Calle Arco: More than a travel experience

Calle Arco
57 Rizal Street
Pagsanjan, Laguna
(02) 501 4585

The sun shines dispersedly through Calle Arco’s wide veranda windows mostly resembling a Spanish themed pub. The mustard coloured walls and fake red brick stones emit a bright aura of having a nice breakfast somewhere in Sao Paolo. The walls were lavishly decorated with souvenir porcelain plates from Europe to Asia and ceilings with chandeliers that suspended in time with such unique charm.

I’m enjoying a nice afternoon snack of creamy carbonara, chicken grilled sandwich and a superb serving of mango shake with my long-time best friend, Mary Viney. There is a wall of tamed bamboo trees by the side of the window we are sitting by with soft breeze coming in. And we’re enjoying the laid back atmosphere of the restaurant all alone in this 3 PM light.

We are, as it happens, a customer on this rustic feel of a restaurant named Calle Arco. For reasons that made sense, this uniquely-themed restaurant has been one of the top places to eat in the nearby district of Laguna. And this quaint little hole-in-the-wall venue has been christened to be named Calle Arco from one of the more formidable landmarks of this tourist destination in Laguna.

We are surrounded by wooden cabinets that hold porcelain wares, Chinas and all shapes and sizes of teapots as one of their major collection. The glass from the cabinets flickers in the afternoon light. Along the walls hang some vintage paintings from the expressionist era, some are wooden trophy frames adorned with different badges collected from all over the world and atop the cabinets are more mementos of their memorable travels, unique pieces of Asian and European art. The relics are an evidence of the owner’s love for travel that has swelled and developed through the years in this one-of-a-kind restaurant. Mary Viney and I raise our huge mango shake glass to a delightful afternoon.

“Remember high school,” I chime in, speaking with my high school friends always sends me a wave of nostalgia. “When we promised we’d travel together?” She takes another bite of her tuna sandwich. “Well, this is a start.” We both closed our eyes to play a dart game, we let our fingers point to a little post card on the tabletop to what it seems a European city. “Our goal.”

Upon ordering to a wonderful array of Italian-inspired dishes and Filipino cuisine, to which the prices are just right for the prospective local and tourist customers, we were waited by good-natured waiters happily waltzing in and out of the kitchen to accommodate us further. They were very warm to us guests and even agreed to take pictures of Mary Viney and I together. Also, the head waiter asked us to sign the guest book to which he happily said that it will be Calle Arco’s 8^th year. And as we are just local and not tourists, he still implied that Calle Arco isn’t just a restaurant but also an inn for overnight backpackers and they serve American breakfast in the morning with coffee by their well-lit porch and veranda.

This little expedition was a result of me taking my resolutions seriously. I wrote: to try something new every month, which may suggest trying new places, food or learning something new. But for this out-of-a-whim adventure, our principal goal is to go and enjoy a nice meal in an unfamiliar place. May it be somewhere near our hometown, or in the city, we’d have the chance to tug on our old dreams that we planned since high school.

After possibly taking pictures of every nook and cranny of Calle Arco and exhausting their delightful waiters, we billed out and head home. But not before smoking some cigarettes by the corner and reviewing that yes, we could do this kind of thing often.

We both tip our invisible hats to our quick escape, which is now fading to a distant afternoon daydream. In a flash, we’re in a jeepney bound for home. Relaxed, refreshed and inspired from this newly found tradition, a starting piece to rekindle that old ambitious dream.