It's always fun at T.G.I. Friday's

Alan Stillman, founder and creator of T.G.I. Friday’s, was in search of a good time. It was in 1965 that the then bachelor perfume salesman opened the first T.G.I. Friday’s on 63rd Street and First Avenue in New York, hoping that owning a bar would be the perfect way for him to meet all the single models and airline stewardesses living in and around that area. To make a long story short, it worked! His place, T.G.I. Friday’s, was a hit, inspiring many other restaurateurs to open similar establishments.

T.G.I. Friday’s clicked because at the time, the only places for people to really meet up and socialize were non-public, privately hosted cocktail parties held in condos and apartments all over New York. Most of the other existing bars were dingy places where men would down pints and get sloshed. These weren’t exactly the most conducive locations for deeper social interaction. Besides, the females rarely visited these haunts, making hook-ups at such bars close to impossible.

T.G.I. Friday’s changed all that. It recreated the comfortable cocktail party atmosphere that was so popular at the time, and placed it in a public venue. Now there was a spot in town where men and women could casually mingle over a proper dinner and drinks. Not just reserved for the weekend, the party was on for the entire week. That same spirit carries on to this day: like it says above every T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant around the world: “In here, it’s always Friday.”

Shrimply delicious: The Asian shrimp saute is just the right kind of spicy, infused with fresh herbs, and a nice, strong garlic flavor. Some advice: Wash it down with some Ultimate Mojito before engaging your date in conversation.  

After over 45 years of operation, T.G.I. Friday’s continues to thrive because it has stuck to the simple things that have made it work. Keeping the party going, retaining the fun factor, and giving emphasis to food quality and preparation have been key factors to the restaurant’s success.

Yet another of its strengths is its ability to adapt and adjust while maintaining these ideals. Meeting and anticipating the needs of different patrons in all their outlets worldwide is a challenge that T.G.I. Friday’s readily accepts.

T.G.I. Friday’s in the Philippines keeps in mind that many Pinoys enjoy a good time and a good stiff drink, too — whenever, for whatever reason. For this, they have beefed up their bar list with new concoctions like the strawberry mango lemonade, blackberry Long Island tea, vanilla lemon ice, tropical mai tai, berry Brazilian caipirinha, and Tennessee peach. These all complement existing cocktails such as the famous Friday’s Ultimates: Ultimate Long Island iced tea, Ultimate mango Mai Tai, Ultimate Lynchburg lemonade, Ultimate strawberry daiquiri, Ultimate mudslide, and Ultimate Hawaiian volcano, which all raise the standard in quality and flavor.

Of course, beers and regular hard drinks are available, but if you notice, a lot of these new cocktails fall under the “girly drink” classification. So if you bring a date, at least she’ll have a colorful list to choose from and won’t have to strain for a decision between gin-bulag and the secret house mix that actually has a bit of everything in it (of course, if she’s a gin-bulag/secret-house-mix kind of lady, then that’s super cool, too.)

Bottoms up: Friday’s is serving up bottomless mojitos at P305 every day from 4 p.m. onwards until the end of 2011.

Friday’s branches around the country have also introduced a special for 2011: the bottomless mojito, available in the classic margarita-twist flavor, or in apple or strawberry. Do I even need to explain why this is a good thing?

T.G.I.Friday’s also introduces its new small plates to go with your drinks. These appetizers are great for sharing with friends, and can serve as openers to a meal or just something to munch on while guzzling down that bottomless mojito. Try the Cajun chicken spring rolls, Asian spicy shrimp sautè, eggplant Rollantini, and the Southern style crab cakes. If you want something heavier but still just right to the bite, enjoy the luscious and lean pork tenderloin and bacon-wrapped Creole.

Craving for something that’s a little light? Have an order of the shrimp bruschetta marinara. And for a Tex-Mex taste, grab a plate of South of the Border hummus or spinach and cheese nachos. And of course, there’s the juicy T.G.I. Friday’s burger that is made with the hungry person in mind.

A friendly word of advice: Order the bottomless mojito with food. You want your stomach to be well-coated and ready for what might be a long night of drinking. Understand that with the right food, drinks, and company, every night can feel like a weekend. If you can’t grasp that, then T.G.I. Friday’s is there to enlighten you on the matter.

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Just a reminder: Don’t drink and drive. Alan Stillman would probably back me up on this.

 E-mail me at enricomiguelsubido@gmail.com.