The Three Quarter.
If you enjoy good coffee but aren’t really mad about milk, you probably drink a lot of espresso. Or black coffee. Or both. If you’re lactose intolerant and foolish, like me, you probably drink the milk anyways. I love a good flat white, but my most recent discovery is the three quarter. Basically, instead of the the full measure of milk in a flat white, they only fill the cup up 3/4 of the way. Simple! Genius! And if I’d discovered that years ago it would’ve saved me an uncountable number of trips to various dodgy bathrooms in strangers houses, cheap malls and small town petrol stations.
Spaghetti all Puttanesca.
Oddly enough, my favourite dish in the entire world doesn’t have bacon in it. It’s a simple pasta with tomato sauce, something like arrabiata (for funny Eddie Izzard arrabiata video click here now) or this, puttanesca. And get this: the name literally translates as “whore’s spaghetti,’ which is rather amusing, but doesn’t er, cheapen how delicious it is. Sauteed garlic, onion, chilies with whole-peeled tomatoes cooked down until nice and soft… then some black olives, anchovies and capers. You can also use tuna (yes, the tinned stuff) instead of anchovies, if you so feel like it. Either way, for an easy evening meal this is a winner. And leftovers go down particularly well at 4am after a medium-sized night out.
Margaritas on the rocks.
If you want a man’s cocktail, order one with whisky in it. If you want a man’s cocktail that will give you enough energy to party like you did at that one rave outside Plett back in ’97, order a margarita on the rocks. In a tumbler. With salt on the rim, always. In a tumbler because you don’t want to carry a dainty cocktail glass around and because it’s a bit less formal. And gents, remember the golden rule of cocktails: no straws – straws are for girls.
Black Tie Nights.
There’s something about putting on a crisp white shirt, black tie and a black jacket and heading out on the town. I wouldn’t recommend this on your next Sunday to Mzoli’s, but if you want to go for dinner in style, send out the dress code to everyone so they get into things. Cape Town is a city of casualness, so people behave differently when they dress smart. Girls get hedonistic and guys act chivalrous. And hedonistic. Either way, you’re bound to have fun. Or if you want a classy boys night out, rope your mates into black tie and you’re bound to have a blast. Just ask @MakethMan, who organised one a few weeks ago. (That mostly-true story here.)
Catherine Marshall ‘Eleven Barrels’ Pinot Noir 2009.
The first time I drank this I thought the label said Seven Barrels, which testifies how much I’d drunk at the time. But after retasting on another sober less drunk occasion, my first opinion was correct: this stuff is bloody awesome. A delicate Pinot with finesse, subtle fruits and that classic soft palate that makes Pinot such a great wine to drink all night. Cathy Marshall makes all her wines in a very hands-on manner, processing the batches of grapes separately right to the end so she can taste the flavour nuances in each barrel and then craft the perfect blend. Look out for anything with her name on the label – they’re all great. www.cmwines.co.za
Kitchen tongs.
After my Zwilling J.A. Henckels chef knife and my favourite board, this is by far the most useful item in my kitchen. Not a home-cooked meal goes by where I don’t use the things, whether it be turning bacon rashers, mixing salads, picking off hot saucepan lids, turning bacon rashers, removing oven trays, turning bacon rashers… You name it, they do it. If you haven’t got ‘em, you don’t know what you’re missing. Yuppichef has a great pair here. Oh, did I mention they’re great for turning bacon rashers?
Oliver Roberts on Sundays.
Not really food-oriented, but this man alone makes the Sunday Times worth reading. His humourous pieces in the Lifestyle section are both entertaining and often enlightening. Sometimes they’re just plain nonsense, but either way, they’re always amusing. Like his 40 South Africanisms You Should Know – ” DORPIE {DOORPEE}: Small town. But no matter how small, you’ll always find a KFC. And a pregnant 17 year old.” Or his 30 Lies People Tell – “11. We should do lunch sometime. Normally said as a way of politely breaking conversation with someone you have no interest in seeing again. The risk is that they might take your offer seriously and call you in a few days.” Brilliant!
–
ps. take a second and vote for me in the SA Blog Awards here. THANKS.
Wow. How cool is this packaging? This has to be some of the best coffee packaging – actually some of the best packaging on anything – I’ve seen. It mixes New York TriBeCa cool with a patriotic springbok emblem. And rad colours. The whole thing is genius, really. Who is responsible? Well, that sharp designer Peet Pienaar and his crew at The President. And TriBeCa coffee? Founded by someone that lived in Seattle, which seems like all the resume you need to become the next coffee guru. Either way, the stuff is awesome, and you’ve probably unwittingly tried it yourself. Well, if you’ve bought any of the Woolworths blends or a coffee at any W cafe, then you have. But keep a lookout for these nifty packages. Worth collecting.
Okay, the name suggests ice cream, but don’t be fooled: this little van parked on 5th Avenue by 15th Street is actually also coffee heaven. Serving Intelligentsia coffee (the folks at ilovecoffee in Cape Town told me about that one before I left), they’ve made the NY Times shortlist for best coffee in the city and deservedly so. New York is full of little take-away trucks and stands where you can buy anything from your morning coffee and a bagel to falafels and barbecue. This little take-away truck is a gem. I didn’t try the ice cream, but maybe tomorrow. Standard good quality coffee cost here: cappuccino – $3.50, about the same elsewhere. And it’s GREAT.
