Charmed by a chimichanga

During my college years, there's this Mexican food stall along Taft Ave. (near University Mall) which sells good chimichanga. My roomies and I would troop all the way to DLSU area just to buy chimichanga and cheese flauta from this joint. Good thing, I had this ex-boyfriend who studies at DLSU back then and I "innocently and casually" (without any hint of being a bilmoko girl haha) that I really like Miggy's chimichanga. Lo and behold, the next time he paid me a visit, he handed me two chimichangas from Miggy's plus Coke in can pa!

Now, that me and that La Sallite boyfriend of mine have long since broken up and Miggy's already out of business (Waaaahhhh!), I am still in search of a real good chimichanga.

What's a chimichanga anyway? It's a burrito that's deep-fried, that simple.

I tried other Mexican-inspired restos like Mexicali whenever my brain screams "CHIMICHANGAAAAAA!" and I must say it does satisfy my craving once in a while yet I still miss that dirt cheap chimichanga of Miggy's. Mexicali reigned as my chimichanga haven for the longest time but I would love to discover other not-so expensive Mexican places as well.

Last Saturday, my mom asked me to drive her to Fitness First Eastwood for her retro class. Since I have nothing else to do and I wanted to try Omakase anyway so I obliged. I haven't been to Eastwood for a long time, last I've been there was about a year ago to watch a movie and eat at Prince of Jaipur. I dropped my mom off to where her gym is and went all the way to the front part near Eastwood's entrance to park where Alba Restorante is. My mom's retro class usually takes an hour and thirty minutes so I devised my game plan that afternoon: park the car – walk to Omakase (near Piandre) to try their much-wowed makis – fetch mom.

So off I walked to Omakase, but boo-hoo, it's closed for some minor renovations. Drats, change plans! Next to Japanese, I thought of what I would like to eat—hmm, something garlicky—Persian cuisine! I retraced my steps back to Eastwood towards Citywalk area where Prince of Jaipur is. Haha, double whammy—it's closed too! I was tired and hungry, it was a long walk from E. Rodriguez Jr. to Citywalk, you know! I figured out I'd better walk around and look for other options. My disappointment was washed over by the sight of this restaurant beside GoNuts Donuts—Agave Mexican Cantina!

 

I felt like someone trapped in the desert who wants to make sure that the oasis he's seeing isn't a mirage, I had to peer inside to make sure it's open unlike the first restos I wanted to go to. After confirming it's open, I went inside hoping that they have my all-time Mexican fave on their menu.

And this restaurant didn't disappoint me; they do have my beloved chimichanga! Now those two closed restaurants must have been a blessing in disguise after all! The place was almost empty probably because it was way past lunchtime and in a matter of seconds a waitress greeted me, in a dress which reminds me of what Lucy Torres would wear in her dancing show when she does her flamenco number. I chose to be seated in a booth at the back so I can take pictures of my food and not be conscious of the other diners. I immediately made my order; chimichanga, what else, and Agave iced tea to down it with. 

Agave opened it first and so far only branch in Eastwood last August. It was named after a Mexican plant consisting of large fleshy leaves, each ending generally in a sharp point and with a spiny margin. I think our next-door neighbor had this plant back in the 80's with its leaves covered by egg shells to prevent anyone getting near it from being poked. For a while, we thought it was an egg-bearing tree.

While waiting for my food, I observe Agave's interiors starting from the booth where I was seated. The U-shaped booth is good for groups of ten to twelve, you'll be able to fit yourselves and eat comfortably without hitting each other's elbows or bump each other while reaching for food.

The rest of the restaurant is composed of dark wooden tables and chairs, pretty much like a Mexican cantina, with large lamps hanging from the ceiling and those leaf-like designs on the wall. According to the waitress, the restaurant can seat up to 60 diners and they can provide extra tables for a bigger group.

My food was served fast, but I can't really say if this is their usual service pace—I have yet to come back during lunch or rush hour. Their chicken chimichanga (PHP160) looks big and yummy, considering I ordered a smaller size. Most of the items in their menu comes in two sizes – solo and for sharing, although forgive me for not asking how many people can be fed by their bigger servings. The wrap is crispy and not too oily, just the way I like it. The fillings (a mixture of chicken, lettuce, Mexican red rice, cheese and refried beans) are moist and creamy from the cheese, I didn't need to order a guacamole or additional sour cream to go with it. I can say that the dish is almost perfect as it is. I added the word "almost" for personal reasons like I wanted it to have extra refried beans (I looove refried beans) in it, although I learned later that you can order it as a side dish (at additional PHP45), and I missed those free white dressing available at Mexicali. Well, I can't have everything and for some people, I think the dish would be perfect.

You can have the option as for the fillings: beans for vegetarians (price ranges PHP145 – 270), chicken and steak for beef lovers. Chimichangas are also served in two ways, it can be a Classic0 (topped with salsa and sour cream like what I ordered) or an Ultimo (topped with Ranchero sauce, Mexican cheese blend, salsa and sour cream), you just need to add PHP50++ if you want to go with the latter.

Now for the iced tea: oftentimes you'd see find iced named after the restaurant's name, claiming it's their own blend. I always clear this with the waiter serving me since most of the time it's just plain Nestea or Lipton, they just change the name to make it more enticing, in that case; I'd rather have a Coke zero. Well this Agave iced tea (PHP45), as the waitress told me, is a blend of Lipton iced tea and pomelo juice. Hmm, interesting. Kudos for Agave's trying to be creative—it tastes good, like sipping iced tea from one glass and pomelo juice from another; yet I can't say it wowed me really.

Agave's menu is quite extensive, way more choices than Mexicali. For the appetizers, their best seller is the Quezo Fundido (PHP295), rich melted cheese dip with chorizo, spinach and artichokes served with garlic bread, crispy flour-tortilla triangles and corn chips; and Nacho Grande (PHP305), corn chips topped with Mexican cheese, sour cream, fresh guacamole, pico de gallo, jalapeños and refried beans. Served with choice of taco beef or grilled chicken. The first one seems to be a cheaper version of those corn chips from CPK with spinach artichoke dip. Both dishes are good for sharing. The waitress even offered me a slight history of their appetizers: the Yucatan Skewers (PHP305 – 365), a choice of grilled skewers (chicken, steak, shrimp or combo), used to be an appetizer too but a lot of people eat it with rice so they gave the dish an overhaul by serving it with Mexican red rice and Hacienda ranch dip; thus making it one of their main dish specialties.

Other dishes on their Favorites category that I'd want to try on my second time there are their burritos (fillings can be bean, chicken, pork or steak, at P135 – 235) and quesadillas (cheese, mushroom, chicken, steak or shrimp, priced at PHP190 – 375). For the main dishes, I might get the Mexican pizza (PHP245), thin crust pizza topped with your choice of chicken or beef plus tomatoes, green peppers, onions and olive. It reminds me of that uber yummy Mexican pizza we had in Boracay last year. I promise to hunt it down when we go there next month along with Boracay's other gastronomic delights.

 

Agave also offers a wide array of alcoholic drinks from their bar, I hope to try their house margarita on our next drinking spree.

Overall, I give it a grade of 4/5 shoe prints = Muy delicioso! Worth a comeback!

 

Eastwood Citywalk 1

Unit H-6

188 E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue

Bagumbayan, Libis, Quezon City

Tel. 912-6989

www.agavecantina.com