Birthday Lunch: Johnny Rockets + California Berry & More!

When: October 13, 2010

I am now 30 and, believe me, this is puzzling. Details of my puzzlement will be somehow revealed in batches as I go along and document my life in this little nook in the web. Deep down inside, I still feel very young and I sincerely hope that it will show. Wishful thinking or not, I don't know. Hahaha! 

Okay, allow me to ramble about adding another year to my earthling life. Big celebrations are not my thing. Several weeks prior, my folks posed these classic questions: Where are we going to celebrate? Shall we order food from CCME, Luk Foo or Savory? How about your cake? Pre-ordered (referring to Estrel's) or over the counter (Red Ribbon, Goldilocks or Conti's)? Blah-blah.  Don't get me wrong, I absolutely appreciate my folks' concern over their firstborn's 30th birthday. Ladies and gentlemen, I just defied the family tradition and said no to those. No cooking necessary either. I'm 30, get over it. It's just one day and it will certainly pass. Call it madness or non-conformist behavior but I happened to love my no-frills birthday!

 

At the Johnny Rockets entrance: Me, holding my Johnny Rockets take-out and a pink balloon (huge thanks to BF who dared to ask if he can get a balloon from the grand opening day leftovers) beside a life-size cardboard illustration of a woman in WWII armed services uniform. If this doesn't spell happy, then I don't know what is! 

It will be a normal day, I promised myself. I pretty much evolved from not knowing much about birthday plans to enthusiastically reveling in little surprises. So I had a normal breakfast, normal shower, normal reading pace, normal playlist and then BF showed up. As promised, he appeared normal - meaning, no flowers and gifts mysteriously hidden somewhere. He then asked me where I'd like to have lunch and I instantly told him - Banapple at Il Terrazzo. So we trooped to Banapple but it was packed with yuppies. A few minutes later, we found ourselves entering Johnny Rockets. Whoa! Burger and fries on my special day, why not?

 

The concept is a diner-style resto circa 1950s. Very interesting!

Jukebox station in every table

Making a smiley face with ketchup on the paper plate when served french fries is a Johnny Rockets trademark. (Wikipedia)

The waitstaff assigned to us was very friendly and accommodating. Songs reminiscent of the swinging 1960s or Sunday classics blasted through the speakers. Then, all of a sudden, the staff began gyrating happily to the tune of  Build Me Up Buttercup. What a pleasant dining experience it was!

The diners, BF and I included, were very much entertained with the dance number. Then the food.

# 12 (Php 335) ~ cheddar cheese, fresh lettuce, onion slice, pickle, mayonnaise & our tangy "red sauce." On a scale of one to ten, it's a twelve!

I thought it was too pricey and the only comforting fact I learned was that the burger actually included fries-all-you can. Never mind the fact that I avoid deep-fried stuff nowadays.

The birthday girl's order: sliders (Php 265) ~ mini-sliders with mayonnaise and pickles/ dijonnaise. Perfect for sharing.

I underestimated the capability of these little burgers to fill me up. They were in fact very juicy and heavy on the tummy. I even took the third dwarf burger home with me.

Drinks: bottomless lemonade (Php 110) and Coke in can (Php 85)

Well, dining at Johnny Rockets is definitely not for cheapskates like me. Hahaha! I've learned my lesson, thank you. While on our second plate of fries, the staff performed another dance number to the tune of Y.M.C.A.

Vintage shots

Can we take them home please?

Since I'm all for healthy dessert, then off to California Berry we went. We sampled their newest flavor - green apple - and it was okay, nothing fantastic.

Green apple fro-yo (Php 90, medium cup)

When I went home, I found the whole birthday spread lovingly carried by Lazy Susan. Oh wait, did I just say that I wanted no pre-ordered food? Oh well. Hahaha!

CCME's beef caldereta and lumpiang shanghai, Amber's spaghetti and pichi-pichi and ice-cold Coke

Did I just turn 30? :)

Johnny Rockets

205 Tomas Morato Street

Quezon City

California Berry

Kopiroti Building

186 Tomas Morato

Quezon City