Phoemela Baranda Heats Up Valentine's Day

Phoemela Baranda adds heat to the otherwise cold weather this February with a sultry spread for FHM Philippines!

Christie Brinkley at 60---WOW!

Christie Brinkley was the Top Supermodel during my teens and I was one of the many pubescent boys swooning over her beauty and curvaceous lines! 

 

To see her again at 60 was like going back through those years when I was secretly browsing through Sports Illustrated Swimsuit which she graced for three consecutive years (1979-81).  The 1981 cover was my favorite!

With daughters Sailor and Alexa Ray

from her former husbands Peter Cook

and singer Billy Joel, respectively.  Good

genes, don't you say?

                             Sports Illustrated 1979                              Sports Illustrated 1980

Sports Illustrated 1981

The Lagro Food Wars: Breaking the Monopoly of the TriMoShawarma Co.

Bristol Street was a long boring lenght of street that cuts through North Fairview and Lagro subdivision.  In the early 80's the stretch of Bristol Street coming out of the Lagro entrance to Regalado Avenue was a vacant grassy  area and was known for being a favorite salvage dump site.  Such notoriety eventually faded as North Fairview started populating the area.  Gone were the tall grass and in its place are the various commercial establishments such as eateries, a couple of garages, an AMA university, gyms, and spas.  But before all these was the TriMoShawarma Co.

 

 I believe that it was the very first eatery along that stretch.  Located a couple of houses after entering the Lagro gate, the TriMoShawarma Co. was an instant hit!  The people of Lagro got introduced to the SHAWARMA---a Middle Eastern delicacy that comprises of a shredded beef, onion, cucumber, and tomato wrapped in a thick pita bread---and they fell in love with it!  Its popularity eventually went beyond Lagro and soon patrons from as far as Bulacan and the outskirts of Fairview were flocking to the rickety garage operation!   

For the longest time TriMo monopolized the food industry at Bristol Street.  But as time went by, rival businesses began to build along this strip.  There's now Greenjoy Pizza, Tata Tasyo Tapsilogan/Mr. Liempo, and a rival shawarma joint---Kebab House---along with three milk tea houses.

Well before we go on comparing TriMo with the rest of the gang, allow me to tell you why, in my opinion, it has dominated the food wars at Bristol Street. 

Food.  When I first had my first bite of Shawarma at this place it was like a breath of fresh air.  With my palate accustomed to burgers, fries and pizza, the exotic taste of this Middle-eastern delicacy was a welcome change.  The shredded beef blended well with the vegetables and the garlic sauce is to die for!  I have not tasted garlic sauce before this and it blew my mind.  The pita bread also provided for another foreign taste that struck my fancy.  The only food wrapper that I was used to was lumpia wrapper but unlike it the pita bread provided for a hefty bite. 

Service.  During their early years, an order of shawarma took time.  This is because of their food preparation process and lack of manpower planning.  They have since added more people to man their kitchen and shifted from shredding their beef to grounding them.  Now, you don't need to wait that long to get your bite of shawarma. 

Cleanliness and Condition.  OMG!  When TriMo started, it was just a garage set up.  They have the assembly table, the beef spit and a cooler to keep the softdrinks chilled.  Every now and then you could see cockroaches gallivanting around.  But the customers doesn't seem to care any less.  Being from the food industry I found this appalling and stopped my patronage of this establishment.  They did make improvements in this area and a bigger dining area too.  So far, I have had no chance encounters with any creepy crawlers.

Value for money.  I can't remember exactly when I first got a taste of shawarma at TriMo but it only cost Php 35 for the regular and Php 40 for all meat.  Now, it's Php 65.  I liked the original better with the shredded beef because it provided texture.  However, with the higher demand and the volume of transaction, they had to shift to grinding the beef to speed up production.  It also seemed that they changed to an inferior pita bread.  Other than these changes, their shawarma still lives up to the generous beef filling and their signature garlic sauce and provides for one satiating meal.

