On the last few days in the City of Pines, I decided to try some of the new restaurants and cafes that have sprouted up along Outlook Drive South in Baguio City. On this trip, I’ve passed by this quaint looking cafe several times, and I thought today would be the day to try Coffee & Pine (it opened in May 2017).
I immediately regretted it.
Somewhere out there in the blogosphere, a site mentions that this may be the most Instagrammable cafe in Baguio City. Much care and effort were put into sprucing up this late-1950s/early 1960s house on a quiet residential street – down to the city bike with its cute little basket parked right outside the front door. Unfortunately, too much emphasis was put towards the ambience rather than on the quality of food. I can talk only about the dish and coffee I ordered for lunch. If the food quality is consistent across the board, then I wouldn’t even think of giving this place a second try.
The Burger
Presentation-wise it was gorgeous. The attention to detail is evident in the plating of the burger. I should have taken a photo of it while it was still assembled, but I was too hungry and quickly dug into it. I took a bite out of the uniformly cut fries. Suddenly, alarm bells rang in my head. Were these fries reheated McDonald’s fries?
As I stared at the burger, I noticed melted yellow cheese oozing over the burger’s edges onto the cutting board. I took a small dollop of the yellowish substance with the tip of my knife, tasted it and thought: CHEEZ WHIZ! As I was too hungry, I was willing to let this go. I cut the burger in half, scooped up a half-sandwich and bit into it. It was SWEET! I brushed the condiments and bread aside and stabbed my fork into the meat for some nourishment. Its texture reminded me of frozen supermarket burger patties defrosted only a few hours ago.
The Cappuccino
Baguio is known for coffee. Some of the best local coffee beans can be sourced from the Baguio City market. I ordered Coffee & Pine’s cappuccino. It came in a pretty cup with a thin foam of milk floating on the surface. I tipped in the teaspoon to mix it all up. It was watery. The consistency of the “foam” was equal to that of the coffee. The coffee itself was so thin in flavour as if I were drinking milk coloured with coffee tainted water. I didn’t even use sugar to contaminate the flavour of the coffee, so there was no other flavour in this cup except for that of the milk and brown coloured water.
On The Way Out…
I asked the staff and someone who seems to have been the owner/manager what they used for the fries. Was it fresh? Yes, the server behind the counter said. Can I see the potatoes? Well, it comes in a bag, the server behind the counter said. They were FROZEN FRENCH FRIES.
Was the burger fresh meat? There was no clear answer.
The cheese? Yes, CHEEZ WHIZ it was. They did say there was another piece of cheese on it – processed single sliced cheese.
The mayonnaise? I guessed LADY’S CHOICE. The owner and/or manager neither agreed nor disagreed. I’m pretty sure it came from that bottle judging from the sweetness of it.
It is a quaintly appointed little cafe in a quaint little spot. With so many cafe choices nowadays, this quaint little spot has been grossly wasted.
Unfortunately, neither quaintness nor Instagram can outdo food quality.
KUWENTOS 