Saturday, June 9, 2012

Let's MEAT It Happen Right On 'CUE Modern Barbecue



A'las, another place for meat lovers is born in the heart of Fort - it's called 'Cue Modern Barbecue located at the Bonifacio High Street Central (area where Cake Club, Village Tavern, Jamba Juice, etc. are). Celebrating its first birthday last June 7, 'Cue has surely made a lot of people's tummies happy with their service and food selections.

On the eve of June 4, I was one with several foodies in hoping for a great meal from this new barbecue restaurant. There we were, sitting, chitchatting as we await for the grand feast of meat, non-meat, meat! It did not disappoint, so read more below to know why.

On the left-most of the picture wearing black tops are the restaurant owners, while the guy wearing blue top on the far end of the restaurant is celebrity Raymond Gutierrez.
'Cue Modern Barbecue has great ambiance and lighting, comfortable chairs, and nice interiors. It can get very full especially at night, but there are a few more seats available outside. Like any hit restaurant where group of friends dine, couples who want to have a quiet moment over dinner might have to look for another place with fewer people.

Let's start with.... the starters (d'oh)! While most restaurants serve peanuts or bread to awaken the food sensation in me, 'Cue served us with popcorn - my favorite when watching movies. I was even happier upon tasting that it had a bit of spiciness topped on it, but not too much to the point you'd have to sniff and sweat. Great start!

Fried Buttermilk Wings (Php355) was served. I was quite hungry already, so I almost forgot to take a photo. The wings were glazed with maple-pepper, which explains why it tasted a bit sweet. I seriously love this one! It's very tasty!

The Bone Marrow and Steak Tacos (Php485) is one of the most talked about item here at 'Cue. Why not? Look at it - it's very "healthy" and "nakababata" - so this is a caution for those with high in cholesterol. So the dish came with steak cubes, six pieces of flour tortillas, bone marrow on the piece of bone, roasted corn salsa, and sweet 'n spicy salsa verde.

When I first tasted the steak only, it felt like it can use more of salt or marinade to make it tastier, but when I mixed it all together with the corn, salsa verde, and tortillas, it created a whole new taste overall. I super love how the steak is so tender.

Note: Consume it right away once served to prevent the oil from building up to what we refer to as "sebo."

Pictured above is the full slab of Baby Back Ribs (Php1,185). As suggested by our friend Franco, we ordered half Wet (left) and half Dry (right). Basically, the whole slab was slowly baked then barbecued. The Dry side was rubbed with house-made spices, while the Wet side was glazed with 'Cue's house-made barbecue sauce. Although it tasted great, I would have loved having it not too dry.

Not to forget, the corn bread on the side was yummy too! It was soft, moist, and melts in the mouth. My friend Jean liked it even more when dipped in Roasted Chunky Apple Sauce.

Sorry for the blurry picture (yes, I was in a hurry to eat this), but the Lamb Ribs (Php680) was also good! I normally don't like lamb dishes 'coz of its after taste, but this one was okay. What they did here was to slowly bake it then slightly char-grilled to give it a bit of that well-loved barbecue taste. They also mixed it with black peppercorn and cinnamon, as well as squeezed some lemon juice on it.

The Lamb Ribs came with 'Cue's Chili Mongo. Sorry to say, but I didn't like it at all. The spoonful of mongo I ate didn't had any spiciness to it, plus the white sauce on top didn't taste too good for me as well.

As if the ribs and the lamb weren't enough, we got Beef Belly (Php695). The beef was basically braised in a dark beer sauce before giving it a slight char-grilled treatment. Coming with roasted onions, the beef belly's yellow crust is caused by the mustard mixed with it. I love it when mixed with their house special barbecue sauce.


From L-R, T-B: Bourbon Pepper Cream, House-Made BBQ Sauce, Red Wine BBQ Sauce, Dark Ale Grain Mustard
These are the just four of the many house-made sauces 'Cue has to offer for its customers. 'Cue wanted its diners to be the one to decide on what side dish and sauces would go with the meat. In this way, customers are able to mix 'n match the combinations and get the flexibility according to their desired taste.

Hands down to the Chicken Chipotle Chorizo Pot Pie (Php325). This is the best dish I had during the night. Mixed with some carrots, onions, and celery are the stars of this dish - chicken and chorizo. It's covered with a thin crust, where once opened, gave me the oozing creaminess that instantly brought my two thumbs up. You cannot let this pass. Promise.

'Cue is not all about meat. Apart from salads, they also have this Blistered Tomatoes and Roasted Garlic Spaghetti (Php285). Its ingredients include red chiles, white tequila, and tomato oil. It's actually very light, not much if you're on the salty side, but a great ball breaker from all the meat the restaurant has to offer.

My cough still hasn't freed me from being able to eat and drink cold food, which is why I wasn't able to taste 'Cue Modern Barbecue's fruit shakes. But when it was time for dessert, I knew I had to give in.

This Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake (Php195) was hard to resist. If you're thinking of the usual moist lava cake-like texture, the cookie cake is different. It has a firmer texture, with semi-crunchy bits once you start slicing it. Its combination of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, hot fudge, and chocolate cookie cake was a great cap for the night's meat-y foodie adventure.

I was fortunate to meet the owners of 'Cue Modern Restaurant. From our short conversation, I learned that they source their meat abroad. Once imported, they bring these meats to their R&D laboratory in Makati to store and marinade, and ensure it retains its tenderness and juiciness.

Although 'Cue Modern Barbecue is still in its soft opening phase, I believe it has already captured the hearts (and the stomachs) of many. Overall, dining at 'Cue is a good choice because of the quality of their service and food. However, if you're more keen to eating less expensive dishes, you might have to settle for other restaurants nearby.

Their menu still has quite a lot of "coming soon" marks. I'm looking forward to dining at 'Cue Modern Barbecue again once it goes official. Surely, there are some more things they can improve in terms of taste, but their current offering is really a good start already.

Hey, there's no need to wait for the cue, because we're always right on 'Cue as we Meat it happen! Follow 'Cue Modern Barbecue on Facebook and Twitter to get updates.

'Cue Modern Barbecue
Space NELG 105, Lower GF Bonifacio High Street Central, Global City, 1630 Taguig, Philippines
Store Hours: Monday to Sunday 11:30AM - 3:00PM; 6:00PM - 11:00PM
Number: 0917 899 2283

6 comments:

bone marrow and steak tacos, too deadly!!! :)) 

Good that we were on a group. At least limited pieces per person. :)


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gonna go for the lamb ribs and wings next! 

Go for it and let us know how it goes for you :)


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much more than the delectable dishes... i liked the luscious writing and the indulgent pictures... good place for dates I guess...

Thanks! :) But regarding the dates - depends on you and your date's preference on noise :)

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