It is easy to heap superlative praise on Antonio’s – that newest mecca in the country for anyone desirous of an excellent meal - and I allow myself to do so at the risk of sounding like a spokesman for the establishment, which I am most certainly not.

What I am is a fan – one of a growing legion – who cannot seem to have enough of Tonyboy Montilla Escalante’s superb cuisine. In the short time since the young talented chef formally opened its doors and bade the outside world come, enter his establishment and partake of his offerings, Antonio’s has racked up quite a reputation amongst an illustrious list of discriminating epicures who know what they want and do not mind driving all the way to Escalante’s hideaway of a restaurant in Tagaytay to pay good money for a taste of his wonderful fare.

I daresay, at present, no other establishment in the country quite comes close to Antonio’s level of excellence where consistency in the quality of ingredients, serving portions, taste, or service are concerned.

No Fanfare
“There is no secret to my food,” says Tonyboy Escalante, Antonio’s chef-patron.” It’s just simple, straightforward food. I have my grill, I have my stew and these are comfort food. Grill is comfort food. Stew in a cold place like Tagaytay is comfort food. And then I have vegetables from my garden which go into my salad and my pasta which is just vegetarian. I just want to have the freshest ingredients I can get my hands on and create something that’s basic food.”

However one may call Escalante’s fare as immaterial, what is important is that people have come around to Escalante’s over one-hectare property where he has built his three-level restaurant amid lush greenery and Tagaytay’s cool clime, partook of his food, and left smitten.

The Favorites
Regulars have come and returned, again and again, for Escalante’s duck confit – duck baked in its own fat until tender– in a sauce of orange beurre blanc and served with lentils and gratin potatoes; his delectable roasted Chilean seabass in cardamon, chives and beurre blanc on a bed of aglio olio pasta with Portobello mushrooms; the sinfully rich and otherworldly risotto with morels and panfried duck liver or the main entrée regulars of marinated grills – Angus-certified rib eye, spring lamb cutlets or spring chicken prepared in the Argentinian churasco manner and slathered with chimichuri.

They also drool over Escalante’s stew of US short ribs on cardamon and gremolata; his bourbon barbecue-glazed chicken; or lamb kofta on saffron rice with garlic, and a cucumber and yoghurt salad. And of course, the house specialty, spanferckel – roasted boneless 40-day old pig stuffed with herbs, fennel, potatoes, with horseradish cream, and home-made apple sauce.

Entrees in Antonio’s are preceded by a light creamed vegetable soup based on the day’s produce and fresh greens from Escalante’s garden on a plate accompanied by home-made herbed cheese, parmegiano flakes, a freshly-baked tart with a filling of apricot and figs, and with or without a sliver of pan fried duck liver – the chef-patron’s favorite food on the decadent side. Following the entrée might be an airy soft soufflé soaked in Grand Marnier then freshly brewed coffee or tea. After all these, the indefatigable and congenial chef-patron is wont to join a table or two of regulars with whom he shares a bottle of fine cognac, an amaretto or perhaps, chilled limoncello to cap the scrumptious repast.

Heirloom Dishes
Escalante’s provenance provides a clue to his facility in the kitchen and his predisposition for rich but well-cooked homestyle food. He is Ilonggo, from the Western Visayas province of Negros Occidental famed for epicureans amongst its leading families who maintain kitchens with such prized household assets as cooks who do nothing but churn out exquisitely delicious heirloom dishes made of the best ingredients and kept in the family for generations.

This same cuisine culture and flair for fine cooking that he grew up with in Negros remains with Escalante through his adult years. The ingredients he uses are simple and fresh and his manner of cooking is sensible. “My duck confit harks back to my lola’s way of cooking duck. Its just duck cooked in its own fat until it becomes tender. I serve it with lentils and potatoes. Simple.”

The same sensibility is used in preparing his stew. Escalante explains, “I can just use local Batangas beef and stew it, so why do I use U.S. short ribs for my stew? It’s because it takes only a few minutes to make U.S. short ribs tender when you stew it as compared to hours if you use local beef. And when you reheat local beef stew, it becomes ugly because it becomes so concentrated and the taste is something unrecognizable.”

His stew is spiced lightly with the Indian aromatic herb, cardamon and then served with gremolata- chopped garlic and parsley sprinkled on top of it. The dish is unabashedly simple, but on a cool night, as you dine al fresco in Escalante’s terrace or in his garden under the stars with a fine bottle of red wine from amongst his choice collection, this is food one must have before one breathes his last.

Labor of love
Escalante’s refusal to compromise where food preparation is concerned is not lost on his patrons. His famous pre-dinner bread, the deliciousness of which cannot be articulated by the spoken word, is made fresh daily, as is all the other small things that go with each entrée in the menu. “I do my bread fresh just before lunch and just before dinner; the same with my soup. The tarts that you see in each plate of fresh greens can’t be made in advance; they’ve got to be made just before each order for a meal. A lot of people who realize how I do things in my kitchen have remarked how much labor I spend on these things, but to me when you put a lot of work on your food, that is something well appreciated by your clients.”

When Antonio’s first opened, Escalante fixed the restaurant in such a way that only a maximum capacity of 60 would be accommodated. This was so as to guarantee that his personalized style of serving his customers would not be compromised. Eventually, the clamor for accommodations was such that he had to increase it to 85 seats during dinner and 70 for lunch. Still, today, his biggest problem is how to turn down people who call for reservations. It is wise to book well in advance for a table, from three weeks to a month - particularly if one’s choice is to dine in Antonio’s during the weekend.

The Cook
Antonio’s famed repute, notched up within a short period of time, is somewhat overwhelming, and the unpretentious regular guy that he is, Escalante could only smile and scratch his head in wonderment at his good fortune. When he bought his property in Tagaytay years ago, he had thought it would be just a place where he and his wife, the former Agnes Hechanova, would grow herbs and vegetables and have an occasional roast with their two kids, family and some close friends on weekends. He never thought, when he built his restaurant in his property that it would be such a roaring success.

It is fortunate that Escalante, in his occupation of choice, is a naturally gregarious fellow who truly loves to entertain and serve people with a healthy aptitude for reveling in festive occasions flowing in his Ilonggo veins. As Basti, his young son, would remark, “Dad, we have another party in our place today?!!” For indeed, daily, six days a week, Escalante girds up for yet another feast in his place.

The pace Escalante keeps would, by now, faze a lesser man. But what he has already achieved in Antonio’s has only served to spur him to other projects. Already, work is being done in converting a relative’s vacation house into a restaurant that will serve all-day breakfast fare. The new place will also be in Tagaytay, but this time along the ridge. “I love breakfast food,” says Escalante, “and I’ll be serving that kind of food the whole day.”

If what he has done in Antonio’s is any indication, the new place, set to open in October, will be another phenomenal success. It will have the usual Escalante brand of cooking, which is nothing short of excellent.

For inquiries and reservations, visit Antonio's at Purok 7, Brgy. Niyogan, Tagaytay City, or call mobile: 0917899-2866