Tender Bob's
For the Love of Steak
Tender Bob's tender offerings keep up with its tradition of tantalizing the discerning and meat-loving diner.
WORDS BY ZEAN VILLONGCO
IMAGES BY DON OCO
“To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese, is a life not worth living.” Anthony Bourdain couldn’t have said it any better, I thought to myself as I scarfed down with a swig of house blend iced tea my last mouthful of Tender Bob’s Bleu Cheeseburger, which I ordered with additional toppings of jalapeño peppers. Served with a juicy 100% beef patty, laden with strips of smokey bacon, white cheddar, ranch dressing and blue cheese sauce, the heftily sized dish sided with generous portions of onion rings was unadulterated burger bliss. Bourdain was right on the money with regard to professing his affection for meat, and most especially with regard to stinky cheese.
As one can readily surmise from the name, Tender Bob’s boasts serving the most tender and juicy U.S.-certified steaks that any local diehard meat-lover can get his hungry chops on. The brand all started with Meat Plus Café, a casual quick-service steakhouse in Subic that became popular for its reasonably priced U.S.-grade meat and steak dishes. Established back in the early 1990’s by four couples from the Tanjangco, Tenchavez, Meer and Santos families, Meat Plus Café did so well that the owners, who have now established their own corporation, decided to bring their brand of food to Manila. Thus was conceptualized Tender Bob’s Steaks, Ribs and Burgers, which debuted in 2000 and has since then grown to four branches – in Greenbelt 2, Greenhills Promenade, Shangri-la Mall and SM North The Block – with a fifth one soon to open (as of writing) in SM Mall of Asia.
AMERICAN-STYLE COMFORT FOOD
Tender Bob’s has a comfortable feel to it – a restaurant serving uncomplicated (mostly) American cuisine and where you do not have to worry about using the wrong fork with your salad. Prior to Tender Bob’s arrival into the Manila dining scene, metro restaurants that specialized in quality steaks were customarily fine dining places offering single-serve meals beyond the P1,000 price point. Tender Bob’s however positioned itself within the P300 to P600 per meal range, with an expanded menu that includes more affordable meat cuts and burgers at the lower end, as well as USDA choice grade Angus ribeye steaks at the higher end.
“Our theme is American food… American-style comfort food, to be precise,” Cheloy Santos, Tender Bob’s executive chef stated, adding that the restaurant makes its own condiments and steak sauce, and also prepares its own burger patties without extenders. I guess it is rather easy to fall into the brand’s tender gastronomic trappings, given how the delectable food, served in generous portions at reasonable prices, offers diners great bang for their buck.
From its wide range of menu, which also includes soups, pastas, salads, seafood dishes, and dessert, I got to try out several others of Tender Bob’s menu highlights. There was their deep fried Potato Skins with cheddar and garlic dips from their “Grumblers” lineup, an appetizer which, I have been told and have come to understand why, is a crowd favorite.
There was the Tender Bob’s Steak Burgers, 100% beef burger patties added with trimmings of U.S. angus steak and served in variants such as Peppercorn and Mushroom. Cheloy explained how the beef fat from the added steak trimmings makes the burger more juicy and flavorful. Cholesterol be damned!
There was the Tender Bob’s Sisig Bowls, rice bowls topped with finely diced meat and fried egg. The meat can either be angus beef, pork or chicken.
For the pièce de résistance, there was the Skillet Signature steak, Tender Bob’s serving of prime U.S. angus ribeye. Their meats are never pre-cooked and are seared fresh, in order to seal in the flavor and juiciness, before being carefully cooked to tender perfection.
And to top everything off, there was a selection of Tender Bob’s Shake & Bake: ice cream milkshakes whirled with popular cake flavors such as Blueberry Cheesecake, Mango Caramel Torte and Strawberry Shortcake. It was a stupefying indulgence that no sweet tooth and milkshake lover can ever deny.
WHERE THE BEEF IS
“Since we’ve been doing [this business] since 2000, we believe that we can really prepare steak the way it should be,” said Bambi Meer, Tender Bob’s general manager, in response to my question as to what makes the Tender Bob’s steakhouse experience a cut above the rest. From the business’s long history, starting all the way from Meat Plus Café, the restaurant owners have already become very familiar with the U.S. steak supply chain.
“We know how to source, where to source, and how to identify good meat. And that’s the beginning of the experience at Tender Bob’s – selecting the best possible meat that we can offer our customers at the best possible value,” Bambi added.
It was this positioning of, shall we say, “democratizing” the premium steak dining experience that has proven key to Tender Bob’s success. With excellent food that is affordably priced, coupled with friendly restaurant service and refined yet casually cozy ambiance, Tender Bob’s brand of steakhouse dining has grown to become popular among Metro Manila diners. And through the years the restaurant has taken keen effort in adapting and evolving itself to cater better to its customers.
“For me, it’s all about experience... the experience that the customers are getting,” said Patrick Tanjangco, one of Tender Bob’s partners and who is mainly in charge of business operations. “People are always looking for value,” he added.
Bambi, Cheloy and Patrick, children of the original owners of Meat Plus Café and Tender Bob’s, and to whom the reigns of the businesses were turned over by their parents, all mentioned to me how they want to make Tender Bob’s a family favorite, so much so that they have adopted “#FamilyFave” as their social media hast tag. They revealed to me their plans of setting up more stores, not just within Metro Manila, but in other provinces as well.
“For the longest time we’ve been focused on Metro Manila,” Patrick explained. ”We’ve been here for nineteen years, and of course we want to grow and we want to take [the Tender Bob’s brand every]where.”
Tender Bob’s certainly has a lot of promise moving forward. As things are, the restaurant has already established for itself a well-received brand that any modern-day urban carnivore would be silly to not try out.
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