Getting Stoned Over Steaks at Stoned Steaks

One of the fine dining restaurants we indulged ourselves in while we were driving the 2019 Suzuki Vitara GLX CVT on our fun food trip story was Stoned Steaks located at 55 Scout Rallos, Tomas Morato, Barangay Laging Handa, Quezon City. My wife Shawie, our kids Vette and Chevy, and I were invited to dine and get “stoned” by Sue Jose, the public relations officer of Stoned Steaks.

We were fortunate enough that we were invited to dine there during the “wine pairing” evening with wines from Terrazas de los Andes of Argentina. We were introduced to our wine guide for the evening, Mademoiselle Clem Defeu, who told us that because of the high altitude and cool climate in the Argentinian hills where the grapes for their wines are grown, the Terrazas wines taste much fruitier and less acidic than those grown in lower regions. We started the evening with a glass of Terrazas Altos del Plata chardonnay, that sipped nicely with the finger food, fried potato strips with trouffle, while we waited for the other dinner guests.

When the expected guests arrived, we were led to our dining hall, which looked like a private wine cellar and study. The tables and chairs were arranged to handle as many as 20 VIP guests and the room’s enclosed separation from the main dining area made it feel a little more intimate, cozy and exclusive, which made the culinary and wine-pairing dinner feel more special. Shawie and I pointed to our kids a set of encyclopedias on the shelves and told them that this was the “Google” of our generation.

Stoned Steaks‘ Operations Manager, Jordan Ortega, gave a short welcome speech to officially open our wine-pairing dinner. He gave us a little background of the restaurant, where super-heated dishes made of volcanic rocks are used to grille the meat, thus the name. Afterwards, Mademoiselle Defeu briefed us on what wines will be paired with what dishes so we can fully enjoy the meal and savor the taste of the Terrazas wines that they will be serving.

We were first served the appetizer, oysters Rockefeller with micro herbs and caviar bed in grava rock and rock salt, which was followed by the soup, mushroom in creamy chicken broth drizzled with parsley, pepper and salt, and then proceeded by grilled marinated salmon fillet served with mango salsa, Borsoo garlic lemon butter sauce and miso lobster signature sauce. All three entrees were paired quite well with a glass of Terrazas Altos del Plata Chardonnay that cleanses the palate for the next course.

The meat lovers in my family loved what was served next – salted beef slider with Stoned Steak mustard sauce and mixed four cheese. Our son Chevy treated like it was a gourmet hamburger, which, in a sense, it was, and liked it so much that the Operations Manager Ortega gave him an extra serving as a reward. Shawie and I were rewarded with a glass of Terrazas Altos del Plata cabernet sauvignon, which was one of the fruitiest red wines that I’ve ever tasted. The slider was followed by the pièce de résistance – a succulent slice of Wagyu ribeye steak served on a hot lava stone with the special Stoned Steak herb garlic butter and served with mushrooms and asparagus. The main entree was paired with a glass of Terrazas Altos del Plata malbec that seems to enhance the flavor of the stone-grilled steak. It was lusciously delicious!

For dessert, we were served Banoffe Moelleux, presented on a frozen slab of volcanic rock with dark chocolate gelato, pistachio, biscuit crumbs and dulce de leche. After dinner, Operations Manager Ortega presented the hardworking staff of Stoned Steaks who served us dinner and they were greeted with a huge round of applause. It was only fitting that we applaud them for the wonderful and delightful dining experience we had that evening.