Guess the Restaurant…..it’s Zarlito’s

The Missus hasn’t been feeling real well, and all those cravings have kicked in, so we went out and had a bunch of food, and a took a bunch of photos. Since I received a few Emails asking for another "guess it" contest, I thought I’d do it again.

So here goes. In this case you can either guess the restaurant or name the 7 dishes – I’ll name the eighth for you. If you name both the restaurant and the dishes I’ll send you an Espresso drink coupon from Peet’s. But remember, take the chance and you’ve got to get both correct. Or you can either name all 8 dishes, or the restaurant, and I’ll send you a cup of Peet’s. First seven correct Email answers win!

Personally, I think this one is too easy.

Here are the dishes

1: Kare Kare($6.50) – We both found the Kare Kare broth to be very mild, and somewhat underwhelming. There were 4 large pieces of oxtail, which were soft and flavorful, along with the eggplant. In what we found was a recurring theme, Zarlitos goes for the "meat-lover" in all of us, to make up for flavor short comings.

2: Nilagang Baka($6.50).

The broth was very light and mild in flavor. The Missus corrected the flavor with a healthy dose of Bagoong Alamang(shrimp paste). As with the Kare Kare, there was meat in abundance, though the beef was on the dry and tough side.

3: Sinigang Sinampalukan(Chicken, not Baboy – $6.50). Though not "sour" enough for the Missus, She still enjoyed the broth. This version was made with Chicken Drumettes and Wings, quite a few of them(I ate them all), and I really thought they tasted pretty good.

4: Pancit Palabok($6.20). Really bad, bland, oily, with under cooked noodles.

5: Whole Crispy Pata($15.00)

Personally, I though this Crispy Pata(boiled in seasonings, than deep fried Pork Leg) was superior to the version at Villa Manila. The skin of the Pata had a perfect crunch, with the wonderful pork flavor coming through. I could have done with more "gelatin", but man it was good. The Missus thought the flavoring of the meat was weak. My response? "Meat? What meat?"(I could only eat about 4 bites before Pata-guilt took over) Frankie loved the remains of the Pata, and even took it to bed with Him……

6: Lechon Kawali($6.50) Nice portion size, but the lechon had been sitting for a while and had lost much of the crunch. Though not very oily, we both thought the flavor to be on the weak side. Still quite a bit of lechon, here.

7: Daing Bangus($6.50). The Missus loves a good boneless Daing, and enjoyed this large piece.

8: Here’s the "freebie"…he-he-he, it’s Rice, of course!

At Zarlitos, you pretty much get what you pay for. Most dishes are under $7(taxes already added in), and there’s quite a bit of meat in most of the soups. Of course, there’s that Pata……

Of course the restaurant is in San Diego.

I’ll return with the prices of the dishes, as well as our impressions tomorrow.

As usual 1 winner per IP address. This one is easy, don’t give away the answers. You can either gamble and try to name all 7 dishes(you don’t have to be "perfect") and the restaurant. Or just name either the 7 dishes OR the restaurant.

The restaurant is…….

Yes, Zarlitos Family Restaurant in National City.

Zarlitos Family Restaurant
505 East 8th St.
National City, CA 91950

Congrats to Ed who guessed Zarlitos correctly, and Denny who got all the dishes, especially the Sinigang Sinampalukan.