Juan and Joe Restaurant - A Taste of Filipino and American Cuisine

Juan and Joe: Burgers and Rice

by Cityzen | Chris Mallari

A few weeks ago I was at my favorite hangout in Taguig and I ran across a new restaurant near the taxi area of Market! Market!.  It caught my attention right away since its sign was blazing in the night, sort of beckoning me to come in.  I also noticed its bright colorful design and catchy name.  Instinctively I knew that this place was going to have great food.  I wasn’t far off on that account.  Juan and Joe is part of the Cabalen group of restaurants and its major theme is Filipino and American culture.  The food is based on this theme so there are burgers, shakes, and all sorts of Filipino and American all time favorites.  The restaurant is located right next to the Cabalen restaurant near the fountain area.  You can’t miss it, especially at night, since the sign will be ablaze like a beacon.

The sign lights up at night

The interior of the restaurant can be described as a mini museum of Philippine and American pop culture.  It’s lovingly decorated with comic book characters, posters, different types of bobble heads, and even a Panday figurine that looks curiously very collectible.  I spent a few minutes looking at all the stuff while waiting for my food.  The owners describe the restaurant as family friendly and I would say so too with their great menu and visually exciting interior.

Pop Culture!

After a few minutes of staring at the objects above me, the drink I ordered arrived.  Drinks have been my all time favorite companions since it’s been so hot lately.  Today I decided on getting myself the coldest drink I can get my hands on.  This turned out to be Joe’s Iced Tea (P85) and it is a house blend iced tea.  It’s quite tasty and the best part is it helps beat the heat.  I just love house blends as they all have their distinctive signature taste and Joe’s Iced Tea is no exception.

Joe’s Iced Tea: refreshing taste

Now feeling refreshed I was slowing building up momentum for the food.  But I got sidetracked by a drink I saw over at the other table.  I quickly checked out the menu and found the Vanilla Smoothie (P95) and ordered myself one.  It looked liked ice cream in a tall glass with chocolate syrup all over.  Moisture was coating the glass and chocolate was dribbling over on its side.  It tasted even better than it looked.  It was creamy and sweet and best of all if tasted like ice cream.

Ice cold Vanilla Smoothie

 

Delicious!

Armed with my drinks, I was ready to take on the food.  The first dish to arrive at the table was the Binukadkad na PlaPla (P225).  It’s a deep fried Tilapia with the sides cut open so that it looks like a butterfly.  The fish is deep fried until it’s crispy and golden.  It comes with a side dish of atsara and has to be eaten with rice.  I highly suggest that you pair this dish with Juan’s Fried Rice (P145).  Individually they taste great, but to get the full benefit of taste you’ll have to combine these two.  If you’re craving rice and viand, this is a great combo. The fried rice has squid, salted eggs, carrots, peas, and even bits of pieces of longganisa in it.

Binukadkad na PlaPla

 

Golden and crispy

 

Juan’s Fried Rice

 

A good match to the Plapla

Before I could even make a huge dent on the previous dish, the next meal was delivered to the table.  Mind me, but I was already highly satisfied with what I was eating! But they had to bring this new dish in front of me. What’s the fun in eating just one dish right? Bring it on! The dish they served was a full rack of Baby Back Ribs (half P290/full P595).  The ribs come with a serving of French fries and fried kamote.  It also comes with coleslaw, BBQ sauce, and chilli.  So as you can imagine, I had a great time with this dish!  The meat was soft and tender so all I had to do was grab a fork and get some meat, dunk it into one of the sauces and we were good to go.  This was my favorite for the day.

Baby Back Ribs

 

Served with sauces, fried kamote and French fries

As if the previous dishes obviously haven’t curbed my appetite, another dish was served.  This time it was the all time favorite Crispy Sisig (P165).  This is a Dinakdakan style sisig and as the name implies, is very crispy.  And no matter how unhealthy it is or how many different styles of sisig I have eaten, it’s always a welcome part of the meal.

Crispy Sisig

 

Let’s dig in!

Since this restaurant also has burgers, it would be unwise not to try it out.  The signature burger for Juan and Joe is the Heart Attack (P395) and it is aptly named so.  It would give my cardiologist a heart attack of his own, knowing I consumed something like this! This burger has a patty made out of 250g of pure beef, onion rings, a sunny side up egg, cheese sauce, bacon, lettuce, and tomato.  This colossal burger can feed three to four people.  This was definitely another favorite of mine for the day--not just because of its sheer size, but also because it tasted great.  Try this out with the help of a friend.

Heart Attack: Have one... or two

 

Served with fries

Juan and Joe also serves breakfast.  I’m a real sap for breakfast meals, so I had to grab some even though it wasn’t breakfast time.  Joe’s Omelette (P155) comes with toast and marmalade.  It’s made out of three (or even four eggs), sliced mushrooms, bell peppers, and I do believe it even has some melted cheese in there somewhere.  Very filling and a must have for breakfast, or anytime I suppose.

Joe’s Omelette

 

And thus I end my lunch time adventure with a breakfast food, which is somewhat strange, but yet oh so very satisfying if I think about it.  So if you’re up for some American food but with a Filipino mix, or Filipino food with an American twist, come and try out Juan and Joe.  I’m pretty sure you’ll have a great time with friends and family trying to munch on that Heart Attack burger.  I sure did and I will definitely be back with some backup to handle that burger and get myself another Vanilla smoothie!