in the guise of work-related supermarket-hopping, i began the search for that elusive spinach dip. (well i really really needed to do a trade check anyway so what other way to excite myself; besides, i love going around supermarkets )

i’ve been craving for Pasto‘s crostini served with spinach artichoke dip and the only way i could get my hands on them is if i go to one of their branches which are usually out of my way. and besides, i wanted to stock up for the day when world war III happens. :p

and then we ate at Galileo Enoteca and Deli in Mandaluyong. this is why i looove Italian food. though i’m not a wine drinker and wine is a huge part of the cuisine, you’d still appreciate the Italian taste and their reverence for their food. they just know how to please the taste buds and just how much to savor it.

we ordered spaghetti with 3 different sauces, one aglia-olio (or just olive oil), one with shrimp scampi in olive oil, and one with tomato sauce. heaven. (click here to see their menu).

ok, back to the treasure hunt. i just had to find the spinach dip. and then someone brilliantly suggests that Bravo! actually made them. (why hadn’t i thought of that?) i started looking in Rustans Gateway, but the products did not have a barcode and it took forever before they could fix it, and besides the single spinach and artichoke dip left expires on June 19 so wth, so i left hoping to find it anyway in Shopwise.

so near yet so far. Shopwise Cubao did not have them either. but a lead — a helpful store supervisor said Robinsons had them and even had island displays of Bravo! — took me to Rustans Terrazas along T. Morato Ave. still hoping they have fresher stocks there. alas, i was to be disappointed.

and then i drove to Robinsons Timog Ave. where they were supposed to be. when i laid eyes on the free-standing unit of Bravo! products the moment i stepped into the brightly lit grocery, i could hear angels sing. there they were, all fresh and waiting to be bought.

and this is why i’d love to go to Italy and live there someday, where pesto sauces and spaghettis and crostinis and spinach dips and cappuccinos and arrabiatas and gelatto and antipastis (oh great i’m murdering the language already) are in every corner.