Comfort Food at Gino's Eats & Beats

What's your favorite comfort food?

Move over Lucky Me Chilimansi! A new comfort food joint is here! 

Sometimes, you just have to indulge your cravings. If you are depressed, drunk, munching, NOT on a diet, in need of 100% rich, feel good food, head over to Gino's Eats & Beats and get satiated with their array of dishes that really seem to hit the spot. For me, at least, since it was a certain time of the.... oh you know.

If it looks vaguely familiar, it's right beside the famed liquor joint Distillery on Jupiter St. That's right... you can get sloshed AND THEN grab some tasty nosh! You can also cross-order since Distillery doesn't have food & Gino's doesn't have alcohol.

The interiors are stark and modern, due to a collaboration between Chef Gino and Team Manila, incorporating his love of good eats with the catchy beats that blare from the restaurant's top-notch speakers.

Let me tell you, KUDOS to establishments that provide wi-fi! Woot! That's clincher #1.

Clincher #2. Gino's Eats & Beats has a FANTASTIC lunch menu that consists of complimentary soup and a dish for only... wait for it... Php100. REALLY. Check out the extensive selection of dishes!

As Chef Gino (very camera shy) explained the concept for the restaurant, it was clear: this guy knows good food and spares no expense, or calories, to get it. And while listening to his story, we were blindsided when the dishes started coming in droves... LITERALLY.But before that.. a little side tour of the kitchen. From the looks of it, he didn't scrimp on the kitchen. and I LOVE their shirts. Me want!

When asked what his favorite investment was, he easily said "Salamander," which is the contraption hanging above the stove. great for broiling, charring, and... oh I want one too....

I am a big fan of kitchens, and even small spaces can whip up wonders given the right layout and good equipment, and staff, which Gino said was a good mix of good people.

Anyway, back to what's important... FOOD! This is what my party of five had for... gulp, dinner.

Mushroom & Artichoke Spread 

Creamy addicts anyone? The spread was stuffed with both mushrooms & artichoke, yet still manages to feel rich and soothing like a tub of ice cream. LOVED the Garlic toast

Potato Chips with Aioli

Sorry, I couldn't help it... I was CHIPSING! My roommate knows this.

Gino's Dumplings

Little pork pockets deep fried and served with a soy based sauce... I could've inhaled this in minutes, but I had to "share".

The Fried Platter

Cheese Logs, Baby Squid Poppers & Risotto Mashed Potato Balls

This is where the food just borders on fantasy. A trifecta of fried goodies sure to sober up any drunken diner. I loved the Risotto Mashed Potato balls! And the Salsa Verde sauce was especially refreshing amidst the fried fritters.

Grilled Sausage with Cheese Sauce

Sausage... Mmm. Cheese sauce... Yum. Sausage & Cheese... Oh My Good Lord. Did anyone lose a lover? Been cheated on? Lost a major bet? Yep, this one will make you forget about all those bad things...

Greatest Cheese Quesadilla

This has got to be the most UNDERRATED dish of all. It's not just cheesy, it's meaty, tomatoey, creamy and... Oh God, it's the hormones. I love Mexican and this Quesadilla is one LOADED sucker. Must come back for more.

Stir Fried Pork & Tofu

 Seems relatively healthy, but those sauces add a tasty kick to the dish.

Roasted Garlic & Chorizo & Garlic Shrimp

Interestingly enough, you'll find Roasted Garlic & Chorizo on the menu, as well as the Garlic Shrimp, but this concoction is just pure EVOO evil. Chef Gino decided to mix them together and BAM! My two favorite things sauteed into one tasty Pica-Pica. So garlicky!!!

**Minor food coma... Pictures speak for themselves**

Wings Platter with Buffalo, Hoisin Honey & Honey Mustard Wings

Grilled Sticks Platter with Pork Asian BBQ, Chicken in Peanut Sauce, Pinoy Pork BBQ & Curry Pork BBQ

AND THAT WAS JUST THE APPETIZERS!!! There's More:

Greatest Salpicao

A ton of garlic, but it wasn't enough...

Angus Belly Salpicao

 Not to be outdone, the Angus Belly is just all ANGUS FAT salpicao'd for all you fattie fiends. I couldn't get a lot of this, as my batok (nape) was already aching right around this point.

Greatest Adobo Flakes

I like all the different components... I am such an accessory junkie.

Crab Fat & Squid Pasta

Pure divine cholesterol in the form of creamy aligue pasta sauce. I'm Capampangan, from Pampanga province, so I ate this up. Lipitor please :)

Greatest Longga Burger

 Conjures memories of my Boracay food trip last Labor Day long weekend. Longga-Burger is the ultimate white sand island street food, especially when inebriated. This was like an overstuffed version.

Grilled Chicken w/ Mushroom Sauce

This looks plain, but this has got to be my favorite dish of all! The chicken was tender, and had a lovely grilled flavor to it, and the mushroom sauce was creamy and reminded me of home cooked mushroom gravy... I'm definitely coming back for this.

Marsala Pork Chops

This loaded dish tastes a little like Italianni's version. I appreciated the generous portion of vegetables on the bottom, but no one seemed to notice. MORE MEAT!

Eggs Benedict

Sorry, I'm snooty with my Eggs Benedict. Authentic please.

Because I am snooty with certain things, I completely appreciate it when special dished not found on the menu find their way to my table. YES, it's ISAW, pork intestine cleaned, drilled and dipped in a special sauce. THIS WAS FANTABULOUS! This was on hand because the owners wanted their own personal stash... I better be on his good side next time I come, coz I WANT MORE!

So... 10 Pica-Pica plates + 9 Main Dishes = GLUTTONY. 

But... gotta leave room for dessert!

Greatest French Toast

Greatest Panna Cotta

Gino's Greatest Vanilla Sundae

Greatest Mango Jubilee

The "Greatest" portion of the menu was supposed to mimic a CD's Greatest Hits edition, and it's around the eatery's menu. I'm not sure if I wasn't wowed by the desserts, or that I was just too stuffed to taste them... I'm leaning more on the latter.

I'm telling you, healthnuts beware: this restaurant is not for the faint of heart. It's for those who appreciate good food, and don't mind adding a few inches just to get the comfort food fix. Sign me up Gino!

Now let me go workout for an entire year...

Gino's Eats & Beats

Ground Floor, unit A, Valdecon Building, #20

Jupiter Street, Bel-Air Village, Makati City

+632 519-1272

+63917 885-6969 

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