So how does these new players fare versus TriMo?

Kebab House.  A direct competitor given its food offering.  Since I only had the chance to taste their shawarma, let's stick to this product for comparison.

@ Php 65 Kebab House's shawarma can sure pack a punch!  Big chunks of shredded beef, veggies, wrapped in a thick pita bread.  The only thing I did not like was the taste.  I'm not sure if it is the original shawarma recipe but it tasted bland to me.  Either the Kebab owner did not scope the success factor of TriMo or its an audacious decision on their end to trust the product that they have.  That was Mcdonald's mistake when they entered the Philippine market.  They pushed the American taste to the Pinoy not knowing that we like our food flavorful. 

Kebab House does have their own customer base (which I assume are friends of the owner since he often times sits with them) but incomparable to the transaction count generated by Tri-Mo.

If you're dining there and you have asthma, I suggest you pick the table farthest from their kitchen since the place lack the exhaust power (meron nga ba?) to

Greenjoy Pizza.  In terms of taste, this place reminds me of Greenwich Pizza when it was just starting.  I order the Ham and Cheese thin crust pizza which is not all that bad at Php 180 (family size).  I also like their Double Cheeze Burger @ Php 35 with its generous serving of coleslaw.  If you're craving for burger and don't want to go to SM, I suggest you try this one.

Greenjoy have a big dining area but not much diners.  This maybe the reason why they are always clean.  Malamang mas malakas sila sa delivery; otherwise they should have closed shop by now.

Tata Tasyo Tapsilogan/Mr. Liempo.  Me and my wife had a craving for tapa one night and tried out this place.  In a nutshell---it was a disappointment in terms of value for money.  Very little serving.  Another disappointment is the wait time of 15 minutes only to be served with a cold product!  The only thing going for this place is that it is a new establishment with a clean dining area.

The VERDICT:  Trimo still win hands down. 

They just had a major facelift some time ago and no longer looks like the rickety garage operatings of old.  They now look very respectable.  They even have a party area for those who wants to celebrate with karaoke and shawarma!  Well, maybe, just maybe, Kris Aquino will take notice and feature them in her morning show!

 

A.J. Cook for Maxim

Just when you're wondering how Special Agent Jennifer "JJ" Jareau would look like in a bathing suit---here she is!  Meet Criminal Minds mainstay A.J. Cook in her bathing glory for Maxim Magazines January 2014 issue!  Very special indeed!

Couch Potato Chronicles: Brand New TV Series to Follow

Here's what I found so far in my continuing search for what to watch on TV.

Intelligence(CBS)

Long story short---BIONIC BRAIN.  Josh Holloway stars.  I'm sure I'm hearing "ohhhs" and "ahhhs"  from you ladies!  Yeah, yeah, I know you all want him scruffy looking!

True Detectives (HBO)

Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey plays Louisiana State CID detectives are interviewed about a 17 year old murder of a prostitute.  Superb acting!  But what I really liked about this series---Alexandra Daddario!

 

Bitten (SYFY)

To hell with vampires!  Let's do WEREWOLVES this time!  What?!  Only one female werewolf in existence?!  How's that?!  Laura Vandervoort plays lead.

 

Heart Evangelista Super Hot in Lingerie

Oh, words cannot express...

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit Review

 

When Tom Clancy died in October of 2013 it left a void in my reading hobby specific to the action/thriller genre.  I have read all of his fictional books---my favorite of which was his Jack Ryan series.  Naturally, when I heard news of a new Jack Ryan movie, I was excited.  Actually, I was more intrigued to know what the movie was about since the title---Jack Ryan:  Shadow Recruit---is not from the list of his Jack Ryan novels. So I made it a point to fast track my ironing chore this afternoon and dragged my wife for an afternoon movie date.

 

The movie starred Chris Pine as Jack Ryan, the fourth actor to do so after Alec Baldwin (Hunt for the Red October), Harrison Ford (Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger), and Ben Affleck (Sum of All Fears).  With the last Tom Clancy novel movie adaptation done in 2002, Shadow Recruit is welcome offering. 

