October 19, 2009

A book by its cover

I know I've posted quite a lot of restaurant and food photos but really, it's hard not to when food and social eating are such significant aspects of life in Manila. But not all eating places here are fancy or fastfood restaurants. Early in the life of this blog, I posted a photo of a pares-pares, that ubiquitous Manila streetside eatery with no airconditioning that's open to all the fumes of the city's old and refurbished vehicles. The presumptuously-named Friuli Trattoria is slightly better in that it has airconditioning, but its chairs are little more than steel stools with tiny seats on the first floor. (Don't ask about the Batman lamp yet.)

Friuli Trattoria's first floor

The seats on the second floor, which you get to by a narrow and steep spiral staircase, are these equally uncomfortable plastic monobloc chairs. The coffee machine on the left makes a horrendous racket when it's in use and the low ceiling definitely does not help. (Paper bats tacked to the ceiling and a Batman lamp downstairs—I think you can guess why now.)

Friuli Trattoria's second floor

Friuli is located in a tiny converted townhouse and is only a ten-minute walk away from our house. The service is uninspired at best, but it serves great pizzas, breaded and deep-fried mozzarella sticks, and fancily-shaped gelato. Here is one of our favorite pizzas, the simple but yummy Margherita: mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and extra-virgin olive oil. Friuli's version also has green bell pepper, which Neapolitan pizza experts will probably protest against, but we're not complaining.

Friuli Trattoria's Margherita pizza

32 comments:

  1. B SQUAREDOctober 19, 2009 at 6:34 AM

    It still looks like pizza, and a good one at that. No complaints from me.

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  2. Chattahoochee Valley DailyOctober 19, 2009 at 6:59 AM

    Im my opinion, the 'dives' tend to have the best food. What is in the terrarium?

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  3. HildaOctober 19, 2009 at 7:17 AM

    Barb:
    Toy cars and other vehicles. :D

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  4. AnonymousOctober 19, 2009 at 7:35 AM

    Looks like a place one would enjoy to come to after a long days work.

    A wonderful tasting new week for you.

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  5. LowellOctober 19, 2009 at 8:41 AM

    It's interesting how some things are easy to overlook when the food is good.

    OK, what about the Batman lamp? ;-)

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  6. arabesqueOctober 19, 2009 at 9:00 AM

    i like how you describe an ordinary place into something worth visiting. ^-^
    haven;t had br8kfast yet and ur pizza seem delectable already.
    i think i can relate with bat inspire like this, heck, you see this often in too many places. ^0^

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  7. Dave-CostaRicaDailyPhoto.comOctober 19, 2009 at 9:27 AM

    With ambiance like this, the food must be good, as people certainly are not coming for the atmosphere. THis would certainly not be the place for a first date, or a second, third, . . . maybe the 50th.

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  8. gogouciOctober 19, 2009 at 10:13 AM

    I'm willing to tolerate all the restaurant's character flaws for a delicious meal. I'm easy to please.

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  9. hadvOctober 19, 2009 at 10:28 AM

    Sometimes, it is in such places you find a treasure dish. That pizza looks good..

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  10. Don and KriseOctober 19, 2009 at 10:35 AM

    This place reminds me of the "working class" diners over here. Nothing fancy, don't go looking for the cloth napkins or valet parking but the food is what brings people back. Thank you for yet another visit to a local eatery Hilda.

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  11. JamesOctober 19, 2009 at 11:47 AM

    That pizza looks just like the one that I ate last night. Yum!

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  12. Rob SiemannOctober 19, 2009 at 2:05 PM

    I think the furniture would put me off, but if the food is good... The pizza looks different but good.
    Going to Venice in 2 1/2 weeks, I can't wait to have the real italian food, in Italy. I remember a pizzeria, when I used to live in the area in the early 80es, serving 365 different pizzas! Friuli by the way is the name of the province north east of Venice, up to the croatian border.

