Talk about company loyalty. KV Golamco was an employee of Coca-Cola Bottlers, Inc. for several years. When he left, he left his heart with Coke. Several years later, married and ready to venture out on his own, he opened a restaurant in Quezon City. He could have opened any kind of restaurant – his sister is the restaurateur behind the Portuguese restaurant O’sonho – but he took the road less traveled and followed his heart back to Coca-Cola by creating The Real Thing Diner.
“Coke ang may-ari nito [Coke owns this place],” my dad concluded on a visit with the family one Sunday. I explained that it was not. “Hindi,” he insisted. And repeated, “Coke ang may-ari nito.” It is an inevitable conclusion.
“We do have the permission of Coke,” KV said when I chanced upon him on a separate visit. “They know about this diner and are very happy and supportive.” Indeed, the place practically breathes Coke: from the signage out front to the Coca-Cola bottle and tin can collection on display to the artfully designed menu… and yes, to the food itself! At this restaurant, Coca-Cola is not just The Real Thing – it is everything!
While they serve American diner food – burger, fries and shakes – these are given a twist with the incorporation of Coca-Cola into the ingredients. They serve a “backyard burger,” a juicy medium-sized burger, but more importantly they also serve a Coca-Cola BBQ burger, which is the backyard burger but with a side of barbecue sauce that is sweet because of the additional ingredient that is Coke! The same formula is applied to their baby back ribs, a customer favorite based on my quick survey of orders on other tables. It is bathed in the barbecue sauce that is sweetened with Coke.
(In fact the owners are going beyond being restaurateurs and creating a Coca-Cola community. The restaurant feasts not only on diner food but also on Coke swaps, a schedule of which you may find on their website therealthingdiner.com.)
If it’s not Coke, there are other softdrinks on the menu. The buffalo chicken wings are glazed with Sarsi. Now anything with Sarsi is good, especially if you grew up with Sarsi. This set of wings definitely fly. Want a white softdrink? They also offer a Sprite calamari and Sprite spam! Grew up in the ’80s and missing RJ Ledesma? (Remember the Joey/Royal Tru Orange commercial series?) They have Royal Tru Orange pork chops! Pork chops that are orangey sweet.
The menu designer, however, did not limit himself to softdrinks. There are also creations that use Eight O’ Clock juice. While I’m partial to Tang myself, their Eight O’ Clock Mac n Cheese may satisfy a craving. Just make sure you drizzle the accompanying side of cheese.
While they’re not crazy enough to offer Coca-Cola soup (thank God!) the restaurant does give an extra dose of sweetness to their chocolate cake by adding – you guessed it – Coca-Cola. But you may skip the Coca-Cola Chocolate Decadent Cake for what is the best item on the menu: the Cinnamon Snifter. This is a drink made of Coke, Sarsi (how can you go wrong with a combination of those two?) plus cinnamon and vanilla ice cream. This is a real Coca-Cola delight!
Other items on the menu are not necessarily as memorable. Upon seeing the Sloppy Joe, good old dad goes, “That looks like a loser.” And The Wise Bozo replied, “That’s why it’s called sloppy, dad.” This may be skipped in favor of a Coca-Cola BBQ burger. Accommodating the Mexican trend, the restaurant also offers a Chile Guacamole Burger. As it turns out, it’s nothing more than the resto’s regular burger with a dollop of guac. Punches of spiciness, notwithstanding, Mexico here remains outside the border.
Memo to restaurant: stick to the softdrink- infused creations. When it’s got “the real thing” and it doesn’t taste better, at least its got character.
The Real Thing Diner. 2nd floor, Il Terrazzo, Tomas Morato cor. Scout Madrinan. Sunday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Major credit cards accepted. No reservations required. Wheelchair accessible via elevator.
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On Casa Roces: All in the Family… Well, Almost!
While it stands today as a tribute to the Roces family, Benito Legarda Jr. clarifies that Casa Roces (1153 JP Laurel cor. Aguado across Malacañang Palace) is not a Roces ancestral home as it was built in the late 1940s by Filomena “Menang” Roces de Legarda. Filomena is the eldest sister of Don Rafael Roces Sr. who in turn is the father of National Artist Alejandro R. “Anding” Roces. As a Roces, Filomena Roces Legarda was part owner of the pre-war T-V-T Publications and of the post-war pre-martial law Manila Times Publishing Co. Uninhabited for 10 years, the property was acquired a couple of years ago from the heirs of Dr. Alejandro Legarda and Jose Legarda, to happily come alive again through the genius of Peachy Prieto (daughter of Benito “Bibelo” Prieto and Antonia “Chucha” Roces) and daughter Bianca Santos as restaurant cum gallery Casa Roces (with Kape Chino, after the late Chino Roces, on the ground floor). See “Coming Up Roces,” SIM, July 31, 2011.
photographs by Margaux Salcedo
