The Real Thing Diner – Tomas Morato, Quezon City

When I go on a food trip lakwatsa, I usually get suggestions from friends. Sometimes, I get suggestions on this blog from a posted comment. Sometimes I come across one online. In this case, I spotted “The Real Thing DIner” on ClickTheCity.com specifically  this review.

As I wrote in the past, I am somewhat suspect of  food reviews. Sometimes reviews are slanted just on the positive, while others are just subjective based on one’s taste. That said, what is great for one person, may be bad for another. So, I love checking out an “interesting” place on my own. Then I make my own assessment.

So last January 26, 2010… I visited the place with my friend Chris Aquino.

So… The Real Thing Diner is a themed after “Coca Cola”. Yes, the beverage. This place isn’t necessarily an official Coca Cola establishment, but it is run by a Coke dealer (hmm, I hope you interpret that correctly). It is located along Tomas Morato on the second floor of the Il Terrazzo Mall.

By the way, anyone who really knows me will remember that I am a self-confessed Coke Addict. Well, I used to be anyway. I used to have every meal with Coke. And I only drink the REAL kind… “Regular Coke.” Not a lame Diet Coke, Coke Light, or Coke Zero… simply because those imitations do not taste like Coke despite what health-conscious advertising you choose to believe.

People will remember my Coke-in-can collection which I recently stopped due to “poppage”

Anyway, back to “The Real Thing Diner”

When you walk in, you will be engulfed in a sea of Red and White décor.

On one corner by the entrance you will see a display with a few… and I do mean “a few” Coke memorabilia items.

Their menu is interesting. What they try to do is create dishes which have sort of Coke or related-beverage influence. You can check out their menu online here.

Oddly, they have a list of beverages which have Coca-Cola as part of their ingredients…

Today we ordered the following Items…

I ordered the “Tru-Orange Portkchop” (from the menu “Tender and juicky porkchop marinated in our original Royal Tru-Orange sauce”)

And Chris ordered the “Coca-Cola Baby Back Ribs” (from the menu “Tender baby back ribs glazed in our signature Coca-Cola BBQ sauce”)

FYI… There a number of other items on the menu that have no Coke products at all.

For drinks I ordered… Coca-Cola. Bottomless of course. Served in a plastic version of the Iconic Coke glass. Personally I think they should have gone with glass.

So what is the verdict? Both dishes tasted good. Not great, but not bad. What was a real disappointment was that my dish’s sauce did not taste like Royal Tru-Orange, and Chris’ rib’s BB! sauce did not taste like Coca-Cola. I do not question that that they did use both beverages in the preparation and the cooking, but if the end result does not resemble their famed ingredients… then what’s the point? I guess at the end of the day, the novelty just wore off on me.

A slight disclaimer… we only tried these two dishes. Maybe the others had a hint of Coke-product taste? I will never know. But again these two dishes did not.

Let me say again, the dishes were not bad. Not at all. But they were not spectacular, and because when I visit a themed restaurant, I expect to be wowed by that theme. In this case, I was underwhelmed by the experience. Aside from the red and white, plus the Coke font used, the place was scantily decored with a few Coke memorabilia.

My take? Try it for the novelty of it all. You judge the food for yourself.

Contact Details:

Il Terrazzo Mall
2nd Level, IL Terrazzo Mall
305 Tomas Morato Ave. cor. Scout Madriñan St.,

Phone Number: (63 2) 352-4320

Website: http://therealthingdiner.com

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