Finally, after many postponements, we met for dinner at Iberia, a popular rodizio restaurant in Newark. Yes, BG. Newark. But not the Polly Lat side. Your side. You see Newark - while largely black - also plays host to a huge Iberian-Latino community, hence the proliferation of restaurants serving food that our palates are familiar with. The rodizio in Iberia is excellent, gut-busting, and costs 1/3 of Plataforma's fare. We also had the seafood paella (the menu said it was a 2-person serving but we couldn't even finish half of it).
The restaurant hosts Lions meetings, hence the thumbs-down picture.
Tonight was really fun, especially for Bong, who hasn’t had direct MJC contact for 4 years. Steve Baltao was supposed to join us but had family duties to deal with. Ginger looked blooming in her 4th month of pregnancy. Bong looks and is the same, give or take a few white hairs and a new pair of reading glasses. Rami gave Philip and Bong a recap of MJC in the years that they were away. Philip and Bong told of stories where their MJC experience served them in good stead. Philip is now the Assistant General Manager of a Marriott Hotel in NJ, and Bong is with a dental clinic in Queens. And I am still unemployed.
Miss Manila!!!