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  13. OlivierOctober 19, 2009 at 2:30 PM

    la recette de la Pizza servie donne envie, après le lieux c'est secondaire

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  14. Unseen RajasthanOctober 19, 2009 at 4:04 PM

    BEautiful shots !! Loved the restaurant !!Unseen Rajasthan

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  15. VPOctober 19, 2009 at 4:50 PM

    I am not wondering anymore at what people put on pizzas. No serious Italian pizzeria will offer more than a dozen different types and the more eaten by locals are usually the three-four classical recipes.
    Really a nice catch, I love this kind of posts!

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  16. Elaine YimOctober 19, 2009 at 5:07 PM

    This place looks quite stuffy. But the pizza looks delicious. Maybe I'll order for pizza delivery or takeaway instead.

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  17. Michel BenoitOctober 19, 2009 at 5:30 PM

    I published a photo of a restaurant too, yesterday...
    With an aquarium too...

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  18. AnonymousOctober 19, 2009 at 8:38 PM

    If the food is delicious, I think people would dine anywhere.

    We are the same way and have some restaurants that are not nice on the outside and plain on the inside but the food is out of this world.

    This blog post makes the food look very good to me.

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  19. LoisOctober 19, 2009 at 9:23 PM

    Oh my goodness that looks good!

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  20. stromsjoOctober 19, 2009 at 9:27 PM

    So, having survived the adventurous spiral staircase, suffered those less-than-comfy chairs and endured the noisy coffee machine, there is ample reward in the shape of a yummy pizza. Not bad! I like pizza.

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  21. HildaOctober 19, 2009 at 10:28 PM

    Arabesque:
    But that's exactly the point! Despite the poor service and non-existent ambiance, it is worth a visit! Or two, or more. :)

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  22. MarieOctober 19, 2009 at 11:58 PM

    Hello Hilda, when I started reading your post I wondered why you wrote abut this restaurant but when I saw the very yummy pizza, I understood. I wouldn't mind the setting provided that the food is good :-)

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  23. GeorgeOctober 20, 2009 at 1:05 AM

    My feeling is that if the pizza is good I really don't care about the decor.

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  24. rafOctober 20, 2009 at 1:20 AM

    It's one of the topics that I enjoy so much on your blog, Hilda....food and restaurants in Manila. Mom and pop ethnic eateries are tops on my list and Friuli Trattoria looks perfect. Thank you!

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  25. AnonymousOctober 20, 2009 at 2:05 AM

    Half pizza would be just right for me. Extra cheese :)

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  26. cieldequimperOctober 20, 2009 at 2:26 AM

    Hilda... what's that lamp? Ooops, sorry! The pizza doesn't look bad!

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  27. Priyanka KhotOctober 20, 2009 at 2:38 AM

    This looks the kind of place we would go to during our college days... when we were on a shoe-string budget. Looks absolutely fantastic to go and have a laughing session with the gang of noisy friends.

    Happy Diwali

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  28. AnonymousOctober 20, 2009 at 4:39 AM

    Hey, if the food's good the decor doesn't matter! I love that Batman lamp!! (the pizza looks good too!).

    Jackie

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  29. JudyOctober 20, 2009 at 4:40 AM

    That pizza looks delicious!

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  30. CopenhagenOctober 20, 2009 at 5:58 AM

    The best food is found in home owned restaurants. I'm not a fan of chain restaurants and fast food, but I love eating at small restaurants.

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  31. escapeOctober 20, 2009 at 7:23 AM

    the place looks like an ordinary place to eat but the food. wow! i wish more shops will serve really good food at cheap price.

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  32. Cezar and LéiaOctober 20, 2009 at 7:28 PM

    oh dear Hilda, I don't mind, you can keep posting about great restaurants, it's a kind of guide!Wonderful and I like to know about it!
    I think you are so elegant!
    Léia :)

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Thanks for visiting and letting me know!