Dine In: Cool Beans Cafe

Most people spend Friday night partying, dining out, or doing just about anything to welcome the weekend with a bang. I am most people, I think. Haha. There just seems to be something wrong with staying at home on a Friday night. Well, I'm in my mid-twenties so you'll have to understand. For the record, I'm way past partying so that leaves you with dining out and doing-just-about-anything-to-welcome-the-weekend. Haha.

I'm not a foodie and I'm not adventurous when it comes to trying out new cuisines, but I do love to dine out. My sister and I love to spend Friday or Saturday nights trying out hole-in-the-walls or just hanging out. Last Friday was no different.

During one of our strolls along Maginhawa, we spotted a newly opened cafe which really caught our eye. Cool Beans Cafe is the newest addition to the ever-growing Maginhawa restaurant family. The best thing about Cool Beans is that their customers can borrow their books while they're eating or having coffee. Really cool, right?

By the way, you'll have to excuse my photos. They were taken during one of those rare times when I was caught unprepared. I didn't bring my camera so I had no choice but to use my Blackberry.

 

I once dreamt of owning a business like this one, but I guess someone already beat me to it. Haha. This is place is my ultimate dream hangout. I would like to commend and offer my heartfelt gratitude to the owner for coming up with Cool Beans and combining my two loves: eating and reading. 

Their book selection is quite commendable. They have everything from Archie comics to biographies to popular novels. Aside from the selection of books, I also like the way they've set up the place. I like its interiors 'cause it gives you a homey feeling. It's really conducive to reading. They have wooden chairs and tables for people who only come there to eat. Those who'll only want to read can sit anywhere on the two sets of couches. 

Ate and I went there hoping to do both, but given it was a Friday and the place was almost packed, we had no choice but to sit on the wooden chairs. And just when I was really looking forward to lounging on the couch. Haha. Anyway, here's what we ordered:

Iced Tea and Iced Chocolate. They may look the same, but trust me, they're not. The one on the forefront is my iced tea and the other one is Ate's iced chocolate. My tea was a bit sour for my taste, but it was ice cold. If you want a sweeter one, you can add syrup for twenty pesos (I think). Ate's chocolate tasted like your regular iced Milo. 

Pan Grilled Chicken Fillet. When I saw their serving of this dish, my eyes instantly popped out. See how big that cup of rice is? It was impossible for me to finish it all up! The fillet was okay, though it was a bit bland for my taste. Health conscious people, on the other hand, will definitely give it two thumbs up.

Vigan Longganisa Penne. I liked Ate's pasta better. The red sauce was made with Vigan Longganisa, but we were hardly able to taste the longganisa on the pasta. It tasted like regular ground meat. The penne was cooked al dente, and the herbed foccacia was good.

The place is still on soft opening, so I guess they're still trying to get everything right. The food prices aren't all that bad. But I do hope they add more choices to the menu. So far, they have two pasta dishes, sandwiches and paninis, frappucinos, and a few rice meals. All in all, I think the place is worth going back to. Three out of five stars.

Visit Cool Beans Cafe at:
67-A Maginhawa Street, UP Village, Quezon City
Mobile number: 0917.706.4711
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/coolbeansph

Happy First

Hello there, friends! How's the new year comin' along? 

This is my first post for the year. And I'm happy kasi kahit papano, may kwenta itong first post ko. Haha.

I spent a part of my morning cleaning my bookshelf and arranging my precious novels. I didn't know I've acquired so many paperbacks and hardbound books over the years. Some of the books here I've had since I was ten, I think. It's no surprise I started with Archie and the gang. Haha.

I spend a lot of my money on books, and I don't regret losing a peso over my collection. It's one collection I can pass on to my future grandkids, if ever, right? :)

Here's my collection and my furry friends I've chosen to look after my books :)

Year-End: Books

So aside from movies, I also promised myself that I'd devote more of my time on reading novels. This year, I was able to read ten. Don't judge ha. I do a lot of reading in school, so ten is already a big number for me.

Here is my 2012 book pile:

1. The Confession by John Grisham
2. The Client by John Grisham
3. Forbidden Fruit by Erica Spindler
4. See Jane Die by Erica Spindler
5. Killer Takes All by Erica Spindler
6. Fortune by Erica Spindler
7. The Third Secret by Steve Berry
8. Nancy Drew: The Secret of Shadow Ranch by Carolyn Keene
9. Deception Point by Dan Brown
10. The Jefferson Key by Steve Berry

 

So... I've read Deception Point for the third time this year. I've also become a fan of John Grisham. And I've finished off all of Erica Spindler's novel. And I discovered another amazing author in the person of Steve Berry. And I've rekindled my love for Nancy Drew. Wow for my book experience this year.

I'm currently reading another Berry novel. Too bad I wasn't able to finish it before the New Year. Oh well, I'll just include it in my 2013 book pile.

All photos grabbed from Google Images.

Bookworm: The Jefferson Key

The first Steve Berry book I read was The Third Secret. I found that book at a Booksale branch while killing time inside the mall. It was much enjoyable, and I couldn't even put it down. But since I got the copy from a second-hand book shop, I didn't think I'd find another Steve Berry book elsewhere. My favorite author, Erica Spindler, is a Booksale regular, but I can't find her work in our local bookstores. I thought the same goes for Steve Berry.

