Charlie's Grind and Grill; 9/10

Charlie's Grind & Grill has been on my hitlist for a number of months now. A lot of friends have been telling me that they have the best burgers in Metro Manila. That kinda sucked because the first thing I ordered there was the Fish and Chips because I was with a vegetarian friend. Which now makes me reconsider our friendship.

Upon seeing Charlie's again it was weird that it hadn't changed. See, Charlie's, is a hole in the wall kinda place. Actually, if there was a hole in the wall; ;Charlie's would be the hole inside the hole in the wall. It's situated at Capitolyo and it's literally beside a car wash. And by beside I don't mean a carwash beside it. I mean it's the restaurant OF a carwash.

 

 Their menu was written on quaint blackboards. Very original and somehow suits the location well. From the menu and prices alone I was either in for a great meal or I was being scammed. I was seriously hoping it wouldn't be the latter. I mean, come on, who eats a black angus burger in a carwash, right? They have more than burgers, as you can see in the menus. I'm definitely coming back here to try the other stuff.

 

 So the food we ordered were the Chili Cheese Fries, the Black Angus with Shrooms, and the Double Black Angus Burger.

The patties of my Double Black Angus Burger were good, maybe even great. In my opinion they could've used a bit more flavor and a bit more seasoning. They would've been better grilled. The kitchen is seen from the counter when you're ordering and I knew I was in for a bit of disappointment when I saw them cooking the patties on a griddle and not on a grill. Waste of angus beef patties, if you ask me. Surprisingly, they were good enough. A bit more salt and maybe some choice flavors and they'd be mind-blowing.

The Chili Cheese Fries were amazing. A bunch of fries smothered in a spicy marinara sauce and topped with cheese? My mouth is watering just typing the description. Take a look at the picture. We couldn't even control ourselves. We must've polished off half before we took the picture. When all the fries were done, we had to go back to our normal, mortal french fries. We tried swabbing them in what was left of the sauce but it wasn't the same. I seriously wanted to lick the sauce off the paper. If the girl at the next table wasn't such a hottie I probably would have.

And lastly, the Black Angus and Shrooms. It's the picture in the middle. It's deep fried. Yes, deep effing fried. Screw all your health issues. You're eating at a freaking carwash. Go all the way! It's an angus beef patty and portobello mushrooms dredged in bread crumbs and fried to amazingness. This is a must try. Who would've thought you could order angus beef and portobello mushrooms on the same plate and spend only 340 pesos? Yes, the ingredients leave the dish prone to hype, but this burger is worthy of the hype. One bite of this and it's a freaking foodgasm in your mouth. I am not joking, it is that good. You have to go and try it for yourself. I'm planning on going back here to try a myriad of other dishes, but I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have this one as well.

Charlie's Grind and Grill is located along East Kapitolyo Drive in Pasig. I've heard there are branches in Greenhills as well as Ortigas but I have yet to see them.