travelswithalice

April 16, 2018

At the fair

It was sweltering. It was crowded. Lots of people means success and the huge bank of cashiers must’ve been ringing up the success of this well planned, hugely popular annual affair at Salcedo Park, my park.

The heat though made us late for the real action. The before lunch crowd would have been sparser and more conducive to strolling and browsing.

Chati Coronel of Silverlens had sold out by the time we got there. 38 paintings at 30,000 each.

I didn’t know about the mystery artist. They didn’t have that last time I came to the fair. I only read about it the next day. Some fortunate buyer lucked out and picked up an unsigned BenCab for a song. I wonder if they’d ever inveigle an authenticating signature from the master though.

We came with neighbors Bubut and Nacho but they soon went back home, beaten down by the heat. Stuart and I bought popsicles and decided to go to dinner.

Mendokoro had a crowd waiting outside for seats. A service staff came out the door and called number 45 in. Wow, were there more than 45 actually waiting to get in?

Next door at La Crepêrie, we were led to a small table near the cake stand. It was also one table removed from the toilet, but no matter. We were happy to be in the cool and looked forward to a nice French meal.

I love this place! It has a nice relaxed vibe and the food is simple and delicious. Stuart had a wholewheat Super Mer, I had a buckwhear Galette Provençale, and we shared a lovely Crêpe Suzette to finish. All washed down with half a bottle of Gossips Shiraz; the unfinished half we walked home with.

Shame about the art fair. We didn’t see much of it but we had a lovely evening anyway.

Labels: Art in the Park, La Creperie., Makati, Mendokoro, Salcedo Park