So I was really ecstatic when I saw two of his recently published novels at the Fully Booked store in BGC. I chose The Jefferson Key over The Columbus Affair because I was more interested in the former's plot. My sister offered to buy me the book as a birthday present.

The Jefferson Key is about one of the adventures of Cotton Malone, a former Justice Department operative in the United States. He saved the President from an assassination attempt plotted by a secret society assembled during the American Revolution. Malone soon discovers why the secret society wanted the President dead, and his discovery leads to an age-old cipher from Thomas Jefferson and a mystery concocted by Andrew Jackson.

For a more detailed synopsis, click HERE.

Photo directly lifted from Google Images.

I like Steve Berry because his books are much like Dan Brown's. They usually cover a lot of ancient history. And they all fall under the suspense/mystery genre, which I think is the best genre there is. 

Though I'm not an American political history expert, I enjoyed reading this novel very much. Steve Berry combines fact and fiction in an amazing way. He knows how to help the readers differentiate between the two. You won't find yourself asking if a certain event or object is for real or not, because by the way he writes, you just know. The Writer's Note/Disclaimer at the end of the novel was very helpful too. 

His characters have a lot of personality. And he shines the light on them equally. His protagonist, Cotton Malone,  was your usual hero - smart, courageous, and has a heart. His love interest, Cassiopeia Vitt, is equally stunning. What differentiates her from other suspense/mystery book female characters is her wit and strength. She's not a pushover or a crybaby. She's very aggressive and is not afraid to go after what she wants.

The most interesting character in the book for me would be Clifford Knox. If you've read the book, you'll know that he's the secret society's quartermaster or go-to guy. I think he has the most conflicted personality which makes him the most interesting. He's the bad guy trying to be good. But sometimes he doesn't have choice but to be bad. I just wished that Steve Berry put more drama into his character, and that his fate was different.

Overall, I'd give this book four stars out of five. History buffs will surely enjoy this novel. But if you're not a history junkie, and you're just a regular suspense/mystery fan, you'll fall in love with the story just the same.

I look forward to reading more Steve Berry novels in the future. I've got my sights set on The Emperor's Tomb, if I can get my hands on 'em. Happy reading!

Bookworm: The Confession

I am a self-confessed bookworm. Nancy Drew was my first favorite. I think I read all the Carolyn Keene books in the library when I was just 12 years old. I have to admit, Nancy Drew was my favorite crime-fighting heroine and my first inspiration to be a lawyer. O di ba, bagets pa lang, gusto nang maging abogado dahil lang kay Nancy Drew. Haha.

When there was no more Keene book to read, I switched to thicker paperbacks and fell in love with Erica Spindler, Dan Brown, Heather Graham, James Patterson, and the like. It's not hard to guess that I enjoy psychological thrillers and suspense/mystery. Don't get me wrong. I also read romance novels (depending on the story, of course) and I've read all Twilight books.

Papa tried to talk me into reading John Grisham when I was in high school. But at 14 years old, all those legal terms were still lost on me. I tried reading The Firm then, but I couldn't understand most of the words so I just gave up on it. Fast forward to nine years later: I decided to give Grisham another try. I started to read The Confession seven months ago, and I only finished reading it last week.  In all fairness to Grisham, it's a really good read. I was just too busy with school that it took me that long to finish the book. Here's what I have to say about The Confession:

Note: There might be spoilers :)

The Confession is a story of a wrongfully accused man about to be executed for allegedly abducting, raping and murdering a high school cheerleader nine years ago. The real killer decides to show up and own up to his mistakes four days before the execution. Question is: will he make it in time to stop the execution and will they believe his confession?

For a more comprehensive summary of the book, click HERE.

The protagonist in this story is Robbie Flak, a defense attorney convinced of his client's innocence and hell-bent on getting him off the death row. Among all the characters in the story, I like Flak best not because he's the bida, but because of his interesting personality. He's a tough guy who enjoys filing lawsuits and suing everyone who crosses his path. He's actually funny because he makes a habit out of suing people, which is often pointless and just downright time-consuming. And because even though he's tough on the inside, he's just a big marshmallow when it comes to his client. Lawyers don't get too emotionally attached to their clients, but Flak makes an exception in this story. 

The Confession is an interesting take on the death penalty. We don't have the death penalty in the country anymore, but it's still interesting to look at it from the perspective of a country or a State which implements it. We usually speak of the death penalty in terms of its purpose or its consequences. More often than not, the debate is about whether or not it should be implemented. It's nice to read about something that ponders on what happens if you implement the death penalty, but wrongfully execute an innocent man. It's not a new perspective, but it's a little unexplored compared to the others. Grisham deserves a round of applause for this one. Personally, he was able to make me question the Texas government's policies on punishment, without me even noticing. Cool.

I also love how, with so many characters, I didn't get lost in the story. Usually, I get confused when the author tries to add so many characters into the story, and the said characters turn out to be irrelevant to the plot. Grisham's work isn't like that. Even if there are hundreds of characters in his story, he knows how to shine the limelight on the bigger characters and dim the lights on the smaller ones - just so his readers don't get confused.

The ending wasn't all that spectacular, but everyone got their happily ever after. Like every good book, The Confession will give you that heartbreaking feeling that the story's over so you have to get back to the real world. And it'll make you want to grab another Grisham book. Haha.

So now, my nose is under The Client. And I'll let you know how that works out :)