Filling, satisfying lunches at Stoops Bagnet Ilocos

New restaurants opening up in my office neighborhood on Visayas Ave., Quezon City are always a refreshing "sight". ..Hmmm..new dishes to try and hopefully enjoy! On the last week of July, my wandering eyes caught three newbies and I've been to two of them. I'm most excited over the other one but its building, unfortunately, is still under construction. The other week's discovery was a really good one, though. In fact, I was there for lunch break with friends on two consecutive days. Haha! It's Stoops Bagnet Ilocos which is new only in Visayas Ave. but is actually operating in five other branches for six and a half years already. I'd never been to any Stoops branch and in fact it was entirely unknown to me before they opened a store on Visayas Ave.The owner, Joma Marquez, engaged my friend and I in a little chat as we waited for our orders and he told us it's the 

first branch ever in the whole of Quezon City. 
Anyway, these were my and my friends' orders:

Bagnet Meal with rice and side dish  of KBL (Kamatis, Bagoong, Lasuna), P105. 

Chicken Bagnet Meal with rice and side dish  of TBA (Talong, Bagoong Alamang), P125. 

Igado with rice, P85.  

Sinanglaw, P65.
Dinengdeng, P45. 

Ilocos Empanada, P45.

Banana Crunch con Vanilla, P40. 

Condiments on the table

Menu

The branch owner himself opening the door to diners

I had the Chicken Bagnet on my first visit and the Igado and Sinanglaw on the second. I loved everything! The owner, Mr. Marquez, coaxed me to try the Chicken Bagnet, saying the taste was close to Max's fried chicken. And it was true, only, the chicken bagnet is more crisply fried. It's flavorful with a crunch, which I really loved. I super enjoyed the Igado on my second visit, and it reminded me of the same dish that I ate in Ilocos Norte last year. This pork dish, I believe, is the Ilocanos' version of menudo - slices of pork meat and liver cooked with tomatoes. Delicious! The Sinanglaw is what is known to us Tagalogs as papaitan - a soupy, bitter dish made from innards - warm and comforting to the tummy. Well, I also tried the Ilocos empanada 

and enjoyed it with lots of vinegar.

What's another thing to love at Stoops? The sweet ending - Banana Crunch con Vanilla! Lots of restaurants offer turon ala mode for  dessert but this one's different because it's banana que ala mode. Banana que, for those not in the know, are skewered  sugared and fried cardava bananas (saba). Stoop's version of the banana que has lots of sugar coating and deep fried to a crunch. The slices of banana are served minus the barbecue stick and with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. This one's really good! Not to mention very guilt-inducing. Hehe.. 

Meanwhile, my friends' orders, they enjoyed, too. I tasted the Dinengdeng and although liked it, I believed it would have been better with a little more fish bagoong. Anyway, this Ilocano condiment is available on every table so if you agree with me, 
you can just add bagoong if you like. 
I strongly urge you, folks, to try Stoops Bagnet Ilocos and make it soon. 

Haha! Happy eating!

Today's Word: 1 Peter 1:3

Hope. What relief and joy such word brings to people going through troubles. In this life, this is just what we have to hold on to. Hope! 1 Peter 1:3 says we have a living hope through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. What a tremendous promise..that whatever we're going 

through, we have a real, living hope that in the end God will save us, not only from 

death due to our sins, but while we're here on earth, from the sea of troubles

 that threatens to drown us in despair. Let us hold fast 

to the hope that we have - only in Jesus. 

God bless you today.

(Thank you, Bible Study Tools for this photo)

Great steak plus more at Marcus

I don't know how long Marcus has been in operation but I discovered it just last month, thanks to one of my eating buddies at work. It's at Congressional Ave., very near its corner with Visayas Ave., where our office is. This place with a hip, simple and casual interiors is a restaurant at daytime but turns into a bar after dark, and a favorite, I read, among beer-drinking yuppies after a day's work. I was amazed at how many kinds of imported beer I saw at their fridge behind the counter (not that I drink, no, no!), but was delighted at the food - delish and coming in huge servings! 
To give you a hint at how I've come to love it at Marcus, I ate here three times in three weeks' time! My top favorite is the t-bone steak, which is huge, tender and delicious. It could come with rice (your choice of white or brown), or mashed potato, or both. There's also corn and carrots on the side, and all these for just P150 with rice, and P200 with rice plus mashed potato. Aside from their steak, I've also tried their burger, taco, burrito and the lone dessert on the menu, brownie ala mode. Thumbs up to these, except for the taco.

T-bone steak with rice, mashed potato and corn and carrots, P200. 

T-bone steak with brown rice and corn and carrots, P150.

Tacos, P120., two pieces

Burrito, P170.

 Quarter Pounder Cheese Burger, P120.

Potato Marble, P65.

Brownie ala mode, P95.

Lime basil juice, P65.

I noticed all their condiments are imported.

Menu

I love this Manny Pacquiao mural

Marcus at Congressional Ave. near the corner of Visayas Ave., Project 8, QC

I would have loved the taco,(which I had on my first visit) I promise, had it not been "different" I was expecting..well,  the usual taco with ground beef, but I was surprised that the meat came in huge chunks. Even the taste was "different" from all the tacos I've had. The chunks of meat tasted like "adobo" or even tocino! I expected to have the "usual" taco with the Mexican tang. How sad..the burst of colors from fresh veggies and grated cheese plus the hugeness of the tacos made we want to dig into them at once but alas...Anyway, on that first visit, I also got to taste my office friends' orders which was the T-bone steak and how I loved it! On my next visit with my daughter, I ordered this (we both did) . We also enjoyed the dessert - brownie ala mode - which was the lone sweet ending on the menu. My daughter also ordered a burrito which was big and yummy, for take out. I tasted it before asking the server to wrap it. Hehe..
On my third visit with another friend at work, it was the cheeseburger that I tried. It tasted good, yes, the beef patty was flavorful and juicy and the burger was really huge and filling. We loved the lime-basil juice, too - healthy and refreshing. It's the steak, though, that would keep me coming back. 
By the way, Marcus has quite an extensive menu. Aside from what I've mentioned, they also serve ribs, chicken, porkchops, fish, pasta and quesadilla. They also have many kinds of burgers from the simple to complicated to very complicated! Try and picture these: Italian, Greek, Monterey Jack, K58, Obama, Double Decker and Triple Goodness burgers. They even have Veg Burger for non-meat eaters. 
Try Marcus, folks, and stuff yourself silly..with a smile. Haha! Happy eating!