Chef Elbert's Cheesesteak

I wanted to blog about this a couple weeks ago, but that was when the Big Bad Blogger* brouhaha exploded and I didn't want my post to be misconstrued as nakiki-ride sa gimmickry. So there, just blogging about it now, weeks after eaten, savored, digested, and, uhm, dumped.

I heard about Chef Elbert's Cheesesteak a year (or two?) ago, but I wasn't all that interested because I'm trying (emphasis on trying) to avoid red meat and mostly because I couldn't care less for a sandwich, any sandwich, unless maybe I'm starving and there's no other food around. Even then I would just pick the palaman. Long story short, there's a lot of Groupon-like deals flying around and one of the offers from Twangoo was Chef Elbert's Cheesesteak and I figured that, well, for 300 pesos (600-peso worth), it can be a nice pasalubong for TheHusband, who loves sandwiches.

When I went to Powerplant to pick it up, a man outside the counter said something that I didn't quite understand (English eh). Then he repeated, "How did you find out about Twangoo?" I replied, with my arms gesticulating wildly, which I guess startled him to momentary silence, "Well, there are lots of deals around right now and I was interested in this offer because of a glowing review I read. I thank you!" [I swear, napasabak ako ng English! Lord, isn't it enough that my nose bleeds everytime I'm talking with Sharkteeth? Is this payback for critizing authors?] I stupidly assumed that he's from Twangoo and asked if he is. *toink* It turned out he's Chef Elbert himself!!! I tell you, I was starstruck! Others get starstruck with actors and celebrities, I get starstruck with chefs and boutique/store owners! I remember seeing the owner of Leyende manning her freestanding shop in Glorietta and I ended up starstruck and blabbing incoherently. Lord knows what I would do if I see TheBagHag. Baka himatayin ako. Oh, enough with the gushing. I asked the guy in the counter for his recommendation, and he said their bestsellers are steak sandwich (PHP290) and American cheesesteak (PHP350). The sandwiches were cooked right then and there and were ready in a few minutes. Boy, did they smell glorious! But as I told you, I'm a bit impervious to the power of the sandwiches and only succumbed on my way home (about four hours later), when I got very hungry while stuck in traffic! I was planning on eating only a small portion, just to stave off my hunger, but I ended eating more than half! Delicious is an understatement! To think it was already cold by then. The following day, I reheated the remaining steak sandwich and the American cheesesteak, and I must say that it was the best 300-peso purchase I had in a long time. The meat was succulent, tender, and very flavorful, and the caramelized onions were juicy and, I don't know, I can't find any word for it...sublime? Don't take my word for it---try it! And that's coming from someone who doesn't like (or at least used to) sandwiches. I guess Chef Elbert's Cheesesteak is my Damascus.

*I have a BBB-related question: Why did most people point at Anton? Perhaps I'm naive, but I couldn't really see why. So many things were thrown around, like that he's mayabang and all, but I don't, can't see it. Or that his reviews were not really well-written. Ah, that I can see, but I think he's a diner first and a food reviewer second, so the lack of food critic-esque terminologies. So, why, I ask? On a related note, I noticed that a lot of beauty bloggers who receive freebies from cosmetic companies kept mum on the issue. Why kaya? *facetious* Hahahaha!

And, no, this isn't a paid post!