Actually, when we had dinner at Elbert’s last time, what we really wanted to try was the famous Chef’s Burger. Picture this: chopped up tenderloin formed into a 1-inch patty and grilled to a juicy medium rare, glistening chunks of bone marrow, sexy black truffle paste… Now play that image of the Chef’s Burger over and over in your head and then tell me, would you still be in the right state of mind to call the restaurant and make sure they serve it for dinner, or have the right sense to reserve your patty in advance? Would you? Would you?
I thought so.
So don’t start laughing if we didn’t get our burger fix that night. Because I’m quite sure you wouldn’t, too. No human can ever function sensibly with such tempting image torturing his body, mind and soul.
But now I know better.
I called to reserve my burger. Two days in advance.
Fast forward 48 hours, I am back at the old Makati building, climbing up the stairs to Elbert’s.
This is it. Today I am finally getting it.
And then I cut it in half. I just HAVE to see. It is all there, everything Anton and Lori promised, exactly how I imagined it to be - chopped up tenderloin grilled to a juicy medium rare – check, glistening chunks of bone marrow – check, sexy black truffle paste - umm… I smell it if I lean close enough and inhale hard enough, but can barely taste it when I finally sink my teeth into this mighty contender for Manila’s juiciest burger. And how can it not be the juiciest, with all that globs of fatty marrow embedded in it.
Still, flavor is lacking. Even after dipping it in the cambozola sauce, something is still missing. I don’t know, maybe I came here too excited and set my expectations too high. You see, this burger is good, there is no denying it. But there’s just no magic to it, no wow factor, no ooomph.
The panna cotta is alright, the chocolate mousse totally forgettable.
Elbert’s Steak Room: 3/F, Sagittarius Building III, 111 H.V. de la Costa Street, Salcedo Village, Makati, Philippines. Tel: +632-3393363
