Love at First Bite: Pound by Todd English

There's a new burger joint in town and it sure knows how to get attention. Presenting #paywhatyouwant.Yes, you read it right. The new burger place is offering most of its burgers (except for the Pound Burger priced at PHP999) at any price that you are willing to pay for a limited time. And if you're curious which burger place I'm talking about, it's Todd English's baby, Pound.

Hello, Pound!

I was not aware of Todd English's new restaurant till I saw a post on Instagram promoting it's Pay What You Want promo. I giddily told my officemates about it and asked if anyone would be interested to visit the place with me. (Two officemates said yes but they had to leave before I managed to get a table. But I'll get there in a while.)

The talked about promo of Pound has been on my mind since lunch and I was so excited to head to the place and pay for my meal at a really friendly price. But I was not the only one who saw the Instagram post as there were a lot of people waiting outside when we arrived at 6:25 PM.

I looked for the hostess right away and I was horrified by the long list of diners waiting to be served. One even had a party of 16 guests! But since I wanted to take advantage of the really attractive promo, I gave in and had my name listed. I was 28th. 

*tick tock tick tock* 

Eventually, I was left all alone come 7:15 PM as my officemates had other plans. And I was still at #23. To entertain myself, I went to the supermarket for some cold air and escape from the pesky mosquitoes. But alas, when I got back, I was at #19.

I was starting to get impatient as it was already an hour wait. I was debating with myself if I should wait more or not as I was turning hangry. But I opted to wait. And wait. And oh, Krispy Kreme. *munch* And wait some more.

After 2 hours and 15 minutes, I finally heard name and I got a table... for one. (Alone but not lonely. :D)

The place has a Your Local kind of vibe and Todd English darkness touch. It was really dark and I had a hard time reading the menu! I was also seated closest to the A/C and when the diners beside me complained on how cold it was, the server adjusted it and the cold breeze went straight towards me! Brrrr. Minus points! (It kind of made me want to sing Celine Dion's song Alone.)

To take advantage of the promo, I went for the most expensive burger included in the promo which is Amsterdam Burger (PHP280). I wanted to go for the bacon and egg sliders but figured that this might be bigger. I didn't go for any beverage anymore as they were only offering sodas and iced tea. 

Despite the crowd, service was fast and I got my burger in less than 15 minutes. 

Restaurant Love: Todd English Food Hall

I have been planning to visit Todd English Food Hall for the longest time but for some reason, the people I’m with are not game or something happens hence having to change plans. But my favorite Dragon Lady wanted to visit it too before 2014 ended so, it finally happened!

Hello, Todd English Food Hall.

It’s pretty dark inside giving it a bit of classy and intimate vibe despite the food hall set up. But we didn’t really care as we were famished. After 5 minutes or so, we decided to get T.E. Pork Chop (PHP440), Charred Octopus (PHP380), and Home-Cured Bacon (PHP450). We also ordered rice to share since we were advised that the bacon’s taste might be a bit too overwhelming.

The 48-hour brined pork chop arrived first and the size was pretty generous. We were surprised with how soft the pork chop was and it was really flavorful. It went really well with the marbled potatoes and the French beans and demi-glace sauce.