Review 2:
I am amazed at the perseverance of entrepreneurs and business owners who go through a series of difficulties, yet they remain steadfast in their passion for keeping up their businesses alive and on the top of their game. A great example of this is the Pitmaster's Smokehouse Barbecue. It was rather unfortunate that this establishment caught fire some time ago. But just like phoenix rising from the ashes, the Pitmaster's got into its feet and rebuilt once again. This time around, it is back with a vengeance.
The Pitmaster's Smokehouse Barbecue is owned primarily by Mr. Ben Donato and Chef Raffy Sunico. The place is in the heart of Pasig, particularly in Kapitolyo, where most interesting restaurants are situated in. The smokehouse boasts of a huge space that can seat quite a number of customers. The downside to coming here is its limited parking space. Despite the inconvenience, I must say that the Pitmaster's is still worth the visit.
It isn't actually my first time to dine in here. I have already visited this place in the past and I'm happy to be back to try their other specialties. The exciting part of this visit is that they just have so much items in their menu for us to discover and explore for ourselves. They are known for their awesome smoked pork ribs, sausages, briskets, and lip-smacking bacon slabs. Mmmm. Just writing this down makes me salivate from recalling all that sinful stuff. Well, huge thanks to the Big Dish app, we got to indulge in Pitmaster's menu offerings for half of its price! I, together with other foodies, was treated to a meat-lovers feast! The food spread on our table was quite crazy, I must say that we loaded up on so much protein that day.
One of the best items in their menu would have to be their Truffle Pizza. The taste of truffle was definitely bold and it was heightened on a thin crust dough. Every bite of it just spells h-e-a-v-e-n-l-y.
On the other hand, their Pit Nachos could use more excitement. These torched white nacho chips with salsa and melted cheese, topped with Pitmaster's Smoked Pulled Pork and Kesong Puti sauce (Php 410 for their Grande Serving and Php 230 for the Solo Size). If there's anything they should improve on with this platter, they need to make sure that the melted cheese is distributed evenly and extra generous in adding in more meat, their tasty pulled pork toppings. The addition of light flavored kesong puti was a welcome novelty, however.
Their unique take on the classic Ceasar Salad made quite an impression on me. Priced at Php 240, theirs come with smoked bacon strips, runny egg and homemade anchovy sauce. The flavors in this out of the box salad came in a harmonious fusion of deliciousness. Keep in mind to give this a try when you give this place a visit.
We also had their Smoked Coriander Chicken as part of the Pit Platter. This is a serving of a chicken leg quarter with honey chili garlic glaze. You may choose here to spice it up according to your tolerance. It can be in mild, hot, or magma level of spicy. This is available for Php 185 for two pieces, Php 370 for four pieces, and Php 740 for eight pieces. The latter is perfect to have when you're dining in with your family or group of friends. As for my verdict on it, I find it rather bland on my end. The flavors, unfortunately were only present on the surface but not on the insides.
Pit’s tender Black Angus Brisket showcased a great display of flavors. This type of meat was apparently cured and smoked for seven days. The process it went through was actually evident in its taste. If you want 200 grams of it, you will shelve out Php 270 and Php 520 for 400 grams. I suggest that you order it in greater quantity since you'll keep on popping this into your mouth for sure.
A favorite here would be their Smoked Bacon amongst a long list of meat they served us bloggers. It’s lean yet full of life, it’s smoky presence lingering with you for a long time. I suggest having these with French beans for an interesting contrast.
Their homemade Pit Smoked Sausage priced Php 240 for a single serving, and Php 450 for double, comes in your choice of garlic and herb or sweet pepper flavors. The level of spice is quite strong in this one, but nevertheless, vibrant in seasoning, I suggest that you give this a go with some warm rice.
We also got to taste their Pulled Pork Roll with Kesong Puti. It is made up of shredded pork butt toasted in Gochujang. I find it kinda greasy and needing a kicker.
To cap this off, I would like to give props to the folks behind Pitmaster's Smokehouse Barbecue for treating "barbecuing" as a serious work of art. They are indeed masters in a fiery business pit, providing their customers great food that satisfies and excellent customer service.
So when are you going to Kapitolyo again?
Review 1:
Pitmaster’s Smokehouse BBQ is a place you usually pass by when going around Kapitolyo to arrive at your favorite places. It's enclosed structure could be uninviting too but last week, I finally got to visit this pit.
Although we were still a little full from having some food beforehand, I still wanted to see what the smokehouse had in store. I got dishes from different parts of their menu to sample. On a side note, make sure to sift through their menu well since it’s quite disorganised and cluttered, you might miss something you’d like over what you’ve already ordered.
For the initial crowd of 3 I got an order of Pitmaster’s Smoked Ribs (Php235), Smoked Black Angus Beef Brisket (Php330), Smoked Bacon Strips (Php270), and of course some Pepper Rice because rice is life (Php50).
While waiting for the food we enjoyed looking around the wooden interiors. Unlike most places around Kapitolyo, this place has a lot of room to walk around, even a receiving area boasting their logo imprinted on their wall spanning from floor to ceiling. So if you’re with a party of 5 or 10, this place could easily have accommodate.
The Smoked Ribs came with a side of fries as we opted over rice. It’s been smoked for 7 hours so you really get that smoky and earthy flavor. It was well-dressed too with it’s nice and sweet barbecue sauce. This tender meat was the table’s favorite.
The Smoked Black Angus Beef Brisket came with a side of French Beans for some fiber to go with the protein. It was soft and flaky yet a little underwhelming for its lack of seasoning. Did not taste much of the meatiness either, quite fell flat on my book.
The Smoked Bacon Strips tasted as expected, adequate saltiness and resistant texture precisely because it was smoked. This was balance with lean meat and flavorful fat but not as crispy.
Since we had additional guests I had to get some dessert after they finished off what we couldn’t. Interesting selection of ice cream flavors. Ordered one of each: Double Chocolate, Orange & Ricotta and Pinatutong na Rice from Manila Creamery.
Double Chocolate Ice was made well and tasted like it was made with native chocolate. It was creamy with bold bittersweet taste to it. Pinatutong na Rice interestingly gave me a lingering burnt taste. Orange & Ricotta seemed to be the crowd favorite. Real bits of cheese and fruity balance with none of the bitter aftertaste.
Pits is not just an ordinary meat stop. It does have a lot of potential to be your carnivore go to place. I met one of their owners and from there I felt their desire to give each of their customers a worthy visit every time.
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