They say that birds of the same feather flock together, in the same way that mouths of the same craving burp at the same time. And post-college, when all of the members of my group were so very anxious with the looming board exams, there was only one solution to alleviate the pressure – stress eating! One of the restaurants that we would frequent during this period was Cajun Red Rock. With its very homey location along Retiro, corner D. Tuazon, my friends and I enjoyed the easy access from the university, not to mention its proximity to Banawe, another foodie paradise.
Cajun
Among its many specialties is the Texan Volcano Burger, its ingredients including whiskey and caramelized onions, which I utterly love and couldn’t get enough of. You may even forget about the onions, for WHO would not love a BAKED burger, with the texture of lasagna? And have I mentioned their TALL TOWERS of onion rings per serving, sprinkled with sesame seeds on one side, and Cajun powder on the other? They even come with 3 curious dips: Shallots Dip, Salad Dip– which is quite like a mix of honey mustard and Ceasar Salad Sauce, and Wine Sauce Dip. What I also appreciated about Cajun was their original house drinks.
Authentic thirst quenchers, they come in TALL, wide glasses with fresh flavors to boot. Their Chef Tony’s Special was composed of strawberry juice in the upper half, green tea in the lower half and a whisk of what tasted like rum. Their Mint & Peaches were made of the real thing, with the mint being able to actually cool your tongue, and their Orange Pulp shared the authenticity and abundance of its ingredients. They even offer reasonably priced combos. A list of entrée comes wherein they hand two side dishes of your choice for free.
You can choose from Saffron Rice, Country Potato, Mashed Potato, Buttered Vegetables, Corn on a Cob and many more. I don’t really blog about eating out with this particular set of friends because very often, there is just so much chaos and chatter, and many things happening at once on the dining table. We don’t even get to have the time to take pictures of the food or arrange it in little creative ways. But I guess we were able to make an exception for Cajun because Number One – I was able to keep them busy nibbling Chef Tony’s green tea-flavored pop corn that I got right beside the restaurant door, and Number Two – they were equally impressed with the food that they, too, weren’t able to settle without preserving the memory of eating, sniffing, and looking at such lovely food, even through pictures.
Judy Razon worked in the Philippines as a television and video events writer and director for several national television shows, including lifestyle, real estate, men’s lifestyle, cooking, sports and touring events.
Currently based in the U.S., she is also a published travel photographer for SE Asian English-language glossy magazine publications and has a passion for music, film and photography.
