I've been to quite a few restaurants here in Isabela already, and I've got to say that Cafe by the Park (or as locals in Echague would call it, Ramos Cafe) is my favorite.
The entire feel of the place is very cozy and homey, mainly because it is a house. It's the family house of the chef's wife (maiden name's Ramos thus the name Ramos Cafe). I was able to have a long chat with the owner and chef, Sam Ramirez (not sure about the surname, sorry!!), who noticed that I was alone and that my car's plate number was different (plate numbers here usually start with B, mine starts with T...obviously from Manila haha). We ended up talking for a couple of hours. Why was in Echague that particular day? Well, it was the town fiesta--the 10th Bacao Festival and since I love attending fiestas I decided to go to Echague. Since I mentioned the Bacao Festival, might as well share it with you as well :)
The Bacao Festival is a week-long festivity in Echague, Isabela celebrating corn. Yup, you read that right. Corn. Maiz. Whatever you want to call it. It's not one of those festivals that started during the Spanish colonial period. This one's quite young, having started just about 10 years ago. Bacao, by the way, is the Yogad term for corn. What the heck is Yogad, you may ask. Well Yogad is one of the major dialects in Isabela, and is spoken predominantly in Echague. The dialect originated from (obviously) the Yogad Tribe although I'm not sure if the indigenous group still exists.
Going back to the Bacao Festival, during this festivity people in Echague celebrate the harvest of corn and happens every mid March--which is the harvest season for corn. I found out about the festival because of the banners I'd pass by along the highway driving from Santiago City back to Ilagan. Did a bit of research about the festival, even visited the municipal hall to check out the schedule posted outside on a huge tarpaulin.
I woke up late, so I wasn't able to watch the parade. I did make it just in time before the elementary level street dance competition. No, not street dancing like Step Up or You Got Served. Think of traditional festival dances. The theme of the performances, being around corn, displayed the stages of planting and harvesting bacao. Elementary schools in Echague competed against each other in this contest.
I've got to hand it to these kids. It was extremely hot that day, and they performed under the scorching sun! Each performance was at least 7 minutes long, to think just a minute in that heat was unbearable.
Good thing they parked the parade floats on the capitol grounds, was able to take a few pictures. Everything used to decorate the floats were from all the parts of the corn plant--from the husk, to the stalk, to the cob, and even the tiny kernels!
Okay back to Ramos Cafe....after the street dance competition, and after going around the trade fair (which was a bit disappointing because there weren't a lot of booths and nothing screamed BACAO) I headed to Ramos Cafe for lunch. That actually wasn't my first time to visit the place. I had already gone there weeks before after I visited Calvary Hills in Santiago (which I wrote about here). I liked the place so much I just had to go back. Luckily, I was even able to meet the chef himself the second time around. Shout out to Chef Sam, who gave me loads of tips on where to go here in Isabela for the best produce :) Anyway, both my visits to Ramos Cafe were pleasant ones. Aaaaaack I just love the place! It's such a nice hole-in-the-wall resto, with good food, great interiors, and the price range ain't that bad ;)
On my first visit I tried the Garden Fresh pizza. Y-U-M-M-Y!
On my second visit I got the spaghetti with meatballs. Serving size was huge, but finished everything haha! Well I did eat the entire thing in 2 hours, which was more than enough time to do so ;)
I was lucky enough to have gone to Ramos Cafe last week because according to Chef Sam, he'll be changing up the menu in a month. And he'll be opening up the bar soon, so am really looking forward to that haha! To enjoy good wine, of course ;) I'm excited about his new menu, will definitely go back next month to try out the new items.
Directions: Coming from Alicia, turn left at the Echague junction going into the town proper. Go straight and when you reach the end of the road turn left. You'll see Cafe by the Park on the right side of the street. If you're coming from Santiago City, turn right at the junction then go straight. Turn left at the corner of the Shell gas station. Look for Cafe by the Park on the left side of the street :)
