Bars and Band Venues, Entertainment, Food, Restaurants, Shops and Suppliers

Memories in the Making - Not just a deli, a place to unwind

Sorry, this establishment is no longer operating. :(

The biggest boom in the BF commercial industry recently has been in bars. From its humble beginnings with Raf�s (still avidly awaiting their reopening!) and Beluga, Aguirre Avenue has grown into a veritable Pasay Road (a friend�s observation, not mine), with places like I am Sam (now closed due to an unfortunate incident with the neighbors, or so I hear), The Monterey Meatshop, 310 (relaunched as a bar, with its fine dining still inside), The Breakfast Club, Central BBQ Boy Grill, Al�s Bar, and Snow Clouds (I�m not quite sure what�s up with that name, but one of these days I�ll find out).

Still, it�s far from becoming an out and out strip for nightlife. If anything, most of these places have a different incarnation during the day: 310 serves silog specials for lunch, Al�s Bar is Dates Caf�, and the Meatshop is, well, a meatshop.

 

One place that does double duty that we�ve discovered is Memories in the Making. Opened around August of last year (wow, all that means is 2006), this place has been doing steady business with its deli / bakery, caf�, store, and bike shop, all while serving as a place to relax and unwind at night.

 

I haven�t been there to drink. Far from it. I had breakfast there once after Simbang Gabi, since they had a sign that they were open and they served bibingka. From what I could see of the place from the outside (the fence obscures the view), I imagined we�d be led into the (newly renovated house) to eat in a quaint mala-Teachers� Village caf�. Instead I discovered that the entire dining area was on the lawn, comprised of outdoor dining sets of simple wooden benches, complete with a large lawn umbrella.

 

Settling down at a round table under an umbrella, we ordered ourselves some breakfast: Vigan longganisa (P95), tapa at sinangag (P95), and bacon and eggs (P98; to my disappointment, they didn�t have adobo or boneless bangus that day). A cursory review of the menu revealed that this place did have a night persona, since the first items on the list were appetizers; if any doubt remained, they were quickly quashed by the bar list towards the end of the menu. For reference, SML goes for P25, SMB and Red Horse for P28�no Strong Ice and Cerveza here though.

 

Breakfast was good but took forever to arrive (which was perhaps to be expected, since it was really quite early, and we caught a glimpse of the chef in the kitchen, still wearing her night clothes). My eggs and bacon came on bread with nachos on the side, which was unexpected, but good anyway. One big bust, and a telltale sign that you�re in BF: you have to buy mineral water, since they don�t serve filtered water free. The coffee was freshly brewed, though, and we had a lot of fun playing with the sugar cubes at the table. They also had an assortment of looseleaf teas to choose from.

 

After breakfast we had a long and very entertaining chat with the chef, Susan. She invited us to meet the owner, Lee, and to check out the store, which had a lot of porcelain trays and figurines, Christmas goodies, trinkets, and all sorts of kikay stuff, as well as a bunch of slippers with football nations� flags on them (P358 per pair, if I remember it right).

 

 

We ended our tour at the deli, which had various breads and cupcakes, and giant plastic bottles of Gatorade for sale.

 

 

We didn�t get to see the bike shop, and I wouldn�t know what to look for there anyway (I�m not about to pretend I know the first thing about bikes, motorized or otherwise). Lee�s husband manages the shop and specializes in Vespas; he has some second hand ones for sale, and one of his own was parked outside.

 

Notwithstanding all the stuff this place offers, the thing that seems to drive business the most is the drinking. At night, when I pass by Elizalde, there are usually some cars parked outside, not anywhere near Central BBQ Boy magnitude, but enough to make me think of happy barkadas having a good drink under the stars. And then I think, Pasay Road is a long way from here�this reminds me more of nights spent with friends, out on somebody�s lawn, with a couple of beers in tow to keep the conversation going. Now that�s a classic South �gimik�.

Memories in the Making

222 Elizalde St., BF Homes Paranaque

805-5071

 

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