The PIT STOP Food Park at Congressional QC

Woke up a tad late and immediately got ready for a trip up north to check out some of the most happening food parks in the metro. This one is called PIT STOP at Congressional Avenue extension which is a couple minutes away from Luzon Avenue in Quezon City. It's easily searcheable in Google Maps and Uber so you won't really get lost. I was invited and got to see how much promise this place holds because as soon as I saw it on the highway, I got so excited to see a race track themed establishment in the flesh!

There was a small program hosted by no less than traffic hero and host James Deakin who got a couple of our friends from the blogosphere to try out the food. I didn't have breakfast yet and was ready for lunch so I ordered quite a lot in this new spot!

The Space

The place looked so masculine, built with strong and sturdy ship containers weld together with the top floors dedicated to a smoking area. It could probably fit 50-60 people at a time and they've got a lot of establishments to choose from. It's a bit industrial, modern and the goal was to make it look like a race track pit stop, so that's what we got. They've got ample parking space at the front of the food yard plus about 10-12 cars fit the space beside it. It sits right beside the highway so you won't get too hot as it's very breezy especially if you sit on the top floors like we did. 

This place can be reached by cabs, Uber and Grab, perhaps some jeepneys and buses but I'm not quite familiar with the route. Make sure you have Google Maps handy so you won't miss a turn because the uturn slots in this area are pretty far. 

The Food

The food in this park is pretty varied, probably designed that way so no merchant would have a dish available with the others (for some fair competition). I actually only tasted a few of them and there's so much more in this place that I haven't tried, I'm sure I'll come back very soon.

These burgers are from Sons of Burger and I chose the prettiest looking ones on their menu. The one on the left is called CHEESY MUSHROOM, a burger with a very meaty patty, tons of liuid cheese and button mushrooms - I ate it all in less than 5 minutes because we're bad@$$ like that LOL. The other one is called EL CAPITANO which uses the same beef patty, but had a sweet savory profile because they use caramelized onions on top, plus a toasted sweet bun glazed with butter on each side. It was pretty good, lightly seasoned (tell them if you need a bit more salt) and quite filling even if it only costs Php 139 like the rest of their burgers. I'll try their spicy ones when I come back.

These lovely food items are from the shop called NORI which is named after the dried seaweed they use to wrap sushi in Japanese dishes. They are known for doing a cross between sushi and burritos, then they wrap their dishes in sheets of nori. The one in the middle photo is the BEEF BULGOGI which has strips of beef, apples, carrots, cabbage and kimchi aioli. Whilst the last one is called SALMON UNAGI which consists of Salmon, slivers of peaches, cucumber, spring onions, unagi sauce and cream cheese. It's a bunch of strong flavors from fresh oriental ingredients (which I love) and the very unique sauce that comes with it - quite good actually.

For pasta lovers, meet MASTA PASTA. Their shack dishes out about 4 different types of pasta dishes and about 6 different varieties of pizzas. Only one of the pizzas cost Php 250 while the other items on the menu are under 200. So if you want something to share, this must be your best bet. I suggest you try their SEAFOOD PESTO as it's one of their best selllers. Order the THREE CHEESE if you want pizza to share with a friend especially if you are cheese addicts like me.

For those who want meat like me, order your favorite T-Bone, Porterhouse or Rib Eye steak from Brandon's Steak Hub. The priciest one they have is a little under 300 bucks and the side dishes are pretty good too. You don't have to spend a lot in this place to get your steak fix so cut down on rice and eat lots of these instead. It's seasoned well and they know how to grill. Make sure you tell them how you want your meat to be cooked as they'll gladly grill it in the spot. Slice and enjoy every bite, coz these are prettt darn good with wedges, grilled corn and their signature sauces. 

If you've got a sweet tooth and want more than the usual dessert, you can marvel at these SMORES and YEMA Cheesecake from CHINDERS Dessert Bar. They have some interesting smokinh lollipop type desserts too that have been frozen individually with Liquid Nitrogen that is sure to tickle your fancy. My advice is get some real good coffee or iced cold water and have the Yema Cheesecake, you wouldn't want to leave the place without it. Not totally guiltless, but worth every morsel of sugar you would want to ingest. 

For those who only want one thing, and one thing alone, these super huge bucket and unlimited servig of crabs only cost Php 599 per head at UNLI CRABS. If you heed the challenge, you can get to taste their wicked vinegar based sauce (balsamic I think) which goes so well with their cooked local crabs. You just know it'll be worth all the trouble of going there and enjoying it with your bros just because YOU CAN. They spiced up what they served us and it was so good, I even skipped those crab roes because it might get my blood pressure high. No sharing and leftovers please! :)

This one is from The FRUITLOCKER. They serve desserts with tons of fruit pieces and lovely ice cream on top. It's pretty cheap as well for Php 120 for the large one and Php 100 for the medium sized cup. Best for those who want something fresh and less sugary desserts.

For the piece de resistance, may I introduce to you IHAW LANG ANG IIBIGIN. They served grilled street products in huge sizes and pretty fancy varieties. The PORK BARBECUE costs Php 45 and is pretty big and juicy. They also serve the usual ISAW, but I would strongly suggest you get the INIHAW NA CHICHARONG BULAKLAK which just melts in your mouth and got bits of those crispy parts in it too as well. They serve it with their secret sauce which makes it absolutely crazy, it only costs Php 100 for three sticks. I am warning you, do not leave this place without having it because as much as we see how ordinary looking their stall is, this is the gem of this place so you've got to find it when you're in PIT STOP.

The PIT STOP Food Park is located at the Circumferrential Road 5 (C5) aka Congressional Road extention in Quezon City. Best to go here with friends and family if you want to enjoy a few bottles, good food and an ambiance that's pretty playful. Again, do not leave the place without the Inihaw na Chicharong Bulaklak, trust me on this. Click here for the map! https://goo.gl/maps/wEb1Y7q1Lbw

Thank me later!