A classy joint

I will be the first to admit that my people - shot out to my Filipino homies - aren't known for having upscale restaurants. They are either a) Hole-in-the-wall or b) Fast food places (i.e. Goldilocks.) My Vietnamese, Hawaiian and Mexican friends can probably relate. It's not a diss ... it is what it is. And the "fusion" places don't count because that's just a bastardization of the culture's food. Yah, I said it.

The Man and I love Filipino food so we're always open to trying out new places. We're not big fans of the fast Filipino food but we're fine with hole-in-the-wall places as long as they're clean (we won't even go into places like Ling Nam's. For the few peeps that know what I'm talking about ... you KNOW what I mean.)

Surf & Turf recently recommended a new restaurant called Gerry's Grill. Last night, I decided to take The Man out. We rolled up to a place that looked nothing like a Filipino restaurant. It was ... pretty. The bar (yes, Lulu said there's a bar!) was mahogany and glass, there were three or four big screen plasma TVs, a waterfall at the entrance, and the color scheme was understated and coordinated. Now y'all, if there's one thing about Filipino restaurants it's that they love them some LOUD colors. Which don't always coordinate. Ooooo-weeee.


This isn't what the one in our area looks like (the picture wasn't great) but here are other locations so you can see what I mean.

The music was blaring (kinda clubbish) and it was definitely an afterwork place with a hearty drink menu. The Man enjoyed his San Miguel beer and I was smitten with the pretty and CLEAN bathrooms. Priorities, people, priorities. The waitstaff was a good mix of different ethnicities but I would be a liar if I said that the clientele was diverse. Only open a month, the place was packed with A LOT of Filipinos and a sprinkle of other ethnicities. The Man and I have a hunch that the Gerry's Grill advertised on the Philippine Channel. I'm just sayin'.

The food was a little too pricey but it was good. It wasn't the most delicious Filipino food we've ever had but the presentation was very nice. It would be a good place to take someone who has never had Filipino food and might find it intimidating.

Real Filipino restaurants don't care much, if at all, about presentation and the fish head (or pig head) will still be there, in tact. And that's OK. As someone who has grown up with Filipino food, that kind of stuff doesn't scare me. In fact, in my family, we say it isn't a huge to-do unless the lechon is present. And we mean a whole pig that's been roasted and isn't cut up until it's time to eat. Foreel.

So, what's the verdict? We would go there again if we were taking out people for a special occasion (visiting, never had Filipino food, drinks, etc.) If it's just us and want to eat, we'll go to another place. For the two of us, the bill came to $49.00 w/o tip. That's a little pricey for Filipino food. But it was a good experience and we were happy for our people for finally having an attractive restaurant.