Over the top? Why not?
It was definitely one of those rare moments when I could no longer eat anything more. Where food was just too abundant and I had been fed way too much in 48 hours. I had eaten my way through Manila, cuisines spanning from Filipino to European ending with an 11-course wine tasting, Chinese lauriat lunch. That evening, eating was far from my mind. I wanted to go home and drink some herbal tea.
A simple phone call was all it took. A dear friend, Elbert Cuenca, gave me a ring. “Steph, tonight I’m inviting you to a super-prime, prime rib dinner. You can’t say no.”
“Umm… but…”
“No, you have to be there.” And that was that. Elbert and I go way back. It was at his place, Restaurant 12, where I made my first cooking debut. I was young, fresh out of high school, never been to culinary school. Food was just something I loved and I came up with a bunch of crazy dishes inspired by all my travels. Youth and creativity were my ammo and, well, I never got paid for my stint because friends would come over for dinner, stay over for drinks and all my salary went to buying bottles of Louis Jadot Maçon Blanc. It was a great learning experience, working in a real resto setting doing both lunch and dinner services, really being back there in the kitchen. Cuts, scrapes, bruises and burns were ignored in the high-pressure situation. There was a tub of clarified butter and whatever nasty scalding burn you had, you just scooped up some butter, slathered it on and kept going.
So I owe Elbert and his darling wife Liza a lot, because they trusted me and let a crazy 18-year-old with no experience loose in their kitchen. When they opened Elbert’s Steakroom, I remember having one of those amazing dinners with friends where we were four people and consumed four bottles of wine. The polite waiters (I’ve worked with all of them at Restaurant 12) were exhausted but still kept the place open for us till the wee hours of the morning. It was great — cozy and intimate, yet chic interiors. All the chairs are rich and inviting, velvety or leather, plush and soft. Great art pieces highlighted by perfect mood lighting. Even the ash trays in the cigar den are Cartier. No detail is forgotten. The food has always been impeccable. Simple with no frou-frou, great soup, fresh salad and uncomplicated sides paired with an impeccably cooked steak — the epitome of the success of KISS — “Keep it simple and stupid” transposed into making one thing and perfecting it.
That evening was no exception. I was armed with Zantac, because the acidity levels in my stomach were already bothering me, and I held a glimmer of hope that I could politely ask for small pieces and decline seconds. As soon as I entered, I was automatically handed a glass of Bollinger Champagne Special Cuvee. It had perfect tiny uniform bubbles, prettily tickling my nose. A good Champagne is marked by how fine and delicate its bubbles are; this was beyond expectation. It was rather torturous not being able to drink more. We sat down and I love dinners with a mix of old friends (Mario, a good friend from high school, was there), good acquaintances (Alex Lichaytoo of Bacchus International and Josemari Ugarte of Rogue) and a few other new faces. The conversation ranged from processed and whole foods, to Americans liking only chicken breast, to what we do in a fantasy pizza cook-off.
We started with a nice, simple salad, then I had a wonderful cream of tomato soup. Always a favorite but it can often be completely artificial-tasting. Tonight was perfectly tart yet creamy, digne d’un vrai veloute. Then came the piece de resistance, the ultra-decadent “prime” prime rib.
Prime rib is usually the star item on most menus or buffets. It’s a slow-cooked hunk of luscious bone-in rib eye. Usually just choice grade will suffice, as it is roasted tenderly in its juices. According to Elbert it was Alex’s crazy idea. “What’s really wrong with over-the-top?” So they special-ordered a slab of USDA Prime bone-in rib eye just for that evening. The result was a succulent, beautiful piece of meat that made me forget all my aches and pains and grumbles about acidity and overeating. It was a gluttonous, hedonistic moment, where miraculously my tummy turned into a black hole and happily devoured that gorgeous piece of meat. The beautiful magnum bottle of Chateau Lagrange 1999 heightened the experience. It just married so well with the perfect marbling of the beef balancing the entire meal with notes of velvety pepper and spice and those tannins that ran down the glass languidly. Elbert’s brother and chef of the resto, Adrian Cuenca, truly outdid himself, respecting the noble ingredients and giving us a meal that was so breathtakingly uncomplicated and beautiful — a rarity in our days of air of roquette and caviar of ginger.
Once again, the evening was a glorious success, and Elbert and darling Liza always know how to put on a good show. Alex Lichaytoo of Bacchus International has got to be the meat king in this country because his beef is always far more superior than many other suppliers’ I’ve found here. The flavor and the perfect marbling is always a home run. His selection of wines and cooking tools and products just boggles the mind and if there’s only one thing I’ve to reproach him for, it’s that he still owes me carte blanche in his gorgeous Viking text kitchen
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For information visit www.steakroom.com.
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You can contact me at stephanie_yahoo.fr.
