If love at first sight is for real, then discovering Libreria is like discovering a lifetime of satisfaction.

As I entered with my very special friend, a lady customer was playing the communal piano just at the frontage near the library counter. Chocolate fudge and brewed coffee perfumed the air, and books and shelves were lined at the back, arranged according to category. Pastriana tables were occupied minimally. An old lady was eating a slice of brownies in one corner while reading a magazine, not really disturbed by the sloppy "Chopsticks" piece being played, nor by the cheering coming from the plasma TV as some of the staff watched their favorite PBA team lose a championship. Everybody had his or her own slice of the world within this pastry-library house.

My friend chose a table near the history section. A man in his prime years, with short-gray hair and a gray mustache approached and welcomed us. With his considerate tone and glowing smile, he insisted that we try the pastries showcased inside the counter near our left and informed us that his mother baked all the items available for the "dolce-line."

I ordered a can of Coke, and my friend had a Cordillera coffee. Moments later, we decided to check the book collection. Filipiniana gastronomiques were shelved at far right. Cordero-Fernando, Gonzalez’s Cocina Sulipeña, and Alejandro’s Adobo Book were positioned for all to see. Board games were also available for the collectors. I bought a poetry anthology by Lacaba titled "Kumbaga sa Bigas."

By then, it was dinner time and I was hungry, so I ordered a basic and affordable comfort food combo: Corn-Si-Log. It was a homey combination of sautéed instant corn beef in garlic and onions, with a cup of steamed rice and a sunny-side-up. It was worth it for P90. My friend skipped her meal and went straight to her three dessert treats: a double-slice of Cathedral Windows, lightly sweet and creamy with the gelatin base containing multi-colored gelatin chunks in lemony flavors; a slice of baked New York Cheesecake; and a Libreria Fudge for P20.

After I finished my meal and my Coke, I ordered a slice of Belgian Chocolate Cake, which was dark and rich, decadently bittersweet for P110, and a flourless chocolate cake for only P80.

When our orders arrived at our table, I asked an attendant if it was okay for us to bring our saucers of desserts to the bookshelves while we checked out other collections. He said yes.

Honestly, Libreria is not your typical "murder-my-sweet" type of restaurant-cum-library that will win the heart of Jeffrey Steingarten, but it is a pretty good hub for both books and pastries at the heart of a busy city road. However, the sweet works of this café are not far off to please even a discriminating palate of a well-schooled "patissiere." For one, the desserts in this place are baked almost daily by the old lady who, according to the staff, is the mother of the owners. Most of the hot dishes, though, such as the Baked Fillet Lapu-Lapu, Callos con Garbanzos, different pastas, minestrone, and Miki ala Batak, are microwaveable. The desserts are pretty good for their pricing. It is one of the few affordable dessert places within Tomas Morato area. Based on how we gauge desserts at the culinary school and at the café kitchen I work for, Libreria’s desserts are what I call "disente" or decent.

With all the good pastries, the warm reception, affordable cuisine, plasma TV, luxuriously accessible piano any time of the day, and the books, I hereby deem Libreria Café one of the most recommended places to visit within the Tomas Morato area… and to really push it, Libreria is my favorite hangout besides Café Ysabel.