 

As I've said earlier, Shadow Recruit is not a Tom Clancy novel so it was no surprise that it does not follow the storyline of any of the published books.  It looks to me as a reboot of the beginnings of Jack Ryan.  Based on the chronology of the Jack Ryan universe Patriot Games covered the back story of the beginning of the Jack Ryan character and is set in 1981.  Shadow Recruit twisted the timelines in the movie and dated with 2002 events.  It also changed the character of Jack Ryan's recruiter from U.S. Navy Vice Admiral James Greer to Thomas Harper.  I guess the producers of this film is planning on making fresh start for a movie franchise with stories outside of the published novels.  If this is indeed the case I guess it's something to look forward to to keep the Jack Ryan character alive even after the passing of its original creator.

 

The Verdict:  Watch at your own risk.  This movie will provide entertainment for the action junkie but do not expect any surprises in the storyline.  Too much attention was given to the Jack Ryan character that the role of the protagonist was almost intangible---forgetful even.  Personally I think it was a waste of Kenneth Branagh's acting talent.

 

 

My Zark's Burger Experience

I'm a burger guy and I have had a long infatuation with Zark's Burger.  I guess it's due to over exposure to watching Adam Richman's "Man vs Food" series on the Food Network. I have heard about the Jaw Breaker and the Tombstone Challenge and got even more intrigued.  I was actually under the impression that I can beat the two challenges---more meat, the better!  Or so I thought.  Anyway, my curiosity was finally answered when me and my team went out to get ourselves a taste of what Zark's Burger has got to offer. 

 

I was psyched!  I even tried to prepare myself by not eating my normal heavy breakfast knowing that we will be at Zark's by 10am.

 

We had originally planned to go to the Katipunan branch but then I saw on their Facebook page that there was an outlet at Eastwood, we opted to go there instead.  Unfortunately, none of us was familiar with Eastwood so searching for Zark's became a challenge in itself---even those we asked along the way did not seem to be familiar with it.  Hmmm...that's kind of odd since it was supposed to be a popular joint...or is it only in the Taft area?  Anyhow, we finally found the place tucked away at the entrance of the E. Commerce Plaza right smack at the middle of City Walk2.

 

The store is small and it's in-door dining can only seat approximately 15-20 people but they do have an al fresco dining area to accommodate other guests.  My only complain about it are the pestering flies attempting to get a taste of what we're eating. 

Upon our arrival the store was already half full with what I assume were call center agents (based on the chatter that I got to hear).  We found ourselves a nice spot at the al fresco area and got on the business of ordering.  I initially thought of going for the Tombstone but since it was my first time and wanted to savor the experience, I got the Jawbreaker instead.  Nope.  Not the challenge.  As I've said, I needed to savor every bite of this 1.5 pound behemoth  so I went with it on a leisurely pace.

As its name connotes, with 3 1/2 pound patties and the other garnishes, the Jawbreaker stands at 5 inches tall.  No normal human being can possibly get a bite off this monster with that kind of clearance.  Of course that did not stop me from trying by squeezing it in one tight grip.  However, that proved quite messy!  Patty juice began to drip as I opened my mouth at an attempt for a monster bite which actually ended up as a disaster when the other garnishes started to fall out.  Oh well...at Php 250 (meal with fries and bottomless drink) it sure packed some serious calories! (Not to mention maxed up my stomach capacity!)  I did not take a bite of food for the rest of the day after devouring the whole thing---oh and plus the half eaten Candy Bacon Burger that my companion did not finish!

The VERDICT:  Value for money to the max!

Caveat:  While the Jawbreaker will no doubt fill you up, there is nothing extra ordinary in terms of taste.  If Zark's can somehow put in Jollibee's smoked patty (used for Champ) and you've got yourself a perfect burger!  But that's just me.  I suggest you try it out and judge by yourself.