I was kidnapped by Jericho for a celebratory birthday dinner Sunday evening, well kind of. That's not completely true. He drove me to Greenbelt for an impromptu strip session at well, Strip, but they were already fully booked for the evening, so we decided to stick around and have dinner instead. I wasn't craving for anything in particular, I just wanted uncomplicated, comforting food, and Mr. Jones seemed to have all that. Plus, we haven't been there in a while, so it was nice checking out the newly expanded restaurant.
There's something very homey about this particular diner-themed restaurant. Maybe it's because the food is way better than those diner restaurants that are all hype (or dancing) but cannot deliver on the food, which is sad really. Mr. Jones seems to be the opposite. The servers are kind of sucky at their job, but the food is always terrific. I remember one bad experience Jericho and I had at Mr. Jones - being witness to one of the servers blatantly stealing money from the tip jar. But the food was excellent, no complaints.
After taking forever to get our order, we were finally served us our A&W Root Beer Flat n' Egg Creams (P195) after a game of snakes and ladders - these were basically ice cream floats with two scoops of ice cream. We realized there wasn't much rootbeer after the bubbles fizzled away, I felt ripped off. It seems as though we paid for the two scoops of ice cream rather than the actual drink. Now that I think about it, I should've gone with the flavored lemonade instead.
Jericho ordered Mr. Jones' Two Dogs in Bed (P295) - two Wiernerli Franks, sauerkraut, sweet relish, fresh onions, wholegrain mustard, ketchup and jalapeño peppers. This can actually be good for sharing, and we were pretty full on hot dogs even before my order arrived. The wieners looked a bit pale, but they were meaty and lightly spiced, with the sauerkraut and pickles giving the sandwich a nice sour and savory balance, and the jalapeño peppers a nice kick in the end.
From reading the menu, I thought this came with one big dill pickle (like they'd have in normal diners), but nope, this came with a measly fifth of a pickle. We ordered extra, which was an extra P50 for four sticks of dill pickles.
I ordered the Grilled Bone-In Maple Glazed Pork Chops & Mama's Home Made Apple Sauce (P450). This huge hunk of pork was topped with a cinnamon apple and apricot compote and came with a side of Spiced Pumpkin Puree, haricots verts and organic baby carrots. The whole dish was sweet, but not sickeningly so, and I would sop up the maple glaze with a piece of pork chop and scooping a bit of the pumpkin puree with my fork before popping the whole thing in my waiting gob.
I especially loved the pumpkin puree, which was also is perfect in celebration for Halloween - and because Starbucks here doesn't sell fucking spiced pumpkin lattes!
I was surprised that Mr. Jones carried TWG Tea, and ordered a pot of the flowery Paris-Singapore blend to go with dessert.
I love the cute teapot-teacup set the TWG Tea (P120) comes in! It's annoying how they throw away the tea leaves after they steep it - you could still get another two to three steeps out of those and enjoy the different nuances the tea has with every wash.
I was ecstatic to find they had the Chocnut Vahlrona Cake (P265) I kept going to Chelsea Market Cafe for, and they even serve a bigger slice! This was definitely the highlight of my night. The very dense, dark chocolate cake with a hint of nuttiness from the chocnut, and light cream finish was enough to make me moan in delight - this definitely made my night!
We got a cute Mr. Jones sticker for spending over P800, which is kind of cute - but I have no place to stick this. Thank you, Jericho, for the really nice birthday dinner!
When mucking around Greenbelt and looking for good food with a quirky diner vibe, check out Mr. Jones. Just be prepared to be in for a bit of a wait with your food and maybe even get your order mixed up with someone else's. At this point, it's all a part of the experience. But don't worry, the food is pretty damn good once you get it!
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Mr. Jones
+63 2 501 3111
Greenbelt 5, Legaspi St.
Ayala Center, Makati
Open Daily: 11am - 12mn
