There's nothing earth-shattering about how a National Artist eats–he or she is, after all, just like our mothers and fathers with a few dietary restrictions here and some indulgences there.
But the conversations around their table flow as smooth as San Miguel beer or as thick as tsokolate eh. Virgilio Almario (National Artist for Literature, 2003) exchanges banter in between literary (inside) stories while sticking a fork in a platefull of tokwa't baboy. This was where I've heard snippets of Philippine literary history, writerly quarrels and advice. Sitting right next to Rio is ten times better (and livelier) than attending his scholarly lectures. He's at home reeking of onions and vinegar just as he is gobbling up a slice of seafood pizza right after tearing your precious poems to pieces.
If I were to create a mini-food trip in honor of another National Artist for Literature (2001), F. Sionil Jose, it would be in the heart of Ermita, Manila. First, I'd drop by his La Solidaridad Bookstore along Padre Faura Street and drool over the extensive selection of literary titles.
One could spend an hour there, lost among Neruda, Chekhov, Ańonuevo, Hidalgo, The Atlantic, Philippines Free Press, and more. I'm enamored by Solidaridad's modest collection of cookbooks and food literature such as A History of Cooks and Cooking, The Café by the Ruins: Memories and Recipes cookbook, and even Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto.
Then, I'd march over to Za's Café/Hizon's turning to the nearby street (1197 Jorge Bocobo corner Arquiza Streets). Jose mentioned in his column, Hindsight, in a daily broadsheet, that he and a guest would often settle in with cups of hot chocolate in hand and a plate of "gourmet ensaymada" at Za's Café.
