Since our parents just came home from an almost two week trip to the United States to visit my sister Darianne who is currently in Utah for her internship, we decided to eat out for dinner. And because my parents had somewhere to go to tonight, they wanted to eat dinner somewhere near our place. I remember seeing Blackwood Bar and Grill on my way home from a friend’s grand aunt’s funeral wake. Since we haven’t eaten here and it’s pretty near our place, I suggested we have dinner there. My family is always game to try out new restaurants so it was a pretty quick decision.
For our appetizer, we got the Jamon Serrano and Arugula Pizza. I have no words for how perfect this pizza is. Since I tasted pizza from Italy, I’ve become partial to thin crust pizzas. This pizza probably has the thinnest crust I’ve ever had. Also, the crust feels less like pizza dough and more like puff pastry. It took the pie in “pizza pie” to a whole new level. The thin crust made the cheese, ham, and arugula blend so much more better. It was probably my fave dish out of all that we ordered.
We also got the Crab and Mango Salad as part of our appetizer. What sets this apart from most salads with crab? This one actually uses real crab meat. Not that I have anything against using crabsticks (I love crabsticks) but I don’t think I’ve ever had a salad that actually had real crab meat. The use of lemon aioli as the dressing added more zest to the salad and the addition of the strawberries slightly lessened the sourness of the mango. The crab tasted really fresh and was enhanced by the lemon aioli dressing. The dish was really refreshing to the palate.
For the entree, my brother got the Beef Brisket Burger. I like burgers and I have to say, this one was absolutely delish. The patty tasted like it was made from scratch (which I’m pretty sure it was). Apart from that, the meat was juicy and tender. I really have no complaints about this dish. What I really like about the dish is that you can choose the cheese they will use: swiss, mozzarella, or bleu cheese.
My mum, dad, and I decided to get two dishes to split. One of them was the Blackwood Seafood Ravioli. I love ravioli so I’m also pretty particular about my ravioli. This was perfect. I tried seafood ravioli from some other restaurant before and the stuffing was too overpowering. I didn’t finish it. Compared to that, the stuffing of this ravioli was filled with fresh seafood (at least, from what I could taste). It had real crab meat, shrimp, and fish. The sauce was also light and went perfectly with the clams and the mussels. It was perfect.
The other dish we got was the Barbecued Baby Back Ribs. Now, I’m not a very big fan of baby back ribs. Mostly because I think that there isn’t enough meat for me to eat. It’s usually just bone. Also, I’m not very fond of barbecue sauce. I find it too strong for my tastes. This dish however was so delicious that I really enjoyed eating it. Apart from being super tender (I didn’t need to use my knife at all), the taste of the sauce was just right. Not too barbecue-y (yes, I know that’s a made-up word). Also, there was a lot of meat and the bones were not that big.
If you haven’t noticed it yet, all the food we ordered was delicious. I could not find anything wrong with any of their dishes. In fact, their food was so delicious that I was already eyeing some of the other dishes so I could pick which I would try the next time I go there. Although the food is a bit on the expensive side (around P400 average per dish), I think it’s worth coming back to because of the quality of the food.
After all, it’s okay to splurge on “expensive” food every once in a while. Food of superb taste and excellent quality are definitely worth it.
♥ Daal
Blackwood Bar and Grill is located at The Hub, Greenfield District, Mandaluyong.
Blackwood Bistro is located at The Venice Piazza, McKinley Hill, Taguig.