Steaks well done at Steak and Frice
MILLIE: Service is an art. It’s the manner in which the wait staff makes you feel welcome and at home. The way you are ushered and seated to your table and handed the menu. It’s a magical smile, a friendly tone that makes suggestive selling successful and easy. It’s the way your drink is poured or served or the special touch offering you complimentary popcorn to munch on as you wait for your order to arrive.
But sadly, not very many restaurants have it. These were my first impressions as I walked into Steak and Frice for the very first time. I’ve been back at least four times in the last three months.
What keeps me coming back is not just the marvelous service of exceptional and vibrant wait staff but also the delightfully scrumptious appeteasers. I’ve probably tried almost every starter on the menu—from gougeres which are cheese pimiento puffs and potato souffle which I kept popping into my mouth after dipping it in a sour cream and onion dip! The flavorful Singaporean chili crab cakes and the tasty typhoon shelter salt and pepper calamari had a story to tell.
KARLA: Growing up, my Lolo Joe had this rule when eating out, “Never order the steak.” Being in the restaurant industry, he was well aware of the cost of ingredients and felt that it was something we could easily do at home. And boy, did we splurge when we were at home! Our family dinners used to be every Saturday night, which was before we all got to the “partying age.” We would either eat out—one of his favorites being Tony Roma's or Gloria Maris—or eat at home. Eating at home didn't mean boring staples. It meant Lolo Joe was craving something specific or wanted to try something new.
These dinners featured sukiyaki nights with unlimited beef, where he and I would be tasked to cook for everyone, and teppanyaki dinners using his misono table in our lanai. When he discovered I could replicate his steak fried rice, I was tasked to cook this with and for him on a regular basis.
Eating at Steak and Frice reminded me so much of Lolo Joe. The rice was not quite the same as how he would make it, but the toasted bits of fat mixed into the rice indicated he would have absolutely enjoyed it. Steak and Frice offers a curated selection of Wagyu cuts from around the world featuring Snake River Farms American Wagyu, Japanese Omi Wagyu, and Australian Mayura Wagyu. Some might ask what the differences are. The Japanese Omi Wagyu is a striploin cut but with A5 grade.
A5 is the highest grade for Japanese Wagyu beef indicating the marbling, meaning the fat incorporated into the meat is around 45-60 percent. Snake River Farms American Wagyu is a rib-eye cut that is a hybrid of American beef flavor with Japanese marbling. Australian Mayura Wagyu is a tenderloin cut—I'd probably say it has the less fat from the three choices, having been raised on a diet consisting of chocolate and grains.
Each order of steak comes with fries and S&F rice, and a sauce of choice—peppercorn, bearnaise, chimichurri, S&F steak sauce, mushoom gravy, and romesco—or, you could always get a sampler and try all the sauces. Aside from the steak, don't overlook the other items on the menu such as the French ravioli and balsamic brown butter, fusili mac & cheese and the spicy spaghetti meatballs. For dessert, we had the brown butter chocolate chip skillet sundae, which was absolutely delicious!
MILLIE: At the end of the meal, I intently watched our server brush off the crumbs on the table. I was amused but at the same time awed. This service touch is absolutely only done in the finest fine dining restaurants in Europe. Come to think of it, it's Gaita's touch!
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Steak and Frice is located at the ground floor of Central Square, 30th St. corner 5th Ave., Taguig City. Contact 09171258188 for reservations and inquiries.
