CUILLERE : Comfort Zone for Comfort Food!!!

I didn't realize how difficult
it would be to secure a dinner reservation
at one of the hot new restaurants in Serendra,
MAMOU, where Imeldific noshes on Fish & Chips.

Usually, a 24-hour lead time is enough
for most MetroManila restaurants,
but when I called the Mamou cellphone contact number
this past Friday afternoon for a Saturday dinner,

the very posh lady who answered my call
was very abrupt, and a wee bit snooty
as she hastily told me that Mamou
"was full for the 6:30 & 8:30pm seatings so try your luck at 10:30pm!",
in a quite offensive, "so there, take it or leave it!" tone of voice.


Whatever.


Whoever you are,
I congratulate you on the success of Mamou;
but this is MetroManila, NOT Manhattan,
and your restaurant is in Taguig, NOT Tribeca,

and at the very least,
even if you do have New York style seating,
if you're going to publish your cellphone number,
take the time to be kind to your callers,
Pinoy style:

kaunting lambing naman,
marami naman ibang makakainan dyan!!!

Which is how my dining companions and I ended up,
serendipitically & serendipitiously,
at Serendra's Silver Spoon,

CUILLERE,
a cozy brasserie that serves comfort food
just the way they do it in Paris!


(in stark contrast to the snobbish Namou operator,
Weng, the lady who took my Cuillere reservations,
was the epitome of telephone courtesy and graciousness)



And France's ultimate comfort food?

CROQUE MONSIEUR,
a grilled sandwich of loin ham,
slathered with Bechamel sauce,
and coated with Gruyere cheese!


Simply put,
it's the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich,
as only those fussy French can put together!

And to make mine even more comfortable,
I had my Croque Monsieur with a Madame on top,
a fried sunny side up egg straddling the sandwich.

Ahhh...
très bien!

My fingers got too cheesy, so I couldn't pull out my camera,
nonetheless, the picture above from NYC's Clean Plate Club
is a very accurate representation of my Croque Madame!!!

I love the fact that Cuillere's owners
love dessert so much, they have a separate menu
exclusively for their sweet treats.

No big surprise there;

the owners of this comfort food haven
are the ARCEs,
the original Selecta Ice Cream family,

and it's only appropriate that their
Carabao Milk dairy dessert classics
find their way to Cuillere's menu.


Which is why I couldn't resist ordering
this Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwich,
served in this unique "drunken" glass.

I know, I know,
this isn't Française at all,
but what's a better comfort dessert
than cookies and ice cream,
and carabao milk ice cream at that? ",)

All the ARCE flavors are available,
so don't limit yourself to chocolate and vanilla,
try the Dark Caramel ice cream for a dramatic twist!


By the way, no need to worry,
dining at Culliere isn't expensive;

my Croque Monsieur was P295,
my Chocolate Chip Cookie dessert P95,
and my comfort drink, San Miguel Pale Pilsen at P70;
less than P500 for a full meal, inclusive of the dreaded VAT.

But do leave a nice tip,
the servers don't act like your typical French garçons!


VIVE LA CUILLERE!!!

p.s.

If navigating the traffic all the way to Serendra
proves too uncomfortable for you, here's how you
can assemble a Croque Monsieur in the comfort
of your own cozy kitchen:

The Paupered Chef's Incriminating Ham Sandwich Recipe!