.
Among my favorites are the puree of corn, piquillo peppers with some provolone (again, to my dismay, I could only eat a couple of bites!) and the eggplant in vinegar. I wish they had more vegetable options — grilled veggies, perhaps? It seems like a lot of food but we ate everything and washed it down with two bottles of Guarda Malbec.
Oh, and we greedily ordered two desserts: the Rogel de Dulce de Leche and their dulce de leche-laden chocolate Argentinian birthday cake, both of which were extremely rich but that didn’t stop me and one of my friends from continuously digging in with our forks, saying, “One last bite” countless times.
I wouldn’t say it’s the best steak place in town but it’s definitely a good restaurant addition to the Manila scene. It wasn’t cheap, a little on the pricey side, but we did order two bottles of rather nice wine, made a beeline for the intensely fatty, close-to-a-kilo rib-eye steak, plus two desserts when one would have sufficed.
Despite the resto’s being full to the brim, on the service end we were very well attended to, although, as always with a note of caution, I can only speak for our table. I would certainly come back when I can eat dairy and chicken again because I would love to eat more of their Provoleta and would like to try a leaner cut of beef, as well as their grilled chicken and pork. And I have to admit quite honestly that it was one of my most enjoyable dining experiences of late. Proof being that we closed the restaurant down. Yes. We were the last women standing. All four of us were in agreement that we had a wonderful time and it dawned on me as I watched the server clean up and clear away the tables and chairs that in this era of foodies, foraging, degustations and molecular frou-frou, there is this constant, lingering idea that every single meal has to be a unique and outstanding experience. In our perpetual quest for the best this and that we are nowadays so easily disappointed when, in fact, my dinner at La Cabrera reminded me that sometimes all we really want is plain, old good — good food, good wine and good friends.
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La Cabrera Grillado and Bar is on the ground floor of 6750 Ayala Avenue, Makati. For reservations, call 0905-290-0703.
