ojo de bife (rib eye steak) by la cabrerra: yey. but not without a very long explanation.
so it was another lonely friday evening and i had forcefully refused to go to that abysmal place most single people endearingly refer to as “home.” it was payday friday after all and it seemed to be an opportune time to try out a new restaurant for this zomato account, which seems to be getting more and more japanese as i go along.
luckily, thanks to facebook’s algorithm, which has been creepily accurate in suggesting restaurant ads on my feed, (feed, facebook, facebook feed, get it?), i exactly knew where my new stop will be.
at the ground floor of 6750 ayala avenue, facing the glorietta open area, is la cabrera, an argentinian steakhouse which opened in july 2014 (i think). it was launched with all the bells and whistles, being the local incarnation of parrilla la cabrera by chef de cuisine gaston riveira, rated as one of the best steakhouses in argentina. but you know me, i never really heeded to ratings unless i’ve tried them myself. a disclaimer, though. i’m not a pro so most of what i would consider good would just be based on my personal uneducated culinary opinion.
the place looks opulent and rustic, but i won’t go into the details anymore as i’d rather focus describing the food instead. for pictures, you can just go to #instagram or #zomato, i’m sure there are tons of pictures about this place.
“for one,” i told the attendant even before she asked, holding my chin high, adding confidently “and pwede dun sa walang katabi?” they seated me in this darkly lit area of the restaurant, a pathway between the 2 adjacent main dining areas, where two tables were set for those who prefer to be left by themselves.
i ordered the ojo de bife, as it came with a promotional offer from visa (mine is #citibank; lol, pumaplug na.) where you get a 25% discount for every purchase of php4k worth of their 800g steaks. i was dining alone and the lady that assisted me thoughtfully informed me that if i don’t finish the steak, i can have it packed to go. obviously, she has not seen me eat, but i appreciate her being solicitous. i also asked what’s a good wine to pair it with and she suggested the #malbec, a red that is very popular in argentina.
each order comes with unlimited sides, both hot and cold. the cold sides were served first, while the hot ones came in as they served the steak. i really can’t remember all of their names as there were just so much of them on the table. there were 17 sides in all (yes, i counted): 10 cold sides and 7 hot ones. and that doesn’t even include yet the bread basket. personally, i feel there’s just too much of it that it takes away attention to the steak, specially considering that none of the sides really were any special, maybe except for the humita (creamy soup made from corn kernels, corn puree, cheese and pimiento), the chimichurri (sauce made parsley, minced garlic, olive oil, oregano, and white vinegar) and the pickled red and green bell pepper (sorry, i wasn’t able to get the name for this one). i don’t know what they were trying to achieve with this as it seemed a bit gimmicky, playing on pinoys’ fondness for anything “unlimited” (case in point, there were 2 version of the caramelized garlic, one hot and one cold – it was practically the same thing served twice). or maybe, they were just recreating the plentiful aura of an argentine meal, which wasn’t necessarily designed for single people like me. who knows?
so came the steak. first impression of course is that it’s huge – it was almost a kilo of beef! this thing can easily feed 2-4 people. but as i mentioned before, i eat like a bear. after placing the steak on the table, the server kindly showed me the doneness of the meat (i asked mine to be medium rare), and then motioned that she will now depart so i can go have my dinner. but it was funny how she said “the night is long, sir, enjoy your meal,” i felt she was judging me and that she had to remind me to pace myself.
so was it good? let’s put it this way: the parts that were good, were awesome, but the parts that were bad, were disappointing. let me explain. i read in the internet that argentinian steaks have reached a level of global fame that some critics would use the term “legendary”. the inquirer in me would easily follow that up with a question, “legendary for what?” nevertheless, that’s a pretty big word if you ask me, and as such, my expectations were justifiably high.
the meat was marvelously tender, seared perfectly with just the right amount of crustiness on the outside. since i requested medium rare, the meat had some browning on the outer layer but maintained some redness on the center. for the more fancy, this is how it is described by the more learned: medium rare should have 50% red on the center, has an internal temperature of 57-63 degrees centigrade, and should be fairly soft, fairly spongy, and slightly springy. what they said.
the meat had a certain brusquely charm about it, while the fatty parts were just elegant. i did occasionally add a dash of salt (a personal preference) as some bites tended to be a little bland because of the thickness of the meat (the slab was an inch to an inch-and-a-half thick). maybe if i had the ojo de bife madurado 12 diaz, an aged version of the steak that i had, i would have felt differently about the salt.
but as mentioned a while ago, there were parts of this adventure that i felt was just not up to my expectations.
i think the steak was not cooked evenly, perhaps because of its sheer size. while i did say that i wanted it medium rare, there were parts, which i think were cooked less than what i wanted. as such, i had to navigate through the meat, cutting it in portions, leaving some parts for reheating, instead of just having one continuous, unbroken dining experience. i am not sure how other foodies would feel about sending back their steak to the kitchen but honestly, the middle part was just unintentionally raw (as compared to it being intentional as in the case of asking them to cook it rare). so issue one, i think the meat wasn’t exactly how i wanted it to be.
issue number two, with all the hype about it being argentinian, i would expect the meat to be consistently tender. but that was not the case. despite it being a ribeye, which is supposedly one of the least used part of the cow and therefore would tend to be superior for use in steaks, there were still some parts that were undeniably tough. i had to ask the waiter for tissue so i can gracefully and clandestinely dispose of the “chewing gum”, that meat which you’ve chewed on relentlessly but are unable to swallow because it was just too tough. all throughout this ordeal, i was trying to figure out if i was doing something wrong. i tried cutting against the grain, and cutting along the grain, (i’ve read competing stands of foodies about these) in the hopes that things would get easier. should i have asked for a different doneness? should have i ordered another cut? should have i ordered a different steak altogether?
it kind of reminded me of my experience with tomahawk chops and grill, where they offer unlimited steaks for 799 pesos. sure you can devour as much meat as you can but the steaks were tough as hell (no they weren’t, they were just fine for that price range, i’d happily go back there). makes me wonder how different it would be if i tried mamou’s or melo’s or house of wagyu. so the question remains, is this really how it’s supposed to be?
there is a reason why i put the rating right there at the top. that’s for people, who like me, would rather try it out for themselves than read a very long review. while my mind was having a hard time finding a middle ground on this one, all in all, the verdict is that the steak was great. the meat was succulent and the marbling was incredible. thesidedishes were meh. the only time i was able to really give them attention is in between reheating of my steak (i had it reheated thrice). i think they would receive more appreciation in shared dinners like a date or a family meal. the malbec was dark and robust, and does wonders in managing the richness of the fat from the meat.
this was a particularly long post. i have to find some form of amusement, i keep telling myself, but what else can i do besides going to a movie or spend my nights sleeping at home. well, this zomato account is the answer. i choose to move on. i choose to eat my feelings. and i choose to write about it.
#foodiefudihan #foodie #food #lacabrera #makatifoodtrip #eatingmyfeelings #moveonpolvoron #steak #argentiniansteak