A Walk in Maginhawa

food at Friuli Trattoria

This visit to Maginhawa Street in Teacher's Village, Quezon City was spurred by Sebastian's Ice Cream head sorbetero Ian Carandang status update---with pics to boot (Yes, I'm currently subscribed to Mr. Carandang's social media updates) of this new all-day breakfast place in the area. Pumped up with so much excitement, I scurry my butt there in haste right after work. Adrenaline in full swing, I could almost feel my heart doing it's tub-thumping as I walk the front pavement of the restaurant. But nobody attends to me the full ten minutes that I was inside the restaurant. I walked over to the the rack where the laminated 'soft-opening' menus were placed to show the waitstaff that I'm interested in dining there. But one of the male staff only offered me a goofy smile and continued with whatever his doing. I walked back to the table where I was seated prior, already feeling a little flustered. The conversation happening on the adjacent table from where I am is like a slow hum counterpointing with the buzzing sound I seem to hear inside my head. My shoulders slumped and my previously felt surge of emotions came crashing down. Feeling like a defeated soldier, I went out. Feet scuffling heavily.


A Good Italian Food At The Most Unexpected Place

pizza and pasta at Friuli

So further down I walked the long stretch of Maginhawa Street, looking for other food places that I could try (and also nursing a bruised heart of not being able to try the breakfast place which was the reason I went here in the first place). I thought this walk would take me forever before I find another restaurant to settle in when my eyes laid upon this rather unassuming Italian restau bearing the name Friuli Trattoria that seems to me like a roadside eatery. I also immediately noticed that a lot of people were in attendance with a few Italian expats, I would presume, enjoying their own respective meals. I dilly dallied a little then decided to step right in.

mocha peppermint frapp

penne pasta in smoked sausage sauce

hot sausage & pepper pizza

I admit I almost run away upon seeing the restaurant up close. I felt that strongly when I was handed the laminated menu and saw how dilapidated it looked. Some of the pages of it were also missing. But I was already so hungry at that point and my tired legs and feet couldn't afford anymore another journey under the intense heat of the afternoon sun. So I decided to stay. I was ushered on their upstairs saloon since there's no room on the first floor. I gingerly went up the rickety, narrow steps and braced myself on what sort of food awaits me. Whether it will be a good meal or a bad one.

I sputtered around while I await for my orders since I was the only one that occupies the second floor. I saw tacked in one wall a magazine article that featured Friuli. Somehow my trepidation subsided and was assuaged that I am in good hands. And that feeling was further reinforced when my Mocha Peppermint Frapp arrived. From the looks and taste of it, it's comparable to other expensive frapps offered at high end cafes. I only just wish the minty flavor was strong enough.

I also liked the Penne In Smoked Sausage Sauce. The sauce was the tangy variety doused over the noodles that were springy and still has bite to it. Never mind the overly toasted garlic bread that I could live without.

The Hot Sausage & Pepper Pizza arrived with aplomb. So striking the appearance of this pizza with that a group of students positioned on a table across me gave this thing of beauty a curious glance. Who wouldn't be captivated with all those beautifully roasted tomatoes strategically placed on top of a pizza crust teeming with cheese. It was further prettified with the slices of bell pepper and crumbled sausages coursing through the cheese. Although this pizza is billed as spicy, I hardly felt any heat on either the sauce or the Italian sausage. No need to fret since the provided hot sauce can easily remedy that.

As time passes and the sun's blazing rays starts to fade as I finish off my pizza and pasta, the second floor saloon slowly packed and becomes hectic. I never thought that this humble, small Italian trattoria has quite a following. After I got my fill, I dusted off the crumbs that falls unto my shirt and jeans. I'm ready to embark on another journey. This time in search for a cafe to quell my cravings for sweets.



79 Maginhawa Street
UP Village
Quezon City

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A Coffee Shop For The Bookworms

books, coffee and cupcakes at Cool Beas

A library and a coffee shop rolled into one. Hmmm??? This might be my kind of place. There's an announcement on Cool Beans' signage proclaiming they're still on soft opening but that didn't deter me to check out the place. The enticement of sipping a perfectly prepared coffee while perusing an engaging book is too hard to pass up. 

book shelves

time to get comfy

It's the first time that my attention was held rapt by non-food items. In this case the extensive book selections parading on the shelves of this library cafe. I check out which title I might pick up before I slumber over to the counter. Cool Beans really put emphasis to coziness with the right amount of lighting for easy reading and soft music that permeates the air. And the books just brought out the geekazoid in me. The selection includes books by Neil Gaiman, George R. R. Martin, Terry Prachett and quite a number of Filipino fiction and literature. I even spied a complete volume of True Philippine Ghost Stories collection.

cupcakes

cafe latte

I picked up a comic strip book concerning about our country's national hero having an anting-anting (amulet) in his possession given to him by a nymph in the woods that allows him to tame and control wild animals. The book is called Pepe: The Last Days Of Rizal. I leaf through the pages as I sip my cup of Cafe Latte with a delicately prepared flower latte art on top. The cupcakes further sank me dip into reverie. The S'mores cupcake and what I believe was called Peanut Butter Vanilla cupcake were collisions of sweets that transports my heart that loves sugary anything into submission.

67 Maginhawa Street
UP Village
Quezon City