The Continuous Search for Places to Eat... Mom & Tina and Us

"Where do we eat?"

It's as ubiquitous as "good morning, baby" or "watcha doin?" Tired of value meals before those last few days before sweldo? That dinner at Serendra an unforseen expense? Call us the budget conscious --- hey, we have to consider groceries, the caramel frap, that latest Ultimates comic book, a new movie, those pirated nine-in-one dvds, gas, etc. into the monthly expenditures -- but unless we've become Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Roman Abramovich, Mark Cuban, Bruce Wayne... then we're still in the rat race where we have to deal with sucky people who whine, finger-point, look busy when all they're doing is surf the net and YM, Click the City for the latest new eats, and send spam email. Hahaha. Too much bile there.

And that leads us back to "where do we eat?"

Going home northbound along C-5 just before you hit the flyover atop Ortigas Extension that lands you in Libis (if you're going southbound, it's across SM Hypermart), there's one of our fave stops for burgers (lemme tell you about a burger story in another post soon)... Good Burger. Unlike those Burger Machines that are beginning to mushroom all over again in the metro, Good Burger is like a kitchen along the wall where if you want to eat, you can stay in the parking lot to wolf down some of the best in the country.

But this is not about Good Burger or even the San Jacinto Panciteria that's been there forever. I don't even remember what used to be between them two food joints, but there it was... Mom and Tina's Bakery & Cafe.

It's like a restaurant in a Forty Winks/doll house setting. The tables have comfy chairs and couches to sit on. The ambiance is warm, cozy, and light. You get that feeling like you're a part of that interior designer showcase that schools hold in Greenhills except that there's real food and it tastes great.

So, let's break it down:

Parking: Ample, since the place isn't a hangout joint, people eat then move on. There's garage parking underneath the San Jacinto Panciteria so it's not bad. You just have to watch that turn when going around the parking. If you make a mistake you could slalom right into Mom & Tina's that will give new meaning to the term "drive-thru." You'll figure out what we mean when you get there.


Tables: About 13-14 tables that will probably seat 60-70 people at any one time.

Food: We got a half-ceasar's salad that's P85, a Salisbury steak for about P145, a beef stew for a similar price... For dessert, we got a couple of chocolate chip cookies (for P40) and my fave cake anywhere on God's green earth, sansrival (P45). I wanted to try the paella but I have an unfortunate allergy to shrimps, squid, un-fried fish, and other seafoods -- I know I'm missing a lot so don't rub it in.

The menu of pastas, roasts and salads are all definitely affordable. We've made a habit out of drinking water rather than ordering sodas (Hmmm. We still call them sodas, a habit we picked up living in the US). So that's about P440 and we left a 50 something tip (another habit we've picked up from you know where).

The food presentation was excellent as was the service.

Definitely worth going back and trying the other fare.

So now, it's not just our Good Burger stop. It's also Mom & Tina's. And ours.