Possibly the best coffee I’ve ever had in my life. The Intelligentsia blend they use is called Black Cat, made from beans shipped directly in by Intelligentsia from two single-origin sources in Brazil and El Salvador.
What a way to get a day started…
www.vanleeuwenicecream.com
Just a quick note to say that I really love coffee. But there’s no need for me to write about it because those folks over at ilovecoffee.co.za are doing such a splendid job. And that’s all I needed to say. Enjoy your afternoon.
Okay, I’m just going to put it out there up front in capitals: VIDA E CAFFE MAKES TERRIBLE COFFEE.
There you have it. Many knew it. Some deny it. Most people that go couldn’t give a damn, since they’re just there for the vibe. And on that note, vida does have a great vibe. I do enjoy bumping into people there. Especially the original Kloof Street outpost, still the trendiest hipster outpost this side of Williamsburg. It’s definitely more about a coffee experience than about great coffee. They admit that themselves.
But then, at the same time, vida used to be great. Back in the day, and I’m talking pre-Origin days, back when the term Flat White still referred to someone who got hit by a car. Back then they used Buondi coffee beans and a big Zulu dude by the name of Elias kept customers laughing. These days Elias is gone and vida use their own Nicaraguan or something supplier. The coffee stinks. Organic or not. Americano or Cappuccino. Whatever. It sucks. And you dare not try an espresso. It’s awful. A Latte is bearable, but that’s not really coffee.
At vida, the coffee is definitely too bitter. Anyone that regularly enjoys coffee at Origin, TRUTH, Deluxe or Jardine can tell this straight away. Even Seattle is up there, though they fall so very far short on the experience side. I challenge anyone to drink coffee from one of these places for a week, and then try a vida. You’re going to get a nasty surprise… that is unless you’re too busy looking at people to notice your coffee.
All I can say is that vida must be very happy their majority audience couldn’t give a damn. Which is sad, since it would be great if they fixed their coffee quality. And if Elias came back.
www.vidaecaffe.com
The coffee revolution will not be televised. The coffee revolution will be dispensed into vintage-looking cups from stainless steel espresso machines by bearded hipster-looking guys wearing old school black-rimmed glasses. The coffee revolution will use beans sourced from sustainable growers in Ethiopia and Guatemala and other poor countries where it rains a lot. The coffee revolution will hand-roast in small batches using the experience gained from over ten years making great coffee. The coffee revolution will be carried out to the masses in nondescript brown bags or takeaway cups, both with a small ‘D’ logo stamped on the side. The coffee revolution will also attract lovers of the finest coffee into their tiny shop on Church Street, where they can sit at the window, listen to rock music and watch the lesser-informed walk by while they sip a flat white that gets the hairs on their arm up. The coffee revolution will get the word out at random cyclist gatherings, Vesparado meetups and over drinks in city bars tucked away in small alleyways.
No, the coffee revolution will not be televised.
But you can join it anytime… just go to Deluxe Coffeeworks and get an espresso, flat white or whatever. Coffee that is revolutionary. Coffee so good it makes you wonder when coffee changed from a way to take in caffeine to a way to get momentarily high.
Deluxe Coffeeworks.
Anyone in Cape Town that knows good coffee knows David Donde. He was a founding partner and the main voice for Origin, the coffee shop that really and truly first introduced good, freshly roasted coffee to Cape Town. He also writes car reviews. And does a late night radio talk show (too much caffeine?). And blogs. And tweets. And basically is a very proficient one-man noisemaker for whatever he chooses to make noise about.
I popped into his new place, TRUTH. coffeecult, last week for a caffeine fix and yes, let me tell you what you had already guessed: the coffee is freaking amazing. Yup, he’s bringing in some awesome beans and roasting them with added teaspoons of crack or something because that little shot of dark is so damned tasty, well… I mean, it’s just so damned good there must be something in there besides coffee! No? Okay, there isn’t, and it’s tribute to the man and his bean obsession (hence the name of the store) that he can produce such good stuff.
At TRUTH you can buy a variety of industrially-packaged roasted beans with names like Resurrection Blend or Donde’s Chaos. Antithesis, is the best-named one in my book, since being caffeine-free is really in direct opposition to the idea of coffee. At least to me. The idea of caffeine-free coffee rates way up there with non-alcoholic beer or a caesar salad without bacon on the ‘Why the Hell?!’ list. TRUTH also serves basic food options (the pita burgers are quite tasty) but the focus here is clearly on the coffee. As it should be.
I drank an espresso and a flat white, made with the Resurrection Blend, and both were outstanding though the flat white whipped butt. The only criticism I can provide of the place is the place itself. Amazing coffee, but TRUTH is a bit ‘arb’ in its design (or lack of it? though the sustainable feel is commendable) and attachment to what must be Cape Town’s most random memorial (Prestwich Memorial, made as a sort of ‘tax’ by developers so they could continue their property development a few blocks away). Music selection and volume could help but at the moment it is a little soul-less, something ironic and at odds with the evangelical force Donde is himself.
TRUTH. coffeecult. Definitely go here for your caffeine fix. More than once.
www.truthcoffee.com
Who is the Foodie? It doesn’t really matter. Bacon is god. Wine cures anything. If you believe those two facts, then we’re going to get on fine. This means you have discovered the power of food to make life better. This knowledge is imperative to the art of living well.
