Mad About Sub Sandwiches At Mad Mark's

mad mark's sandwiches

It was a quite a challenge for all of us to pick out a date where all our schedules would meet without any hassle for this night out. If my memory serves me right, we've moved the schedule for this visit to Mad Mark's in Kapitolyo at least three times and exchanged numerous tweets before we settled for a Friday night pig-out. Chi-Chi was not able to make it, though, because of prior commitments. So, its the five of us (Me, Jhen, Vicky, Darlene & Karen). Meet up place is at Gold's Gym/Gloria Jeans Cafe in Robinsons Galleria.

But the challenge doesn't end there. It eluded us that since its a Friday night, almost all people in the Ortigas area are gearing up for the weekend nightlife. The taxi's waiting area at the mall has the longest queue snaking its way up to the first few steps towards the mall's entrance. A similar sight, perhaps, of a long queue for a Sarah-Gerald movie. We decided to do an alternate route and rode an FX to SM Megamall, hoping we could get lucky and snatch a taxi there on our way to Kapitolyo.

It also proved to be a challenge getting an empty taxi once we reached Megamall. If not for that lonesome empty Tamarraw FX that we we're able to snagged and bargained the amount of our fare to our destination, we might end up waiting there for another hour or so. God bless to all FX drivers with a kind heart!

mad mark's sign (photo courtesy of jhen)

Another hurdle was that our Manong FX driver don't know exactly where Kapitolyo is. I wasn't a good source of information at that time, even if I've been to Kapitolyo once when I visited Cab Cafe and ChaTime in Pioneer Center, because of my sore gums. My train of thought was sort of gone haywired and I also acquired a temporary 'speech defect' because of the pain I felt in my gums. Good thing, Darlene and Vicky generally knew the place so they were able to provide ample directions to our driver. Karen's GPS feature on her Blackberry has been most helpful as well. Until finally, Jhen exclaimed that she already sees the Mad Mark's signage just as we were passing by Charlie's Grind & Grill.

jampacked night at mad mark's

menu on board

yummy ice cream inside the freezer

bar area

it serve as a nice background to get your pics taken

Needless to say, the place was packed. It seems that every food establishments on this Friday night are "packed to the rafters", so to speak. The place was very straightforward and compact. We just have to ask the only two servers manning the store to arrange the remaining tables and seats available to make it viable for our small group to eat together. A nice touch is the bar area with high red stools and a graffiti-type board that shows what seems to be the sandwich place's mission and vision. Perfect backdrop for picture moments! *wink* I also spotted their much recommended homemade ice cream and made a mental note not to forget to order some of those for later.

the man sandwich

chicken meltdown...with an errant tissue paper ;)

the mariner

lumberjack

chicken firehouse (half-portion)

We ordered almost all the sandwiches at Mad Mark's. Decided that we would order a different variety of each so we could try each of our own orders. Unfortunately, I was only able to try Karen's order. Aside from the fact that my sore gums hindered me to utilize my teeth to full capacity, I was quite astounded by the sheer sizes of the sub sandwiches that plopped down to our table one after another. Karen was able to order the much coveted The Man Sandwich (P290.00) much to Jhen's dismay since its the sandwich she intends to order but was overtaken by Karen because of her last minute indecision. Generous slices of grilled chicken and Angus beef was placed on this sandwich, so generous that the meats tumbled out from the sandwich helter-skelter onto the plate. Topped with mushroom au jus and mozzarella.

Darlene had the Chicken Meltdown (P260.00). Appearances were beguiling on some of the sandwiches since they almost looked the same to my eyes as I checked out my pics. This one has grilled chicken breast fillets served with mushroom sauce, caramelized onions and melted mozzarella. Jhen got the prettiest sandwich among the five of us, and I have the feeling I would also love it even more eating it. She got the Mariner (P220.00), its a cream dory fillet sandwich almost covered completely with their house mariner sauce and prettified a bit more with chopped red bell peppers on top. A riveting sight to behold.

I ordered the Lumberjack (P295.00), very much the same with The Man Sandwich just without the grilled chicken and it has green and red bell peppers scattered into the sandwich. Its a sandwich as tantalizing to the eyes as to the palate. Vicky, as being the most decisive among us, ordered a half-serving of the Chicken Firehouse (P190.00). It was supposed to be a spicy variant, with buffalo wing-type chicken pieces lathered with their special zing sauce and ranch dressings, topped with julienned carrots and jicama. Vicky doesn't like it that much, though, since the flavor is more on the tangy/sour side than spicy. Good thing she just ordered a half-portion of the sandwich. A slight confusion commenced with Vicky's orders of the sandwich and drink that's why her food arrived last. Totally my fault, since I'm the one  who placed some of the orders and I was easily raddled because of my aching gums. Vicky has been most understanding of my predicament which I'm very much grateful.

house cold tea

wing 'n fries

herb parmesan fries

madagascar vanilla bean & chocolate on chocolate ice cream

We also had some additional sidings to go with our sandwiches which I would like to call it our food accompaniments. While I envisioned a sweet vanilla milkshake would go very well with my order of the Lumberjack sandwich, they only offer iced teas, canned sodas and bottled water. I opted to get the House Cold Tea (P50.00) same with Vicky, while the rest opted for just water. Karen, on a sudden whim also ordered the Wings 'n Fries (P220.00), buffalo wings coated with their tangy spicy sauce and Cajun fries. Jhen appropriated to herself an order of a Basket Of Cajun Fries (P110.00), being a lover of anything spicy that she is. Seeing how predominant our orders of the Cajun Fries, I opted to have the Herb Parmesan Fries (P160.00), crispy fries served Tuscan style with chopped parsley and lots of parmesan cheese. 


Of course, as I promised myself earlier, I wouldn't miss to try the ice cream. I ordered a scoop each of the Madagascar Vanilla Bean and Chocolate On Chocolate (P98.00 for two scoops). A rich, creamy ice cream that is so good it more than makes up for my milkshake craving.

karen trying out her the man sandwich

vicky and jhen busy with their camera; darlene doing a wacky pose

jhen aiming for that perfect shot of vicky's chicken firehouse

whoa! its all gone!

The sizes of the sandwiches was quite staggering. Darlene was the person among our group who complained the most about her sandwich's behemoth size only to find out later that she's the only one who was able to finish the whole lot. Amazing!

bad hair me & karen

jhen and her favorite pig-out pose

smiling for the camera (photo courtesy of jhen)

While service can be quite slow, the crew who assisted us remained very courteous all throughout our stay given its a very busy Friday night and people just kept coming in. We all had a wonderful time dining at Mad Mark's. Aside from the food, we also very much enjoyed each other's company. Conversation was free-flowing peppered with some gossip and funny antics mostly perpetrated by Darlene unintentionally. I want to use this avenue to extend my warmest thank you to my friends that they were able to squeeze this night out with me amidst their busy schedules. 'Till our next pig-out! :)

As for me, I might try the Mariner and more of those yummy ice cream hopefully on my next visit. =)

23rd East Capitol Drive
Brgy. Kapitolyo, Pasig City


342-6802


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