Grissini Ristorante (Naga City)

Have you ever been to a restaurant and bit more than you can chew? Or ordered more than you can eat, for that matter? Well, we have, not too long ago. This was in Grissini Ristorante, located in Magsaysay Avenue, Balatas, Naga City. One of the few sort of high-end restos in the city.

The ambience? It was a good spacious place. It felt open and bright because of the big windows letting the sunlight in.

The complimentary bread basket.

Guys, I am feeling a little lazy today so I am just gonna go straight to my thoughts on the food we ordered. Well, let’s start from my most favorite which was the Pizza Margherita. Ain’t she pretty? This pizza was simple but it was really good.

Pizza Margherita (Php 280.00)

Next was the  Spaghetti Al Pesto which was delightful because of the pesto sauce. I love this because the flavor was not overpowering and the pesto balanced the creaminess of the other pasta dishes we ordered.

Spaghetti Al Pesto Php 240.00 (Grabbed this pic from Caressa’s Facebook since the photo I took was not very good)

This next one was called Pasta Scampi. It was mainly spaghetti with sauteed shrimp, broccoli in garlic, chili flakes and olive oil. I liked it because it had no creamy notes to it at all. This was a welcome break from feeling “umay” from eating a lot of creamy pasta dishes we ordered.

Pasta Scampi (Php 245.00) / Photo credit: Caressa’s FB

Speaking of creamy pasta dishes, my personal order was the Spaghetti Ala Puttanesca. It was a good pasta dish, and if I happened to have it at home, I’d definitely be eating it happily all day (well, sporadically, that is). My thing was, I got overwhelmed with the portion and felt like I was force feeding myself in the process trying to finish the whole serving.

Spaghetti ala Puttanesca (Php 214.00)

Then, the Lasagna Al Ragu. Although this one was creamy, but it was really very delicious. I’d order this again –  It was baked lasagna pasta layered with bechamel and meat sauce topped with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Who doesn’t love a very cheesy creamy lasagna?

Lasagna Al Ragu (Php 285.00)

Another order was Spaghetti Parmigiana. By this time, I was hardly distinguishing the individual taste of dishes. I was beyond full. So I’d rely on my companions’ opinion that the chicken on this one was superb.

Still Caressa’s photo…lol

This was us…

Photo Credit: Caressa’s FB

And this was my plate…

The food was superb and delicious but we ordered so much pasta than we can eat because we had no idea that the portions were actually good for sharing. So, when you check out Grissini Ristorante, keep in mind that each pasta dish can feed two to three people. We could have been satisfied with just three pasta dishes and two pizzas, instead of ordering one dish per person.

As always, it’s a pleasure having you visit my blog. Enjoy the weekend ahead! =)

 

Disclaimer: All photos are mine except those I give credit to whom credit is due.

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Wooden Board (Naga City)

Hello there! How are you guys? Hope you’re all feeling well and happy today. As for me, I’m doing just fine. I mean, life kicks me in the butt time and again but that’s life, right? But really, I have been dead tired these past few days from travelling to and fro Sorsogon City to care for my sick mother. One can’t even imagine how hard it is to care for an aging parent, especially when they’re sick, unless they’ve done it themselves. So, I will be forever grateful to my brother Bong, and have so much respect for his commitment to stay by Mama’s side full time in this difficult time.

As I was saying, I was so tired and have not slept properly for three days. My mind was full of thoughts of my mother being sick and all the negative emotions from the horrible fight I had with my father. Well, he’s notorious for his drinking problem so that’s pretty much self-explanatory. Still being in this state yesterday, I was only grateful when Caressa invited me to go out and try this resto called Wooden Board in Sta Cruz, Naga City.

Photo credit: Caressa

Caressa discovered Wooden Board though a Facebook post and she contacted the owner to inquire about the location and stuff. We met at a 7/11 branch infront of University of Nueva Caceres (UNC) and took a pedicab going to the resto. No worries, the pedicab drivers know the place. It is located in a residential area, a sort of crowded place, but it’s hard to miss because of the large signage.

The entrance, which was enclosed with a bamboo fence and vines, led to a small garden. We proceeded inside and instantly noticed the cool reggae theme of the restaurant’s setting with music playing in the background.

We were expecting a crowd but surprisingly, we were the only ones there. This was a bit odd considering it was a Saturday night.

The staff who appeared to be the owners themselves (or I could be wrong) were friendly and attentive. I just had a couple of issues that they might need to work on like #1. They need to do something about the mosquitoes, #2. The first table we sat in had been used as sort of an ashtray so we moved to another table and #3. They need air conditioning (to finally take care of that mosquito problem for good) because if they won’t shoo the mosquitoes away, they’d be shooing potential customers away.

The food though was good and reasonably priced.

We ordered these burgers called Hashtag Andrea (with lettuce, 100% beef patty, mayo mustard, hash brown and melted cheddar cheese) and Smokey Dale (with lettuce, 100% beef patty, bacon, mayo mustard, hash brown, melted cheddar cheese and caramelized onion). These were yummy burgers, beats the s@*% out of a McDonald’s or Jollibee buns any day.

Hashtag Andrea (Php 95.00)

Smokey Dale (Php 95.00)

We also had Fries Overload, which I enjoyed a lot. I think I’d be happy eating on my own with just this and one of their burgers. What made it even more appetizing aside from the cheddar cheese were the herbs sprinkled on top. I love that little detail.

For Julienne (who tagged along), we ordered Mac and Cheese but she didn’t really like it as much as she liked the fries and burgers. The pasta was filling but all the cheese made us crave for beer. San Mig Apple, yasss please.

Over-all, I really enjoyed it and hopefully, they’ll address the issues soon and turn this place into an ultimate go-to for all the passionate eaters and foodies out there.

Thanks for dropping by! =)