UPDATE: Route 55

Food Adventure at Lights Out (3rd Installment)

The electricity was turned back on by the time we hit Route 55 for dinner but it’s fun to think about ‘everything we accomplished’ the day of the black out. *snickers, lamon fest. (Click here for the breakfast, lunch blogs.)

It was as good a time as any, Race and I thought for quelling our pulled pork curiosity/craving that started the first moment we browsed through the Route 55 menu.

Here’s what we had on that visit.

Our drinks:

Strawberry cucumber shake and lemon basil cooler. – hits for drinks! (“,)

It’s fabulous how none of the ingredients overpowered each other in these beverages.  The strawberry cucumber was strawberry and cucumber and the lemon basil was lemon and basil. (Unlike the contrary basil drink I’ve tasted before.) I think lemon basil cooler is now my favorite Route 55 libation.  (Maybe I’m speaking too early what with all the interesting things they have on their menu *heeharhar but for now, I’m a lemon basil cooler fan.)

For starters:

Tomato and prawn bisque. Still in the mood for seafood even after having lunch at a seafood place.

A comforting bowl of soup for a night that was getting chillier and chillier (or that might just be me, signs of aging =b) after the afternoon downpour.  I love how there were lots of croutons in the bowl.  It was not as praw-y as I expected it to be (prawn bisque brings up memories of the small bowls I used to have at Paliz’Zata) but it was still definitely appetizing.

For (the 2nd) starters:  (Or a real meal for cows in a past life like me *hee)

Mexican salad – “Chilies, chili con carne, cheese, veggies, salsa and more layered on top of crunchy corn nachos” – Route 55 menu

This was an extra flavorful plate.  The chili con carne was a tad too salty and it made everything else salty.  (Maybe I shouldn’t have mixed everything up, breaking the nachos.  Hhhhm.)  Race and I would’ve wanted more lettuce but we remedied the taste with the salad that came with our ‘entree’.  Interesting no?  Salad on salad. =D

The entree:

Pulled pork – “Slowly cooked pork shreds smothered in home made BBQ sauce”.  The dish comes with salad (which saved our Mexican salad *hee) and mashed potatoes or rice.

It’s always nice to have a meal of tender meat.  I hate to think about wrestling with my protein when I’m eating.  =b Think instead, about the texture of corned beef and that’s what pulled pork is like (only with longer shreds and with pork *hihi).  Another ruggedly salted viand where the mashed potatoes became a hero.  Get a  little of the pulled pork, the onions, jalapenos and the mashed potatoes in a spoonful and we’re good. =)

Demonstrating once again just how huge the Route 55 plates are. *hihi Gotta love the Route 55 food presentation… and the plates themselves.

For dessert:

Mango crepe ala mode – “Flambeed fruits on a crepe topped with vanilla ice cream”.

The perfect combination for dessert … sweet mangoes and crepe with the cooling properties of ice cream.  Yum! \m/

It was on this visit that we got to meet the owners of Route 55, Chef Adrien and Maam KC.  Just like with our first Route 55 experience, they inquired about our orders and how we liked them.  (I’m telling you, they’re only going to get better and better with this ‘tactic’ – asking their patrons for their input.  Thank you so much for taking our opinions into consideration. ^^,)  (It was nice to meet you, Chef, Maam! (“,))

We were then invited to come back and try their pulled pork sub so we could see for ourselves why it’s such a best seller.

The Pulled Pork Sub Sampling

With dreams of the pulled pork sub (and its slowly cooked pork shreds with Route 55’s very own BBQ sauce and jalepeno chunks in a baguette) and the excitement over what else to try out, Race and I returned in less than a week to this Legarda Road food establishment.

Chef Adrien was there to greet us at the door. (“,)

Upon getting the menus, we started with ordering drinks first.

Banana-chocnut shake and cherry tea slush

The banana chocnut shake got Race’s attention at our previous visit but he already placed his order for the lemon basil cooler (which I was glad for =D).  As soon as we arrived, he knew what he wanted to drink. (I was pointing out coffee hazelnut crunch for him then. There’s always a next time, right?)

I, on the other hand, took a cue from the legends on the menu that cherry tea slush was a must try … and it was.  Creamy and rich were these beverages.  =) I imagine how refreshing these would be on a warm day.

For starters:

Grilled bell pepper and wild mushroom soup ^^,

Another selection marked with the ‘must try’ legend.  You might think that this is just another bowl of mushroom soup but it’s really got a one up on every other bowl of mushroom soup I’ve tried.  The grilled bell pepper gave an interesting twist to the overall taste of the soup and also, when I dipped my spoon into the bowl, it had shreds of mushroom and bell pepper at the bottom.  That’s chunky (or shred-sy?) soup for you! \m/

The Star of our Route 55 Visit:

Pulled pork sub compliments of the chef/owner. Thank you so much, Chef Adrien! =D

The pulled pork sub was served in a basket resting on freshly fried crispy potato chips.  The pulled pork in the baguette had flavors that were more downplayed compared to the pulled pork on a plate (with salad and mashed potato/rice) which made it a great match for the potato chips that were zingy albeit being lightly dusted with some kind of BBQ seasoning powder.  I understand now why this is a best seller… it’s because it’s deliciously filling. ^^,

The other entree:

Strawberry habanero ribs – “Grilled tender ribs glazed with the restaurant’s spicy strawberry marmalade”.

Just reading those words from the menu was enough to make us salivate.  Here we go with the tender meats again with the lean coming easily away from the ribs. Race cut the savory (sweet and spicy) meat into smaller pieces which we ate with rice – they’re made for each other! As bland as rice can sometimes be, the strawberry habanero meat gave us all the bang of a flavor we needed.

For dessert:

While we were ordering, Chef Adrien was there to suggest some food items to us.  He asked us about the desserts we’ve tried so far and recommended the new addition to their dessert selection: cheesecake pops. (It’s not printed on the menu yet but you can order it up when you want. =))  He described how this was Chef Miko Dy’s (a chef friend’s) creation for Route 55; how the cream cheese is covered in cereal, rolled into a ball and deep fried; how it’s plated on chocolate ‘soil’ which is a choco powder made to look like soil.

A new dessert from Route 55 … cheesecake pops. =)

That’s how we were sold into getting cheesecake pops for dessert. =b (The chef is a salesman, too. Nice one, Chef! =D)

It was a pretty dessert that arrived at our table. (Interesting plate, syrup plate decor, the choco ‘soil’, little mint leaves, and a fried strand of spag. Effect!)  It’s amusing, too, that these balls of cream cheese were not oily at all. (Remember, they’re deep fried.)  We took a bite out of the pops and melted cream cheese squirted out from the cereal casing.  (Cheesecake squirts na. =)))  A rich treat to end our Route 55 meal – sweet, sour, salty … and also minty when I ate the pops with the choco soil.

Rubbing elbows with the chef/owner. Ahey, look at that, a picture on the wall! Weee! Better than a picture of Lightning McQueen …who’s probably 11 routes away from Route 55 *snicker snicker

So these are our Route 55 experiences so far – all super rad, all deliciously rich and savory, all fun, and all filling. *contented sighs

Now, what are we coming back for next time? Hhhmm. Pizza, maybe? (Yes, they’ve got that, too.) ^^,

***We’re so grateful for the pulled pork sub sampling on the house, Chef Adrien! More power to Route 55! (“,)