a mid-week dine-out

My hubby and I love the comforts of home. Except for a few exceptional occasions, we opt for in-house dinners whether it be home-cooked (my cooking, of course, which can be best described as experimental more than anything, take-out (from the fast food and eateries around our area and even from my office cafeteria) or delivery (pizza, pancit, dimsum, and the usual fast food).

Last Wednesday night, to fulfill a promise made more than 2 months ago to pay a friend and her newborn baby a visit, we went to Rockwell. The visit led to a relaxed dinner.

Cai, my friend’s almost 3-month little girl is such a cutesy. I am amazed that a baby barely a quarter year old could support her head. As she’s big for her age, I didn’t have qualms about holding her. Of course, I dabbed alcohol before holding Cai. Boy, she’s heavy. I didn’t last long holding her. She got a bit antsy as it was about her sleeping time so I happily returned her to her mommy.

With the baby asleep and my friend wanting to get out of the house for a more grown up environment, we decided to cross to Grams Diner. It is still wholesome but not necessarily juvenile like, say, McDonald’s or Jollibee.

A no frills eating place, the diner agrees well with my husband as he abhors the pretentious ambience with the equally pompous crowd. My friend likes it for it is conveniently near their place. And they have beer which is enough to satiate her fancy for any alcoholic beverage.

I recently caught a cooking show on the Lifestyle channel where they prepared meatloaf so the Grams meatloaf caught my eye.

My hubby, who is the ultimate breakfast person, even if he is rarely awake during the normal breakfast hours, was thrilled to see the menu. Two pages of breakfast meals were more than enough affirmation to skip our usual dine-home dinners. He opted for the American breakfast which has the same breakfast links, eggs, hash browns and bacon as the Grams breakfast platter featured in rants and raves, but it has toast instead of pancakes and it comes with a glass of fruit juice, fruit plate and coffee. My girl friend ordered calamari to go with her beer.

I have never tried their meatloaf, so had to give ordering some thought. Without a star indicating that it is one of the house bestsellers, I knew that it was a risk. I decided to bet on it. I was happy that I made a new discovery. The meatloaf was meaty. It didn’t have that mushy, glutinous texture that meatloaves or ‘embutidos’ have when their loaded with breadcrumbs and other extenders. Some may find Grams’ meatloaf more like a burger. But I like it that way and for 125 bucks it was definitely a wise dinner choice.

I liked it at Grams and that’s why I am writing about it here. I have nothing but admiration for the bloggers who can make an honest assessment of a restaurant. But I am no food connoisseur and therefore I don’t feel right criticizing when I neither have the expertise nor credentials. My philosophy for this blog – “write about the good stuff.” When the experience is relatively to superbly pleasant, you will read it here. When the experience is marked by mediocrity and undeniably spotty, I don’t want to be harsh in making a public judgment and will opt to keep my mouth zipped about the entire experience.

I mulled the really terrible experience though, and I have come to a decision to make this an outlet for my rage and an instrument to warn friends, family, and whoever comes across this page.

As for Grams, you may find me and my hubby one of these days enjoying a hearty breakfast.