Cafes, Food, Restaurants, Sana Nasa South

Xocolat - Great chocolate, great food

I just love a good panini. The feel of your teeth crunching against the hot lined crust and sinking into soft melted cheese and wholesome veggies is one of the greatest food sensations in my book. One of my greatest frustrations with places that serve panini, however, is that they’re often not grilled adequately, or the sandwiches arrive at your table a bit cold and limp. To my mind, it’s a simple equation: crunchier equals better. Of course, I’m the sort of person who likes my toast and bacon a bit on the carcinogenic side, so there aren’t that many places that really impress me with their panini.

One of these is Casa Xocolat, unfortunately far, far, far from the South, located all the way in good ol’ QC (the closest branch is in Serendra, but the cozy old 70’s house feel of the commissary at Katipunan is unique, and besides, Serendra prices are, as expected, much higher). While it’s primarily known for its chocolate and cocoa drinks, the reason why I truly love this place (and therefore keep wishing for a branch to open up in the South) is their panini.

Casa Xocolat has a range of panini variants, from the healthy (Grilled Eggplant, P125) to the bordering on evil (Xocolat, P125, and Spam, P125). The sandwiches are made with ciabatta bread, stuffed with cheese, pesto, and all manner of fillings, and squeezed to a compact, crunchy, and very filling little mass. One order makes a rather heavy meal.

So what about their chocolate? That’s good too, and comes in different forms: hot and gooey, cold and coffee-laced, or blended with ice cream and laced with cookie and brownie chunks. The hot chocolate (popular ones: Aztec Xocolat, which has a spicy bite; and Taza de Xocolat, so thick, you have to spoon it out of the cup; both P95 for a small serving, P115 for a large one) is served with a little ball of puto seko, perhaps to serve as a foil against the sweetness. They also have hot coffee based drinks (served cold upon request).

The thing is, I always come for the food, so by the time I get around to my drinks, I’m just about ready to pop, so I haven’t gotten around to trying too many concoctions yet (I am ashamed to admit that I’ve often left this place with a major stomachache from having overeaten). I suppose if it were close enough, I’d be able to sample the chocolate (and just the chocolate) with abandon, but every time I find myself in the area, I can’t resist having some food as well. Ack. Greedy greedy me.

To round off the menu, they also have pasta, salad, assorted merienda-worthy sweets and munchies (like churros, P75 / P145, and fondue, P145), and fruit shakes. What’s not to love? (They have free wifi too. I mean really, I love this place!) I can just imagine this place transplanted from Katipunan and plunked down somewhere in the middle of BF Homes, or even BF Resort, beside other dignified old houses born during the spread of suburbia. Oh well. I can wait. In the meantime, it gives me a side trip to look forward to every time I have to go to QC.

Casa Xocolat
172 B. Gonzales Street,
Loyola Heights, Quezon City

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